On Thursday, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott invited the National Football League (NFL) to host the Super Bowl in his state in February, saying that Texas is “100% open.”
“Texas is 100% OPEN. We would welcome the NFL & their fans to the Lone Star State,” Abbott tweeted alongside an article on the topic.
Texas is 100% OPEN. We would welcome the NFL & their fans to the Lone Star State. https://t.co/CUGXculgb4
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 7, 2022
The article Abbott tweeted stated, “SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California is currently scheduled to host the 56th Super Bowl, but COVID-19 concerns could derail those plans. The Cowboys and the league have reportedly had preliminary discussions about AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas serving as an emergency site to host the event, amid COVID-19 restrictions in California.”
A source confirmed the news to WFAA.
“A Dallas Cowboys front office source tells WFAA that the team and league have engaged in preliminary discussions about AT&T Stadium serving as an emergency site for the 2022 Super Bowl should possible COVID restrictions in California create problems with playing the game in Southern California,” WFAA reported. “The Cowboys source told us ‘the league did inquire about a date if [the] stadium is available. But that’s all I’ve ever heard. They could be just covering all options just in case.’”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy issued a statement to WFAA discussing the situation.
“We plan on playing Super Bowl LVI as scheduled at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 13,” McCarthy said. “As part of our standard contingency planning process that we conduct for all regular and postseason games, we have contacted several clubs to inquire about stadium availability in the event we cannot play the Super Bowl as scheduled due to weather-related issues or unforeseen circumstances.”
“Our planning process for the Super Bowl in Los Angeles is ahead of schedule and we look forward to hosting the Super Bowl there to culminate another fantastic NFL season for our fans and clubs,” he added.
