2019 Super Bowl in Seattle?

SEATTLE -- We know that millions of dollars in economic impacts of winning the Super Bowl is going to reverberate in this region for months and even years to come.  But what might happen if Seattle actually hosted a Super Bowl, as some are now hoping?

“Hundreds of millions of dollars, I think, is conservatively a good number,” said Tom Norwalk, president of Visit Seattle.  “It costs a little bit of money to organize and put a committee together, but it’s really pretty small compared to what that does for a city for really what has become a 7-10 day event.”

Before Sunday’s game, leaders in New York City and New Jersey estimated that hosting  the Super Bowl would generate almost $600 million in economic activity to their region.  Even though that number is disputed by some, it’s clear that hosting a Super Bowl is a big deal financially for a city.

Norwalk says that Seattle is in the very preliminary stages of considering a bid for for 2019, the earliest date of an open game.

“We would be ecstatic to even go down that road, and it’s going to be up to Mr. (Paul) Allen and the Hawks,” he said, referring to the fact that the decision to submit a bit is ultimately with the Seahawks owner.

Supporters of a bid say we have what it takes when it comes to fulfilling the biggest needs of the NFL:  stadium size, hotel rooms, and convention space.