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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Andy Nesbitt and FTW Staff

17 Super Bowl host cities ranked from worst (sorry, Indianapolis) to first (2024 edition)

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2022 and has been updated.

For the first time ever, the Super Bowl is in Las Vegas with the 2024 game at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s also a first for the state of Nevada as a whole.

The Super Bowl has been played in a lot of different cities with a wide variety of weather conditions, lots of traffic woes, and an abundance of cool places to hang out and enjoy a Super Bowl weekend, if you can make it to the game.

So with that said, let’s have some fun — and also anger some people — and rank the host cities from worst to first.

17
Indianapolis

Matt Kryger / The Star

The Super Bowl should never be held in cold cities, so cold cities are going to find themselves on top of this list.

Speaking of cold, Indianapolis in February sounds – and always looks – pretty miserable. Plus, the city is basically known for one restaurant, which isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for a rocking weekend.

16
Minneapolis

AP Photo/Stacy Bengs

The last time the Super Bowl was in Minneapolis the temperatures never got over like 6 degrees. That’s bad. We don’t like that. U.S. Bank Stadium does look pretty sweet, though.

15
Detroit

J. Kyle Keener/Detroit Free Press

Ford Field is right downtown, which is nice. But also way too cold there.

14
New York City/East Rutherford

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Is New York City one of the best cities in the world with tremendous pizza every where you look? Yes, yes it is. But it stinks in February and it’s tough to get a central area for Super Bowl fans to hang out and have fun. Plus, the game is played outdoors, which is awful.

13
Stanford, CA

AP Photo/File

Doesn’t it now feel like having a Super Bowl in Stanford was the most random thing ever? But hey, it’s a college town and the winter isn’t as harsh as the cities that come before it.

12
Jacksonville

Brian Bahr/Getty Images

Jacksonville isn’t the most hopping city in Florida but it has grown a lot since it hosted the Eagles and Patriots back in 2005. Weather is a little chilly (for Florida) in February but you can still play a ton of golf while you’re there.

11
Dallas

AP Photo/Ron Jenkins, File

Dallas is a fun city with good food, good bars, and a great stadium. But it can have some freezing temps in the winter and the stadium isn’t downtown.

10
Santa Clara

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Santa Clara is home of the 49ers but it’s far from San Francisco. With that said, San Francisco is a pretty great place to spend a weekend, even if getting to the game is a pain in the butt.

9
Atlanta

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta is a pretty easy city to get around and has a great new-ish stadium that you can walk to from downtown.

8
Houston

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Houston has lots of great BBQ and other good food, plus it has a good central area for fans to hang out at and take in all the fun Super Bowl experiences that the NFL sets up for the weekend.

7
Tampa

James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Again, not the most rocking city in Florida but there is plenty of stuff to get into in Tampa and St. Pete. Plus, weather in February is not bad at all.

6
Phoenix

Phoenix in February is pretty perfect with lots of things to do in Phoenix or over in Scottsdale, which isn’t that far away and is where a lot of fans stay for the game. The bar/restaurant scene in Scottsdale is great for a Super Bowl weekend.

5
Los Angeles

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Winter in Los Angeles is fantastic. The city itself might be a little too spread out to get a real Super Bowl feel but you won’t care about that at all while you’re walking on the strand in Manhattan Beach or having drinks at a bar overlooking the ocean.

4
Las Vegas

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports ORG

No city does big events like Las Vegas. But weather isn’t always great in February, and the amount people on The Strip can be downright overwhelming. And good luck getting a reservation (or Uber) the week before the game.

3
San Diego

AP Photo/Fred Greaves

San Diego is like Los Angeles, just a little smaller and a lot more laid back. The weather is tremendous, the downtown area has become amazing, and the food is so good. The only problem? A Super Bowl will never happen here again because the city no longer has a NFL team or a stadium. Booooooooo!

2
Miami

AP Photo/Adam Hunger

Miami is awesome in February. It’s a great vacation spot for cold football fans, South Beach has plenty of spots to have some fun, and the Cuban food in the city is ridiculously good.

1
New Orleans

Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

Super Bowl weekend is one big party weekend and there’s no better party town than New Orleans. From the food, to the nightlife, to the walkability of the city it’s a perfect fit and should host the Super Bowl every year.

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