Rose Bowl Next in Line

The Rose Bowl has emerged as the leading candidate as the site for this season’s Super Bowl if New Orleans is unable to accommodate a date change, an NFL source said Friday.

Darryl Dunne, general manager of the Rose Bowl, visited NFL headquarters here Friday and met with league executive Jim Steeg, who oversees the Super Bowl. Dunne, in the city on other business, arranged the meeting.

“We realize the NFL’s first choice would be to keep the game in New Orleans,” Dunne said. “But, if called upon, we will be ready. If they come to us, the Rose Bowl will be ready.”

The NFL wants to delay the game scheduled for Jan. 27 by one week, to Feb. 3, which would allow for a full slate of playoff teams. The schedule had to be adjusted after Week 2 games were postponed in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The league already has investigated the hotel situation in Los Angeles, tentatively reserving 14,000 rooms. That indicates a decision could come sooner than the Oct. 15 deadline established by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

The Rose Bowl has played host to five Super Bowls, most recently in 1993, when Dallas played Buffalo. Besides Pasadena, the league also is considering Miami and Tampa as alternate sites.

Keeping the game in New Orleans would mean swapping dates with the National Automobile Dealers Assn., which has scheduled its annual convention for the Feb. 3 weekend. The league reportedly is willing to pay several million dollars to facilitate the switch, although that might not be enough. NADA, which booked the convention a decade ago, has contracts with more than 500 vendors and has reserved 25,000 hotel rooms.

The groups exchanged more information Friday, and a NADA executive indicated the decision rests with the NFL.

“It’s still early to characterize things as optimistic or pessimistic,” NADA spokesman David Hyatt said. “We’re taking an open-minded approach. The NFL has all the information it needs to make an informed decision.”

Pasadena has emerged as the No. 1 contingency plan for several reasons. First, it is hosting college football’s national championship Jan. 3 and will have much infrastructure in place to, in essence, hold two Super Bowls in a four-week span. The league has a long-standing relationship with the Pasadena police department, an important consideration in times of heightened security.

Because there is no NFL team in Los Angeles, the league could not be accused of favoring one team owner over another, as might be the case if it played the Super Bowl in Miami or Tampa.

Also, the league wants a franchise in L.A. and would be hard-pressed to pass on a chance to stage a game there.

And, Southern California is considered a comfortable site for a late January game.

“I think it would be awesome,” St. Louis receiver Ricky Proehl said. “I went to the Super Bowl there in 1993 as a spectator and saw Dallas play Buffalo. The atmosphere was great. It was real grass, outside. I’ve got no problem with it. I think it’s a great place to play.”