2013 Super Bowl Site, Longer Season On Docket

A few weeks ago, the state and the Saints announced a lease extension through 2025 that, if approved by the state Legislature, will also include $85 million in upgrades to the Superdome in time for the 2013 game.

"In a lot of ways, we're providing a new stadium with the advantages of the old stadium," Saints vice president Ben Hales said.

Still, the competition will be stiff. The league has shown its willingness to return to South Florida by holding the 2006 and 2010 games there; no other area has had such frequent hosting duties since Miami in 1995 and 1999. The Phoenix area was praised for its work for the 2008 game in which the New York Giants spoiled New England's perfect season.

A perfect season could require one or two more wins sometime in the near future if team owners approve a restructured schedule. Commissioner Roger Goodell has mentioned in the last few months the need to replace preseason games in which few star players get on the field with "meaningful" football.

"The idea has merit, I think," he told The Associated Press last month. "You are taking the quality and improving it, taking two meaningless games and making them meaningful within the 20-game framework."