The new home of the San Francisco 49ers has already hosted a conference championship game. Now, it appears the club wants to get to know an even more important postseason game as well.
Citing a source a source with knowledge of the plans, the Associated Press is reporting that the NFL organization is planning to bid on becoming a future host of the College Football Playoff championship game. The 49ers will be focusing their bid -- or bids -- on the 2018-2020 games that would be played in newly-built Levi’s Stadium.
Bids for those games must be received by May of this year, with the winning bids expected to be announced at some point this fall.
The 2016 (following the 2015 season) and 2017 (following the 2016 season) national title games have already been awarded to Glendale, Ariz., and Tampa, Fla. The first ever playoff title game was played in Dallas at AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL’s Cowboys.
Levi’s Stadium, which opened in 2014, has hosted a regular-season college game as well as the Pac-12 championship game. It will also serve as the host of that conference’s title tilt the next two years as well as being the site of next year’s Super Bowl.
In addition to that stadium in Santa Clara, officials from New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium -- home of the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets -- have also expressed an interest in bidding on CFP title games from 2018-20. Also, city officials in New Orleans are beginning the process of considering the feasibility of hosting a title game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported this afternoon. The Superdome, of course, is the home of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.