rantanamo

Bottom line: UT and OU fans, students, alumni want the game at the Cotton Bowl not in the palace of some Arkie-saw billionaire.

mrowl

how can any of you criticize the game day experience in Arlington, when I know for a fact that none of you have experienced it yet...?

It should be the best for a pro game, and it could be the best for any game, it all depends on what the fans are like that go in.

As a OU season ticket holder, I don't care if the game is moved. Jerry would gladly setup some corny dog stands, and a ferris wheel if it lands him that game. And most OU \ TX fans would not care.



And who ever complained about traffic getting to arlington, have you ever tried to get to the Fair on OU \ TX day??? holy traffic!

Big D

[QUOTE=mrowl] And most OU \ TX fans would not care.



QUOTE]
Then why is this such a contentious topic? The fact of the matter is that OU / TX fans do care and they don't want to mess with moving the venue which is a big part of making this game so special.

It will be interesting to see if the A&M/Arkansas game at the Cowboys new stadium does well long term. It will surely be a sellout the first few years but what about down the line when one of these teams comes into the game with 2-3 losses. Especially since neither of these teams have been relevant on the national stage since the early ninties.

The OU-Texas game sells out every year regardless of the records. I don't see the A&M-Arkansas game having the same results.

tamtagon

Traffic in/out of Arlington probably wont be nearly as annoying as it has been with Texas Stadium.

I'm generally familiar with what there is to do in Arlington, and somewhat familiar with what is planned with Glorypark, and to me, it doesnt come close to the entertainment value of the State Fair cavalcade. If the new Stadium was inside Six Flags, that would be a way different story. There's a lot of stuff to do within a few miles of Fair Park that I like to do, and as far as I'm aware, nothing comparable exists or is planned for anywhere within a few miles of the new stadium in Arlington.

I really really hope the TTech v OSU happens at the Cotton Bowl.

Lionel Hutz

that's just a flat out lie.

I'm a Texas Ex, and I would be hard-pressed to find 1 fellow Texas Ex who wants it moved from the Cotton Bowl. And once we experience the Cotton Bowl renovations first hand, I think the number who want it moved will go down.

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Lakewooder

Marky I know you are probably too young to remember Tom Landry. But many people do and we aren't all dinosaurs yet.

MarkL2023

Actually, we went to the same church but I don't understand your point

Lakewooder

Umm class vs. trash? Don't you remember the Mia's incident?

AeroD

As a Longhorn, I too think it is rather silly to have Texas-OU in Arlington. One reason is because of DART. Just get dropped off at train station and get shuttled to Fair Park and you can eat all the corn dogs you want and drink all the cerveza you want.

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Sky Time

The debate of the UT OU game has been that both schools have made large additions to there own stadiums, that why dont they make it a home and away series instead of dual neutrality? Dallas got its act together and enhanced the Cotton Bowl to keep the schools from playing each other in there own stadiums on campus.

No doubt Jerry has tried to pull the Cotton Bowl Showdown to his new stadium, but the schools for now have accepted tradition and kept it at the Cotton Bowl, does not mean it wont leave for Jerry World at the end of there contract or to there home stadiums. Its not about Jerry World vs Cotton Bowl, its about Cotton Bowl vs UT's and OU's Home Stadiums.

mrowl

its a lie? So you can prove that the majority of fans want to keep it at the cotton bowl?

And I can agree with the renovations changing minds.

rantanamo

As a Longhorn, this sentiment is pretty is to figure out. I've seen a few on the internet say they don't care. But most I see on the internet, at work or at they myriad of Ex's events I attend want the game at the Cotton Bowl. The response to the latest pics and news of the DART expansion even drive that home even more.

TexasStar

Another TexasEx here, and I want the game to remain in the venerable Cotton Bowl.

FoUTASportscaster

Alright, if you want to take it literal, at what point did I say there would be an empty seat?



Only season ticket prices have been established. And as it stands, JJ and the DC want every seat to be a season ticket. So I still stand by my statement.



The debate is on the atmosphere of Fair Park. In order to draw a conclusion about alternatives, such as playing the Red River Rivalry in Arlington, it must be discussed for comparisons sake. No more no less.



My bad, I misread your post. I thought you said he would build a riverwalk in Arlington to give it some atmosphere.



other than a parking lot, what other experience would you suggest we are leaving out of the equation?



And what do you think it is that gets fans going? Atmosphere. If I spend a morning at the Fair, or even just pass through on the way to a game, the excitement in the air from the Fair builds and permeates its way into the stadium. Passing through the Sam Houston parking lot won't cut it. That's why pro teams encourage tailgating, since it builds that excitement before the game. A ride on one of the carney coasters does more to build excitement than going to the library. That's exactly what I mean by atmosphere.



I think OU effectively called UT's bluff on this by saying they'd play their home game every other year at the Cotton Bowl, so instead half the stadium being orange, only 3,000 seats are. Ou recognizes the need to have a presence in the North Texas area for recruiting reasons.

