I would argue this is true, but incomplete. Goodell is right in that Green Bay is lacking in the basic infrastructure needs to host a Super Bowl, and this goes way beyond hotel rooms. In fact, the part nobody really wants to say outloud, so I will, is Green Bay is simply not a tourism destination for the artsy fartsy/showbiz crowd that largely drives the Super Bowl.

New York is cold too but it has a cultural/entertainment life; Broadway, museums, nightlife, etc., that Green Bay can't even dream about. The Super Bowl has become an event for the elite, and even if you could find hotel rooms for all of them, they're not going to be excited about coming to Green Bay in early Februrary. I've been to the French Quarter. I've been on Bourbon St., in the summer. I can only imagine what Super Bowl week is like there. I've never been to NYC, but I have a pretty good feel of what visitors could do for a week in February.

You can come up with all the creative hotel room infrastructure ideas you want; at the end of the day Green Bay is a small midwestern town that simply doesn't have the "Super Bowl appeal." I love it here, don't get me wrong. But I also just spent 3 days in Seattle. A FABULOUS place to visit, don't know that I'd want to leave there. Green Bay is a great place to live, but contrary to what local tourism/commerce officials will want to believe, it's not a great enough place to visit to bring a Super Bowl here.