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SUPER BOWL: Nuns make fans an offer that can't be beat

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning steps back to pass during practice on Thursday in Tempe, Arizona. The Giants will play the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl on Sunday. PHOTO: AP

There is no sauna, no heated pool, no chauffeur or sommelier. In fact, no alcohol is allowed on the premises, and guests share a bathroom with their next-door neighbor.

But for US$250 a night in a city where Super Bowl rentals are topping out at US$250,000 a week for a mansion in Scottsdale, the sisters at Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery figure they have an offer that can't be beat.

In debt from the recent purchase of a nearby parcel, the Benedictine nuns are hoping to make a dent in their mortgage by converting their 10-bedroom spiritual retreat into a crash pad for Super Bowl fans this weekend.

"A Super Bowl doesn't happen in a city very often," said Sister Linda Campbell, the prioress of the monastery where rooms usually go for US$105 a night. "Then we heard of all the folks that were renting out homes and we thought, wow, that would be something that would be beneficial to the monastery and help us to help others."

With 125,000 fans expected to arrive from out of town this weekend, even midlevel hotels are charging more than US$500 a night for rooms.

With its posters of Mother Teresa, vinyl tablecloths and second-hand furniture, the monastery is a stark contrast to some of the Super Bowl packages that nearby hotels and resorts are offering, with free cocktail hours, personal concierge service and sometimes even a meet-and-greet with NFL players. Though there is no curfew at the monastery, some Super Bowl visitors might be dismayed to learn that along with the ban on alcohol (forget about keg stands or late-night drinking games), overnight guests cannot smoke.

Still, the retreat has its charms. The nine-year-old monastery is just more than 5km from the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale and is nestled improbably within a working-class suburban neighborhood. Bottlebrush and palm trees shade the monastery, and a peacock roams the grounds. A yellow Labrador named Bonito greets guests at the front door.

The mood at the monastery may seem more prayerful than pumped up, but football fans will find a kindred spirit in Sister Campbell, who holds season tickets to the Arizona Cardinals and loves to lose herself in the shoves and grunts of a hard-won game.

"It is violent, but not as violent as some others," she said. "Now, I'm not into boxing or some of those. But football, yeah, I like football. For the most part, it's a down time for me, and a time to just sit back and just enjoy it."

Sister Campbell said she admired both Eli Manning and Tom Brady -- "they're both talented men," she said of the two quarterbacks -- but added that she was rooting for the Patriots.

"They've had a perfect season, and it would be so sad to lose at this point," she said.

If the guests wish to pray for their own team to win, Sister Campbell will understand; she admitted to praying once or twice for her beloved Cardinals.

"The way I do it is I pray for them to do the best they can," she said, before offering a word of caution.

"Everyone has to understand," she said, "that God listens to both sides."
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