John Nestor

Houston, TX

The NFL took a chance with one Super Bowl so it's heading back to safer -- and warmer -- confines in 2015.

The league announced Tuesday that the Phoenix area was awarded the 49th Super Bowl by NFL owners beating out Tampa, Fla., the only other candidate.

The 2014 Super Bowl is set to be played outdoors in the Meadowlands, where winter weather is almost guaranteed to be a factor.

Not so for the Phoenix area, which will host the game for the third time and play it in Glendale.

"We are thrilled to be back in Arizona," Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "I will say it was a difficult choice."

The NFL also set Feb. 2, 2014, as the date of the Super Bowl in New Jersey. Average temps in In East Rutherford, N.J., is 31 degrees compared to 60 degrees in Glendale.

The 2013 date will not conflict with the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

"It's historically warmer on Feb. 2," Giants owner John Mara joked.

The last time Arizona hosted the Super Bowl the Giants' upset the then-unbeaten Patriots on Feb. 3, 2008 at University of Phoenix Stadium. Tempe, Ariz., was the 1996 host, with Dallas defeating Pittsburgh 27-17.

"This is huge for Arizona," bid leader Mike Kennedy said. "It feels really satisfying.

The NFL's 32 team owners went through two rounds of voting. In the first round, neither Tampa nor metro Phoenix got the required three-quarters of the vote. In the second round, Arizona received at least the required simple majority, or 17 votes, to win. The NFL did not immediately release the vote results.

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