The College Football Playoff announced earlier today the locations of the 2018 to 2020 National Championship Games.
The College Football Playoff management committee came to a conclusion earlier this morning in Chicago where the 2018 to 2020 National Championship Games will be held.
In 2018, the game goes to Atlanta at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That game occurs on January 8, 2018. The following year, the Bay Area and Levi’s Stadium will host that National Championship Game on January 7, 2019. The 2020 National Championship is going to New Orleans and the Superdome will host it on January 13, 2020.
The College Football Playoff management committee deliberated over the locations of the 4th to 6th Championship Games. There were nine participating metro areas: Atlanta, Bay Area, Charlotte, Detroit, Houston, Minnesota, New Orleans, San Antonio, and South Florida. The 2nd Annual College Football Playoff National Championship Game is in Glendale, Arizona on January 11, 2016. Tampa Bay gets the 3rd National Championship Game on January 9, 2017.
Both Atlanta and the Bay Area getting bids are in no way surprising, as the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers have or will have state of the art football stadiums by then. Going to New Orleans isn’t earth-shattering since the Super Bowl has gone to the Crescent City several times. New Orleans does a fantastic job of hosting the Sugar Bowl every bowl season anyway.
However, the one metro area that got the short end of the stick in this announcement in Minnesota. The Vikings will have a brand new stadium in 2016 that replaces the old Metrodome in hopes of attracting marquee events like the College Football Playoff’s National Championship Game.
Surely, Minnesota will get their events in the coming years, but will have to wait until at least 2021 to host the College Football National Championship Game. As of this current round of bidding, the Twin Cities got shut out, which no doubt hurts the hype that was being built up for the new Vikings Stadium which was meant to bring in games like this.
All nine cities have the attractions and the accommodations to host a National Championship Game. Perhaps their day will come in the coming years. For now, it’s a day to rejoice in Atlanta, the Bay Area, and in New Orleans.