Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco didn't mask his feelings Monday when he was asked about the NFL's championship being decided next year at MetLife Stadium, the first outdoor Super Bowl at a cold-weather site.

"I think it's retarded. I probably shouldn't say that. I think it's stupid," he told reporters after the Ravens arrived in New Orleans for Sunday's Super Bowl. "If you want a Super Bowl, put a retractable dome on your stadium. Then you can get one.

"Other than that I don't really like the idea. I don't think people would react very well to it, or be glad to play anybody in that kind of weather," he said.

At Super Bowl media day in New Orleans on Tuesday, Flacco apologized for initially using "retarded" in his response.

"Obviously, it was a poor choice of words. At home, I have a close relationship with Special Olympics. I didn't mean to offend anyone. I definitely apologize for that," he said.

Next year's Super Bowl will be held Feb. 2, 2014, at the building shared by the Giants and Jets in East Rutherford, N.J.

The record low for a Super Bowl kickoff is 39 degrees when Dallas beat Miami in January 1972 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. It'll be a lot warmer in the Big Easy when the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers tangle Sunday. They'll be inside the Superdome.

The National Weather Service said the average high in nearby Newark, N.J., on Feb. 2 is 39.8 degrees and the low is 24.2. The average precipitation on that date going back to 1931 is about one-eighth of an inch.