New York -- Eric Grubman, executive VP for the NFL, is confident that Sunday's Super Bowl at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium won't have a repeat of last year's blackout.
"This stadium is in exceptional condition," Grubman told reporters Monday morning at the Sheraton Hotel in Times Square. Last year's Super Bowl, held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, experienced a 34-minute power outage during the third quarter.
Grubman explained that last year's outage was caused by a "device that senses abnormal conditions" having "faulty settings." Grubman assured that they've done multiple tests on the league's newest venue (MetLife opened in April 2010).
"There are multiple sources of power that come from different power plants," he explained. "More than one plant would have to go down."
Al Kelly, president & CEO of the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee, added: "We've brought in independent consultants."
With this year's game being the first held outside in cold weather, many think that this year could be billed as a "one time only" affair and the next three Super Bowl sites appear to back that up (XLIX -- Glendale, Ariz.; L -- Santa Clara, Calif.; LI -- Houston).
However, the committee is hopeful that a successful week would build momentum for a potential return to the country's top media market.
"Hopefully when we do all the tally in the weeks to come, the other 30 owners will say to themselves when there is a chance to do this again 'Super Bowl XLVIII in NY/NJ was a huge success, let's try and do this once every 10 years,'" said New York Giants co-owner John Tisch, cochairman of NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee.
"The game is played in all weather, so why isn't the Super Bowl played in all [kinds] of weather?" added the other cochair, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