MarkL2023

You are right. You didn't say seats would be empty. But from the perspective Jerry Jones or anyone interested in holding an event there, your point has absolutely no merit. They don't care if people can't afford it if it still sells out and apparently you agree that every seat will be full.

Sky Time

I agree, all the talk was coming from UT because i think UT wanted to get OU out of Texas to keep recruits from going to OU. UT would solve this problem if they beat OU more then once every 4 years.

FoUTASportscaster

Jerry may not care. As the prices have shown, people will pay to go to a Cowboys game. However, I think a lot of events might stray away in time. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in five years, but I think that time is sooner than a lot of people think.

rantanamo

you must be very young

gshelton91

All this will play out over time... but i would say now is the moment that Dallas needs to invest in the Fair Park areas like it did in Downtown. Even at the expense of the Trinity if need be.

With all the vacant land around it should be ripe for re-development--- should be easy to create a great upside for developers here.... if they bring with them the restaurants and bars and shops... the cotton bowl renovation will bring a lot more events

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sterling

The city should invest more in Fair Park. But it shouldn't be at the expense of the Trinity or other already in place financing for other projects. Moving money around from project to project to simulate some sort of fake momentum is little better than "kiting", a scheme used by criminals to keep money moving around so much that people lose track of it. I'll wager there is already too much of that going on.

The city should go ahead and spend the money as a "good faith investment" in Fair Park. Sure, people will gripe. When don't they? But to keep "robbing Peter to pay Paul" by switching goals every election cycle upsets EVERY worthwhile endeavor trying to figure out where it stands with the city money changers.

Don't mix apples with oranges by trying to decide which pet projects are worthy. And once the funds are committed, hold the city responsible for completion. Otherwise, NO quality of life project will feel safe from the whims of funders, and ALL of them will move forward with trepidation, conservatively waiting for their funding to be stripped and passed down the pike to "this year's squeaky wheel". This kind of "fear" results in many half-assed projects that never quite meet their goals or rise to their original intentions.

In a city-plex that thinks of itself as wealthy (boasting so many millionaires and billionaires), it is embarrassing how quickly the penny-pinching dominates the discussion. I wish politicians could envision the future of the city with the same passion they view their own relatively short time in the limelight.

mjblazin

The adult approach is to pick one project, not projects, and fund it. I assume penny pinching = only spending what we can afford. It's our failure to focus that drives the "kiting." Contrary to some perceptions, Dallas City Government is not a rich. We can't afford to be frittering away our limited funds on sideshows.

By numerous votes, the Trinity is that one project. So be it. We've decided to take on the mortgage. Now we need to stop talking about buying the boat, the Maserati, and the round the world cruise.

INTX dave

Since regular season college football games rarely play outside of their home stadiums, Dallas (DFW) is fortunate to have the one big one it has. All of the newly announced games in Arlington are an even greater accomplishment for both the Jones/Cowboy organization and the DFW area.

I certainly understand the attraction for these schools to play in such an impressive new stadium and on the home turf of the legendary Cowboys. However, I still believe this allure will wear off after only a few years - the stadium won't be as new, other big stadiums will be built emulating its best features, and the appeal of playing an out of town game in suburban Arlington will be weak. It seems to me that many of these new match-ups will be short-lived. A return to home and home series will be an attractive option

My earlier point is that the region may have an opportunity to keep some of these out of town rivalry games coming to the area after the initial appeal of the new Cowboys Stadium wears off. When the teams contemplate a return to home-home series, the festivities of the State Fair and a reasonably up to date and competitive Cotton Bowl could keep some games here longer term.

It may be a long shot, but I think the opportunity is there.

DallasNative62

I am also a Texas Ex and agree that the game needs to stay at the Fair or go home and home. One factor that people might overlook is that TX OU seats are given out on a priority basis to season ticket holders based on how much they donate, not on seniority.

Therefore, its a major fund raiser for the schools, if it were to go to a home and home, a lot of Dallas based season ticket holders would probably quit donating as much to ensure TX OU seats.

Aside from the financial impact, I cannot imagine UT agreeing to go to a sterile stadium in Arlington for a football game and forsaking 100 plus years of tradition and the best setting for College Football in America

Lakewooder

Thank you. Also the Cotton Bowl is known as 'their place' whereas the Traitor Dome will be associated with Arkansas arriviste Jerry Jones.

chicago_transplant

The biggest problem with going to a Home & Home in Arlington would be the required seats that the schools would have to give up. Every other "neutral site" college game that is hosted in a NFL stadium sets aside tickets for the game for the PSL/season ticket holders in the stadium. So, for a game like last year's Kansas v. Missouri game (#2 v. #3 in the country at the time) in Arrowhead at Kansas City, you had 20% of the tickets going to Chiefs season ticket holders and not (necessarily) alumni of KU or MU.

I highly doubt UT or OU wants tons of random Aggie fans hanging out at their game.

