Super Bowl Stadiums of the 21st Century

The National Football League‘s showcase event, the Super Bowl is annually one of the biggest sporting dates of the year around the world. Thousands of fans try to get into the game and tickets plus hospitality packages are some of the most highly sought after in the travel industry. As Sunday’s game approaches, we take a look at where the NFL has hosted the game during the 21st century and how it’s moved throughout the United States into various regions.

2020: Miami
GAME: Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers
SITE: Hard Rock Stadium
CAPACITY: 65,326
ARCHITECT: HOK
STANDOUT FEATURE: Renovations in 2015 included video boards in each corner of the stadium and an open-air canopy over the main seating areas.

 

 

2019: Atlanta
GAME: New England Patriots 13, Los Angeles Rams 3
SITE: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 70,081
ARCHITECT: HOK
STANDOUT FEATURE: The retractable roof is a pinwheel with eight triangular panels and a video board that wraps around the entire inside of the stadium.

 

 

2018: Minneapolis
GAME: Philadelphia Eagles 41, New England Patriots 33
SITE: U.S. Bank Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 67,612
ARCHITECT: HKS, Inc.
STANDOUT FEATURE: The stadium has a translucent roof and glazed entrances with pivoting doors to let in natural light and show views of downtown.

 

 

2017: Houston
GAME: New England Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28, OT
SITE: NRG Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 70,807
ARCHITECT: Populous
STANDOUT FEATURE: The first NFL facility to have a retractable roof that has two panels that split at the 50-yard line.

 

 

2016: Santa Clara, California
GAME: Denver Broncos 24, Carolina Panthers 10
SITE: Levi’s Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 71,088
ARCHITECT: HNTB
STANDOUT FEATURE: The stadium is expandable to 75,000 for major events from its standard seating of capacity of 68,500.

 

 

2015: Glendale, Arizona
GAME: New England Patriots 28, Seattle Seahawks 24
SITE: University of Phoenix Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 70,288
ARCHITECT: Populous, Eisenman Architects
STANDOUT FEATURE: Its combination of a retractable roof and roll-in natural grass field led it to being called by BusinessWeek as one of the 10 most impressive sports facilities in the world.

 

2014: East Rutherford, New Jersey
GAME: Seattle Seahawks 43, Denver Broncos 8
SITE: MetLife Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 82,259
ARCHITECT: 360 Architecture, EwingCole, Rockwell Group, Bruce Mau Design, Inc.
STANDOUT FEATURE: This was the first time the Super Bowl had been held in an outdoor stadium in a cold-weather climate.

 

 

2013: New Orleans
GAME: Baltimore Ravens 34, San Francisco 49ers 31
SITE: Mercedes-Benz Superdome
ATTENDANCE: 71,025
ARCHITECT: Curtis and Davis Associated, Edward B. Silverstein & Associates, Nolan, Norman & Nolan
STANDOUT FEATURE: This is the game famous for a power outage that led to a 34-minute delay between plays. The Superdome has hosted more Super Bowls than any other site (seven).

 

2012: Indianapolis
GAME: New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17
SITE: Lucas Oil Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 68,658
ARCHITECT: HKS, A2so4 Architecture, Browning Day Mullins, Dierdorf, Inc.
STANDOUT FEATURE: There is a large retractable window on one end that allows games to technically be played outdoors even if the retractable roof is closed.

 

2011: Arlington, Texas
GAME: Green Bay Packers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 25
SITE: Cowboys Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 103,219
ARCHITECT: HKS
STANDOUT FEATURE: One of the most expensive stadiums ever at $1.5 billion, the HDTV screen hung at midfield hangs from one 20-yard line to the other 20-yard line.

 

2010: Miami
GAME: New Orleans Saints 31, Indianapolis Colts 17
SITE: Sun Life Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 74,059
ARCHITECT: HOK
STANDOUT FEATURE: It was the 10th time that the city had hosted a Super Bowl, which at the time was a record (since tied by New Orleans). The first five times that Miami hosted, the game was played at the Orange Bowl.

 

2009: Tampa, Florida
GAME: Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23
SITE: Raymond James Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 70,774
ARCHITECT: Wagner Murray Architects, Populous
STANDOUT FEATURE: The pirate ship in the north end zone comes in at 103 feet and weight 43 tons with replica cannons fired for every Buccaneer point and win.

 

2008: Glendale, Arizona
GAME: New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14
SITE: University of Phoenix Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 70,288
ARCHITECT: Populous, Eiseman Architects
STANDOUT FEATURE: The grass field is rolled in and out of the facility while the retractable roof was the first ever built on an incline.

 

 

2007: Miami
GAME: Indianapolis Colts 29, Chicago Bears 17
SITE: Dolphins Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 74,512
ARCHITECT: Populous
STANDOUT FEATURE: The game was notable for heavy rain throughout, one of the few times that the Super Bowl has been played in inclement weather, prompting the canopy that will cover spectators at this year’s event.

 

 

2006: Detroit
GAME: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Seattle Seahawks 10
SITE: Ford Field
ATTENDANCE: 68,206
ARCHITECT: Rossetti Architects, Hamilton Anderson Associates, Kaplan, McLaughlin, Diaz Architects
STANDOUT FEATURE: The stadium incorporates a former warehouse that is the location for most of the suits along the south sideline, with the bulk of regular seats on the north sideline and both end zones.

 

2005: Jacksonville, Florida
GAME: New England Patriots 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21
SITE: Alltel Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 78,125
ARCHITECT: Populous
STANDOUT FEATURE: The stadium was built using some pieces of the former Gator Bowl Stadium and the game’s crowd was, at the time, the largest for a Super Bowl since 1994.

 

2004: Houston
GAME: New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29
SITE: Reliant Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 71,525
ARCHITECT: HOK
STANDOUT FEATURE: The game was played on grass, with the field at the stadium later transitioning to an artificial surface in 2015.

 

 

2003: San Diego
GAME: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Oakland Raiders 21
SITE: Qualcomm Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 67,603
ARCHITECT: Frank L. Hope and Associates
STANDOUT FEATURE: Opened in 1967, it hosted three Super Bowls in a 25-year span before the Chargers left for Los Angeles after the 2016 season.

 

2002: New Orleans
GAME: New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17
SITE: Louisiana Superdome
ATTENDANCE: 72,922
ARCHITECT: Curtis and Davis Associated, Edward B. Silverstein & Associates, Nolan, Norman & Nolan
STANDOUT FEATURE: Opened originally in 1975, it currently is the fifth-oldest NFL stadium in use behind only Buffalo, Kansas City, Green Bay and Chicago.

 

2001: Tampa, Florida
GAME: Baltimore Ravens 34, New York Giants 7
SITE: Raymond James Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 71,921
ARCHITECT: Wagner Murray Architects, Populous
STANDOUT FEATURE: Temporary bleachers were built in the end zones for the game to increase capacity, which at that time was 65,667.

 

 

2000: Atlanta
GAME: St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee Titans 17
SITE: Georgia Dome
ATTENDANCE: 72,625
ARCHITECT: Heery International, Rosser FABRAP International, tvsdesign
STANDOUT FEATURE: When it opened in 1999 and until its demolition in 2017, it was the largest cable-supported dome in the world with a roof made of Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric.