Meadowlands officially hosting Superbowl XLVIII

The new $1.6 billion Meadowlands stadium beat out Tampa and Miami to host the 2014 Superbowl today.

NFL owners have long passed over the home of the Giants and the Jets for the horrific February weather in the region, with temperatures in the 20s and frequent snowy, icy weather making the roofless stadium a hard sell. But fans think it all adds to the fun:

“Football’s supposed to be played in the cold. Let’s have a real team, a real Super Bowl team, championship team played in the cold,” said one fan.

“Cold weather is football, it works,” said another. “There’s all these teams in the north, in Minnesota and Boston, and it doesn’t stop them.

“Anything to bring more money to the city I’m for. It’d be nice to have a Super Bowl here,” said a third.

The event at the new stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, is expected to bring an approximate $550 million with it to the New York City area.