NFL could move 2024 Super Bowl due to Mardi Gras

New Orleans, which was awarded Super Bowl LVIII during a meeting in 2018,
would not lose the game entirely, but rather have it pushed back a year or
two. No decision has been made.

The game is scheduled for Feb. 4, but that date was set with a 16-game NFL
schedule. If a week were to be added to the schedule, the game would be played
on Feb. 11 -- presenting a conflict with Mardi Gras beginning on Feb. 13.

"The New Orleans Host Committee, led by the New Orleans Saints and Greater New
Orleans Sports Foundation, has remained in close communication with league
officials about the change to a 17-game regular season, as it relates to the
city hosting Super Bowl LVIII in 2024," Saints vice president of
communications Greg Bensel said in a statement on Friday. "During the bid
process in 2018, it was contemplated and discussed of the possibility of an
extended schedule based on a new CBA. The Bid Committee, the New Orleans
Saints and NFL worked together to build in contingencies if a potential
conflict with Mardi Gras should affect the Super Bowl date.

"Mutually agreed upon terms during the bid process granted assurances that the
NFL and Host Committee would explore all options for still hosting the game in
2024, or, agreeing to host the Super Bowl in a future year when the citywide
calendar permits."

The 17-game schedule, per terms of the new collective bargaining agreement,
will be installed as the norm sometime between 2021 and 2023.

The NFL has yet to award the 2025 Super Bowl. The other upcoming host cities
are Tampa, Fla. (2020 season), Inglewood, Calif. (2021) and Glendale, Ariz
(2022).

New Orleans has hosted the big game 10 times, trailing only Miami (11) for the
most in Super Bowl history. The city most recently hosted Super Bowl XLVII
following the 2012 season, when the Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco
49ers after a mid-game power outage at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

--Field Level Media