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Commissioner Tagliabue (Opening remarks…) "It goes without saying that it’s a very special treat to be here at the Henry Ford Museum. As you know, we’re conducting are annual fall league meeting here in Detroit this week. We’ve had several committee meetings today, and will be having the entire membership together tomorrow. We will have a reception here tonight that will be attended by many owners and by club executives. By the end of tomorrow, we’ll have hopefully accomplished a good deal of business. I’m going to make a few remarks about the Super Bowl and the planning for the Super Bowl. Then I’m going to ask Bill Ford, Roger Penske, and Mayor Kilpatrick to comment briefly, and then we’ll take a few questions. Super Bowl XL is going to be played at Ford Field in Detroit on February 5, 2006. Detroit will be become the first northern city to host the Super Bowl twice. The Detroit area has been an important part of the NFL going back to the founding of the league in 1920, and eventually with the Lions being established in 1934, but there were teams in the area even before that. Those of you that are familiar with the history of the league know that we had quite a few franchises that came and went in the early days. Detroit and the Lions have been a fixture in the NFL for over 70 years. The Ford family, the Detroit fans, the Thanksgiving Day game tradition, the automobile industry, all of these elements have been big contributors to the success over the many decades of the National Football League. Preparations for this 40th Super Bowl are going extremely well thanks to Roger Penske, Bill Ford, the mayor, and so many other people who are working extremely hard. I recalled earlier today with our staff the excitement that we had in our league meeting when the presentation for this Super Bowl was made. I’m beginning to sense that same type of high excitement, expectations and standards as we’re here today and looking ahead to this game. The host committee started its work earlier than most Super Bowl Host Committees, and it’s really ahead of the curve in terms of logistics, main events, venues, and all of the other key elements of planning. The Super Bowl is often called the mid-winter national holiday, or the winter version of the Fourth of July. This aspect of the game will come to life in very tangible ways here in Detroit, especially, with the creation by the host committee of the Motown Winter Blast. This is an example of the committee’s creativity and getting a head start by having the vision to create a special annual family festival right now, starting this January. It takes advantage of what’s unique about Detroit, including the downtown renaissance. The Winter Blast will be a big part of our Super Bowl next year, and a great new annual tradition for the entire Detroit area. This will be a downtown centered Super Bowl, but it will also involve the entire region. It will be a showcase, among other things, for the revitalization of the Detroit downtown area that has taken place in recent years with Ford Field and the Lions playing a prominent role. The Winter Blast will be an important element of Super Bowl week, way that Bourbon Street is in New Orleans and the Gas Lamp District has become in San Diego and last year’s downtown festival was in Houston. Headquarters hotel will be the Marriot at the Renaissance Center. The NFL Experience will be at Cobo Hall the week after the Detroit Auto Show. We’ve all been working closely with the auto show about logistics, and we appreciate their cooperation. Another unique aspect of this Super Bowl will be an international element involving Canada. Our international group has been meeting with leaders in Windsor on ways to include our fans in nearby Canada in the Super Bowl experience. As far as our theme and logo for the 40th Super Bowl goes, it will provide us an opportunity to reflect on the game’s history. When you think of Detroit, you also think of history and tradition. There’s a great sports history and tradition here in Detroit, and of course the auto industry is here and what that has meant to so many Americans in the past and currently. The values of Detroit and the values of America are what we try to represent as well in the National Football League in terms of competition, performance, teamwork, innovation, diversity, and tradition. So, with an anniversary and an opportunity to celebrate what football and the Super Bowl mean to the nation and the people of Detroit the theme for Super Bowl XL will be "Celebrating Tradition: The Road to 40". The logo was designed as it is every year to be a strong Super Bowl logo for the NFL. The logo also pays homage to Detroit’s automotive heritage and our "Road to 40" theme by using elements that represent a classic car emblem and an odometer. Here’s a short video that celebrates 40 years of the Super Bowl and brings the logo to life.
"We’re, in short, very excited about the Super Bowl coming back to the great city of Detroit and the game being played in one of America’s great, new and distinctive NFL stadiums. It’s going to be a unique Super Bowl week. A special Super Bowl week. The plans that are being put into place by the host committee, by the Lions, by the city, and by the league I think are outstanding. At this point I would ask Bill Ford, perhaps to comment, followed by Roger Penske and Mayor Kilpatrick." Q & A (On labor negotiations …) "I had heard mostly what Gene (Upshaw) had said before. I thought it was a really good meeting. It was a real good occasion for the dozen or more owners who were there to hear his presentation first-hand. Most of them had heard it, but it was extremely good dynamics. We had about a two-and-a-half hour discussion, and it served the purpose that we were striving for." (On discussions about NFL expansion, in particular regarding Los Angeles…) "We’ll talk more about that tomorrow. Los Angeles will be part of the discussion, and we’ll give you a full briefing tomorrow." (On Kickoff Weekend retaining the same format beginning on a Thursday night…) "Yes, that’s our expectation. We said that earlier this year when we did the format for the opening night game in New England with the related event in Jacksonville that we were trying to make that into a start of a tradition. The expectation is that would continue next year." (On the growing financial gap between teams) "I know what he’s (Gene Upsahw) saying, but I don’t necessarily agree with his characterization. No, we can talk about that tomorrow." (Closing remarks…) "I just want to reiterate my thanks to Roger, to Bill Ford and to the mayor because with this stadium, the revitalization of downtown and all of the permanent venues here in this area that can be brought in and become part of the Super Bowl mix, great as it was to be here 22 years ago, and I was here with my son and my wife, I think this is going to set a new bar and everyone’s poised to jump over that bar and really make this a fabulous event for Detroit and the National Football League. I know Bill’s trying to get the Lions in the Super Bowl next year, but you better watch Wayne Weaver and Byron Leftwich this year because they’re trying to get there before you in their own Super Bowl. Thanks to everybody for being here, and thanks Susan and the host committee for all the work they’ve done and will continue to do." |