Companies rally to cover Minneapolis Super Bowl bid costs

If the NFL picks Minneapolis to host the 2018 Super Bowl, Minnesota corporations are prepared to pick up the tab -- as much as $40 million.

"We need to get between $30 (million) and $40 million. We had 75 percent of that in the first seven days," U.S. Bank CEO Richard Davis, a member of the local Super Bowl bidding committee, said Wednesday.

Funding will come entirely from private donors, he added.

The bidding group has started working with hotels to set aside 19,000 rooms for Super Bowl festivities and will make a final in-person pitch to NFL owners on May 20 in Atlanta. "We are substantially and financially sound as we move into these final bids," Davis added.

The new stadium to host the game is scheduled to open in 2016. Minnesota last hosted a Super Bowl in 1992.