IRVING, Texas — New York is considered such a lock to host the 2014 Super Bowl that NFL owners are already talking about it as a guinea pig for holding the Big Game in cold-weather, open-air stadiums.
The owners arrived here yesterday in advance of a vote this afternoon that is expected to be nothing less than a coronation of New York’s history-making bid.
Tampa and South Florida are also in the mix for what will be Super Bowl XLVIII, but they’re considered more for show at this point as several owners described the joint Giants-Jets bid as a forgone conclusion.
So much so that Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he and his peers are going to use New York as a test case for the viability of holding Super Bowls beyond 2014 in such frigid February locales as Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
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“We’re going to want to see how this one goes before committing [to Super Bowls in cold, open-air venues] beyond New York,” Kraft told The Post yesterday.
But Kraft was effusive in praise of New York’s bid, even though it involves helping out the arch-rival Jets, and said he had pushed the idea of a Big Apple Super Bowl as far back as the days just after 9/11.
“I think it’s just a great symbol,” Kraft said. “And I also believe in football in the natural elements, and I think there’s enough to do in the New York area to make it a great event. I think it will be one of the most memorable games in the history of all Super Bowls.”
Kraft also said the owners feel they owe some gratitude to the owners of the Giants and Jets for largely funding the $1.6 billion, 82,500-seat New Meadowlands Stadium without public money.
“[Selecting New York today] is also saying thank you to the two owners that stepped up there in this economic environment and put up significant capital [to construct the stadium],” he said.
The owners of the Giants and Jets both expressed cautious optimism yesterday as they arrived at the Omni Mandalay Las Colinas, site of this afternoon’s estimated 3:30 p.m. vote.
“We feel good, but we’re not taking anything for granted,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said.
Giants co-owner Steve Tisch said: “Tonight I kinda feel the way I did the night before the Academy Awards in ’94 [when he won an Oscar for producing Forrest Gump]. Until that envelope is opened, until Roger [Goodell] makes an announcement, it’s the same sense of anticipation and excitement. That wasn’t a sure thing either.”
The Jets and Giants have reason to feel good, based not only on commissioner Roger Goodell’s influential support but also on the kind words being showered on New York by owners yesterday.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who is playing host to the upcoming Super Bowl at his palatial new stadium in nearby Arlington, Texas, also said he plans to vote for New York’s bid because he has no reservations about bad weather.
“It affects so much of the season, so why not let weather affect the world championship?” Jones told The Post.
Queens native Arthur Blank, owner of the Falcons, echoed the support of Kraft and Jones and said that the chances of New York’s bid being chosen today “looks pretty good.”
New York organizers have said repeatedly that this is a one-off proposal and they have no interest in joining the rotation of Super Bowl cities.
Kraft and other owners said the Big Apple will be a trail blazer for other cold-weather hopefuls by how the Giants and Jets handle potentially brutal mid-February conditions four years from now.
“Everybody’s going to want to see how they pull it off,” Kraft said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in them. I love football in outdoor stadiums, and I think doing it in New York is a unique opportunity for us to accomplish a lot of things.”
– Additional reporting by Steve Serby
bhubbuch@nypost.com