John Mara wants another Super Bowl in New York/New Jersey

The Giants' owner is already talking about wanting to host a second Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium.

By Jon Benne@LordBenne Feb 2, 2014, 4:06pm EST

Super Bowl 48 in MetLife Stadium hasn't kicked off yet, but New York Giants owner John Mara is already thinking about hosting another one. Mara told ESPN Radio that he wants to host a second game in New York/New Jersey in the near future.

This year's game is the first one to be held in a cold weather location as a reward to Mara for building MetLife Stadium, which also hosts the New York Jets. Mara is definitive that if the game is a success, the Super Bowl should come back, according to ESPN New York's Ian O'Connor:

"I think it will open up some people's eyes as to why not at least consider other areas and I think we will do that," Mara said. "But let's face it, there is only one area like this one with the number of attractions and venues and all that New York and New Jersey have to offer. But I certainly think it does open the door a little bit for other venues."

When the NFL first awarded the game to the region, there were questions about how adverse winter conditions would affect playing conditions. That ended up not being a factor -- the weather as of Sunday afternoon is mild and partly sunny, and temperatures aren't expected to drop below 40 degrees until much later in the day. The real issue is logistics -- transportation to the stadium has been a nightmare on Sunday, with some transit stations facing delays of up to 90 minutes. There is a real possibility that many fans won't even get to the game on time.

Those problems, and the lingering weather concern -- the NFL got lucky on Sunday, as a snowstorm is expected to hit the region later this week -- may sour owners on the prospect of hosting another game here. That doesn't seem to deter Mara, who believes that sentiment will change once the actual game is played.

"I think that when the NFL owners that are here, when they leave MetLife Stadium tonight after this game, I'm pretty confident that most of them will say to themselves that it was a great idea to have this event in this area, New York and New Jersey, and why not come back here again. It's good for the league."