Each February, the Super Bowl draws upwards of 80,000 of people to witness the spectacle and sport of the biggest sporting event in the United States. According to the International Business Times, over 108 million people tuned in to watch the Ravens triumph over the 49ers at last years event. This success is expected to continue as Super Bowl XLVIII takes place in the Meadowlands at Metlife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets. The economic implications are huge, as last years events totaled more than $480 million in revenue for New Orleans, according to a recent study conducted by the University of New Orleans.

Super Bowl XLVIII is estimated to bring in $559 million according to the Wall Street Journal Online. This affects businesses owners big and small, from restaurants to hotels. A week of festivities such as the Nfl fan experience are scheduled to take place in New York City.There have been concerns about the weather. Super Bowl XLVIII will mark the first time the championship game has been played outdoors in a non domed stadium in cold weather.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac and CBS Sports, the weather the day of the big day will be “bitterly, piercing and biting”.Concerns have been voiced over how the cold weather will affect the performance of the athletes, as well as how those in attendance.

“I think it’s going to be freezing, and the weather will affect the game” said Verona High School Junior Jake Miller.

“People always say that the home field advantage has to do with the fans, but they overlook the fact the weather has just as much as an effect.”, said Senior Alex Kaslander when asked about the topic.

The Farmer’s Almanac has predicted a storm to hit the area on February 1-3, when the event is scheduled to take place on February 2. Since Metlife Stadium does not have a roof, the NFL has detailed plans in case in the event of inclement weather. According to CBS Chicago, the NFl has plans to either move the game up, playing it on Saturday, or pushing it back, to that Monday, with a range of several days. In a press conference, NFl Commissioner Roger Goodell discussed the League’s view.

“Undoubtedly the game next year is going to have an impact on future decisions for open-air cold-weather sites.”

When questioned about the possible inhospitable weather, Goodell responded

““I’d take it right now. I’d sign for that right now,” Goodell told the NFL Network. “You know why? Because we are playing in a northern climate, in an open-air stadium. We made this decision knowing that the weather could be cold, that there could be the potential for adverse weather conditions. That’s what football’s all about. So, if there were snow flurries at 34, count me in. Count me in right now.”

However, there is a precedent in place for road teams to be affected by the climate. According to Brian Burke of advancednflstats.com, only 3 out of 23 of dome teams sampled have won a match up in temperatures of 30 degrees and lower, from the 2000 season to the wildcard round of 2011. For domed teams, the data shows that the colder it gets, less games are won. For cold weather teams, winning percentage usually stay even across the board, regardless of climate, still climbing in warmer weather. The same applies for moderate and warm weather teams.

How the fans will be affected, however is a different story. Many already attend Giants and Jets games in cold weather, but usually earlier in the winter. However, many of those attending may not be local. The NFl usually only releases 1% of tickets to the general public. According to a poll conducted by NJ.com on it’s website, 43 percent beleived it to be a good idea, 41% a bad idea, and the rest split, on whether holding to SuperBowl in a cold weather state is a smart idea. However, regardless, Superbowl XLVIII will be the first outdoors cold weather Super Bowl, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars to the economy.