New Orleans is back in play to host 2031 Super Bowl

New Orleans had missed the deadline for bidding on the opportunity to host the 2031 Super Bowl, due to an unresolved lease situation. The NFL has given the city a dispensation.

Via Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the NFL has decided to let New Orleans proceed with an effort to bring the Big Game back to the Big Easy in five years.

The decision was announced after Saints owner Gayle Benson and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry traveled to New York to meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell.

We appreciated the opportunity to meet with Gov. Landry and Mrs. Benson," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Duncan. It was a very productive meeting, and while our immediate focus is on the upcoming Super Bowls, we can confirm that New Orleans will be part of the consideration process for the Super Bowl to be played in 2031."

The 2026 Super Bowl will be hosted by San Francisco. The 2027 game will be played in L.A., with the 2028 game happening in Atlanta. Las Vegas and Nashville are believed to be the favorites for 2029 and 2030, respectively.

We had a very positive and productive meeting, and I am thrilled that we will have the opportunity to bid on the 2031 Super Bowl," Benson said.

The NFL ended several years ago the process of having multiple cities submit competing bids for each game, opting instead to target one specific city. And it appears that, because New Orleans is back in play for the 2031 game, it will be New Orleans' game to lose.

New Orleans has staged 11 Super Bowls, starting with Super Bowl IV. New Orleans also hosted Super Bowls VI, IX, XII, XV, XX, XXIV, XXXI, XXXVI, and XLVII. The longest gap happened between XLVII and LIX - 12 years.

If New Orleans gets the 2031 Super Bowl (LXV), the lag will be only six years between games hosted there.