Minneapolis to host Super Bowl LII in new stadium

The Big Game is returning to Minnesota for the first time since 1992. (Vikings.com)

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced Tuesday that Minnesota will host Super Bowl LII. New Orleans and Indianapolis were also among the finalists.

Minnesota WINS! http://t.co/TQZpFSZc8g pic.twitter.com/m31LTkB8Mw

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) May 20, 2014

On Tuesday, it took four rounds of votes among the 32 owners to settle on Minnesota.

"It was nerve-racking, but a great sense of relief and excitement," Mark Wilf, the Vikings owner and president, told NFL Network moments after the announcement. "We couldn't be more proud of our host committee, and we're just very thankful to the league for giving us this opportunity."

Doug Baker, the bid committee co-chair, added in a press release: “The Super Bowl is the most-watched annual event in the world. This unprecedented audience, along with the 100,000 people who come to experience it in person, will see this vibrant, engaged community that celebrates all that winter can be when we showcase everything from outdoor activities on Nicollet Mall's Super Bowl Boulevard to an ice palace at the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. We plan to set the bar high for all northern destinations that host the Super Bowl.”

Three months after the New York-New Jersey area narrowly avoided a major snowstorm during Super Bowl XLVIII, Wilf managed to convince the 31 other owners that weather wouldn't be an issue in Minnesota.

"First of all, even though it's cold outside, it's an incredibly warm community, very welcoming, they're going to be very hospitable," Wilf said. "And the venues we have are fantastic -- a great, new state-of-the-art, world class, first-class stadium. So on all fronts we felt good about counteracting (any concerns about the cold)."

The possibility of cold weather worked out fine for the Seahawks earlier this year.

Cold weather Super Bowls are the coolest! RT @nfl: Minnesota will host #SB52: http://t.co/T6MbWWMSTn pic.twitter.com/CYo76g8YEq

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) May 20, 2014

The Vikings are building a new downtown stadium that is scheduled to open prior to the 2016 season. Minnesota last hosted a Super Bowl in Jan. 1992 -- Super Bowl XXVI -- when the Redskins defeated the Bills.

Indianapolis hosted its first Super Bowl in Feb. 2013 (Patriots vs. Giants), and this marked the first time New Orleans lost a Super Bowl bid. They had previously hosted the event on 10 occasions, which is tied for the all-time record with South Florida.

Future Super Bowl sites:

2015: Super Bowl XLIX, Glendale, Ariz.

2016: Super Bowl L, Santa Clara, Calif.

2017: Super Bowl LI, Houston, Tex.

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