New Jersey hosting 2014 Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is coming to New Jersey, bringing the biggest game in American sports within driving distance of Philadelphia.

But that might be the closest it gets.

The NFL voted Tuesday to award the 2014 game to a bid led by the Giants and Jets, setting the stage for the first outdoor, cold weather Super Bowl.

With that precedent now in place, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said the team also would like to host the NFL championship game but sounded doubtful that it would happen in the near future.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said New York is a "unique market," hinting that the league won't be waiving its warm weather Super Bowl requirement on a regular basis.

Lurie said the Eagles supported the New York-New Jersey bid.

"Hosting the Super Bowl here in Philadelphia would be a great experience for our fans across the city and region," Lurie said in a statement. "With that said, we realize that warm weather options may always have the advantage when it comes to hosting the Super Bowl. However, if the league supports more northern games, we would pursue."

At a news conference in Dallas, where the league's owners voted on the Super Bowl site, Goodell said future decisions would be made on "an individual basis."

"I do believe that New York is a unique market. I think our membership recognizes that," Goodell said.

The owners took four votes before the New York-New Jersey bid beat out competition from Tampa and South Florida. The NFL waived its rule requiring that host cities have either a dome or average outdoor temperatures of 50 degrees at Super Bowl time.

At the stadium, average temperatures range from 24 to 40 degrees, according to the Giants-Jets bid. The coldest kick-off temperature in Super Bowl history was 39 degrees in New Orleans for Super Bowl VI.

The bidders played up the potential for a unique championship game, at least in the Super Bowl era, and have said contingency plans include trucks to clear roads and hand warmers for fans.

The game will be played at the new $1.6 billion Meadowlands stadium, which has opened adjacent to Giants Stadium, roughly a dozen exits north of Philadelphia on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The decision puts the NFL's marquee event on the biggest media stage in the nation and rewards two teams that have invested in a sparkling new facility. The game will be in New Jersey, but many of the promotional events leading up to it will be in New York.

Players might have a more mixed reaction. They will be close to Manhattan but will be housed, practicing and playing in New Jersey. And while any team will surely be happy to make it to the Super Bowl, traditionally the reward has included warm weather and sun leading up to the contest.

New Jersey officials quickly lauded the NFL for bringing the Super Bowl to their state but stressed that they don't want to be overshadowed by New York.

"To be sure, the entire New Jersey/New York region has much to offer and will benefit economically from the game," Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) wrote in a letter to Goodell, "but the reality is that the Super Bowl will be played in New Jersey, and the NFL's marketing, promotion, and events should reflect that fact."