The NFL is becoming increasingly unimaginative when it comes to choosing Super Bowl stadiums. Yet the league has many locations that would be suitable for hosting this mega-event.

When it comes to expansion plans, the NFL obviously knows no bounds.

This season, five games will take place outside the United States, and in the near future, 16 regular season games are to be played abroad – and at some point, the Super Bowl could even take place overseas.

As innovative as the league has become when it comes to international marketing, it has been unimaginative for some time when it comes to choosing U.S. Super Bowl venues.

New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta. All four cities have hosted the world’s biggest sporting event at least once in this millennium – and New Orleans and Atlanta have even done so twice.

And they will be back again by 2028: New Orleans in 2025 and Atlanta in 2028. In the years in between, L.A. and San Francisco will take over, as you might expect.

Of course, it is no coincidence that all four venues are in reliably warm regions and, with the exception of San Francisco, are covered. In February, when the champion is crowned every year, the NFL wants to leave nothing to chance – or rather, to the weather god.

But are the external conditions really so important that the choice of venues is becoming increasingly boring and predictable? That’s debatable.

The NFL itself is committed to enabling all of its franchises to host the Super Bowl. In principle, it makes no distinction between locations in the south, west, north or east.

Super Bowl in cold temperatures: Why not?

So why, one wonders, aren’t these highlights awarded to Washington, Philadelphia or Kansas City for a change?

Of course, in temperatures around freezing, spectators are more likely to go to the stadium in a thick winter coat instead of a T-shirt. But aren’t ice and snow also part of the NFL experience? It wouldn’t detract from the atmosphere, not even in a final.

From a pure fan perspective, the conditions in terms of stadium capacity and infrastructure should also be in place in Green Bay, Seattle or Buffalo to host a Super Bowl. After all, the playoffs, including the championship games, are also played there.

And why aren’t stadiums outside the NFL considered anymore? Between 1977 and 1993, the Super Bowl was held a whopping five times at the legendary Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Los Angeles.

A venue that is bursting with tradition and is one of the highlights of the college football calendar every year.

So before the league subjects its biggest event to increasing internationalization and awards it to Madrid, Sao Paulo or Mexico, it should first break new ground within its own geographical borders and use the diversity of its venues – a little more risk wouldn’t hurt.