Super Bowl 48 is going to have a much different feel to it than Super Bowls past. First and foremost, the game is being held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey — outdoors and in cold weather. In the Super Bowl’s 48-year history, a game has never been hold outdoors in a cold climate. But don’t worry — fans aren’t going to freeze while tailgating. That’s because tailgating won’t be allowed.
On Monday, Super Bowl CEO Al Kelly announced that there will be no grilling and lounging in parking lots for the hours leading up to the game.
“You will be allowed to have food in your car and have drink in your car,” Kelly said, per ESPNNewYork.com. “And provided you’re in the boundaries of a single parking space, you’ll be able to eat or drink right next to your car. However, you’re not going to be able to take out a lounge chair, you’re not going to be able to take out a grill, and you’re not going to be able to take up more than one parking space. And it’ll all be watched very carefully.”
In other words, feel free to stand next to your car in 20-degree weather and eat a Lunchables.
The NFL and Super Bowl organizers intend to take incredible security measures on Feb. 2, 2014. In addition to a tailgating ban, there will also be no unauthorized taxis or car services bringing fans to the game. The 80,000 ticket holders will have to arrive by way of charter bus called the Fan Express, which costs $51, by way of the NJ Transit or with the use of a parking pass, of which there are less than 13,000 available.
“Nobody’s going to be dropped off by black car,” Kelly said. “You can have a black car, a green car, a white car, a red car as long as you have parking, and the car needs to stay on the premises the entire time.”
That’s OK, fans can just park in lots away from the stadium and walk to the game, right? Wrong. Kelly said no one will be allowed to enter the stadium on foot unless they have arrived via public transportation or shuttle bus — where security will have screened them before and after — or they have an approved parking pass.
While a lot of these rules and guidelines sound insane, they’re in place for our safety. It may be untraditional, but it’s tough to argue with that. Unfortunately, that means we won’t be seeing any incredible tailgate grills like this.