MarkL2023

There are aggie fans?

mrowl

thats not true. The aTm-arky series is getting all the seats. The PSL ONLY covers cowboys games. Suites are different.

mrowl

I don't know about ut, but at OU, your years as a season ticket holder does matter in the draw for OU-TX tickets.

chicago_transplant

Really? That would be surprising to me because it's contrary to how Chicago, KC & Carolina do business at their stadiums.

NThomas

I don't know if this has been brought up here before but I was reading this on gomeangreen.com about the Army-Navy Game. I also double posted in the JerryWorld thread as it is mentioned in here.



Can State Fair of Texas, Inc. afford $4 million price tag for this game? It would defiantly would be worth it if nothing more then the exposure but that seems like a lot of money. The extra 23k seats in the Cotton Bowl would be nice compared to where the game is being played now but JerryWorld could have an extra 40k seats...

NThomas

I found this rendering that was new to me... Anyone else ever seen this or know if it'll be incorporated into the expansion?

http://www.3rddegree.net/wp-content...ney-lobby-c.jpg

^ The picture is huge or else I would have attached it along with the post

mjblazin

Army Navy might be a good fit for the Cotton Bowl. I had wondered about it, but figured the CB would not pay for the transportation of the Brigade and Corps. The transportation arrangement at Fair Park would also be better because you'd have 8,000+ cadets/midshipmen ready to party with no cars. The alumni would find a way to fill the stadium, even if we have to buy seats and send ringers (usually relatively young soldiers and sailors up for a free trip and game - again more people needing transportation and wanting to party). The luxury boxes in Arlington, while not a negative, would not really be the draw felt at other institutions. It's not really cool among the alumni, no matter how well-heeled, to be behind glass, sipping wine, for that game. For various reasons, corporate parties like I'm sure you'd see at UT/OK or other big games are not big deals either.

The alumni and students really don't care about the tradition of the CB or the art deco architecture. The support here is very good as SMU and UT-Denton have found when they scheduled home games with one of the schools. Though not in the singular elite category of the Notre Dame fanbase, these schools can deliver all across the country.

Double Wide

The Glass in those luxury Boxes completely opens up to allow them to feel the crowd and hear the excitement.

CTroyMathis

I'd certainly dig an Army-Navy game being played in town (or the area).

DFWCRE8TIVE

Cotton Bowl stadium pulls out of Army-Navy game bidding
10:20 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 5, 2008
By BRANDON GEORGE / The Dallas Morning News
bgeorge@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...vy.33da12f.html

Cotton Bowl stadium officials are no longer interested in bringing the Army-Navy football game to Fair Park, State Fair of Texas president Errol McKoy said Tuesday.

McKoy had expressed interest three weeks ago in bringing the game to the refurbished Cotton Bowl stadium after news broke that bidding among cities for future Army-Navy games would begin.

McKoy said the major hang-up was that the winning bidder had to pay for transporting the entire Naval Academy and West Point student bodies – about 8,000 students – to the game each year. McKoy estimated that cost at around $5 million and added that there was nothing in place to help offset those costs.

"It was a little bit too rich for us," McKoy said.

The Army-Navy game has primarily been played in Philadelphia during the series' 118-year history but now could land anywhere across the nation.

Cowboys representatives have expressed interest in moving the game to the team's new $1.1 billion stadium in Arlington, set to open in 2009.

A Cowboys spokesman said the team is exploring its options related to hosting the game.

Alamo Bowl president and CEO Derrick Fox told the San Antonio Express-News last month that he plans to look into bringing the game to San Antonio.

jredallas

Cotton Bowl to host Texas Southern vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...wl.304c61f.html

07:22 PM CDT on Monday, August 11, 2008

By BOBBI ROQUEMORE / The Dallas Morning News
broquemore@dallasnews.com

The Cotton Bowl has added a major sporting event Thanksgiving weekend as it hosts the Dallas Lone Star Classic football game between Texas Southern and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The game is scheduled for Nov. 29 at 2:30 p.m.

The Lone Star Classic represents a coup for Fair Park and the Cotton Bowl because it will be held on a day when the stadium is otherwise quiet, said Daniel Huerta, executive general manager of Fair Park.

"This is going to add another mix to that long weekend and provide a new option for people to come out," Huerta said. "For families that may be in town for the Thanksgiving holidays, you now have a football game that you can go to at the Cotton Bowl."

Fair Park and BE Entertainment, the game's promoter, have a one-year contract for the game at the Cotton Bowl.

Antonio Everette, managing partner of BE Entertainment, said bringing Pine Bluff football to the Cotton Bowl made sense.

"Dallas is the No. 1 destination for Arkansas-Pine Bluff graduates," he added, "and for the last two years, we haven't had any big classics to go off and play in."

MarkL2023

pathetic

NThomas

Yeah its another weekend the stadium won't go unused but they could only sign a one-year agreement? Regardless of the teams, a renovation of this scale shouldn't just necessitate one Division I-FCS (the old I-AA) game; it should be a series at least.

rantanamo

Columbus Civil

Look at all of that wasted money.

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MarkL2023

We should be glad it isn't a series. That means the CB can negotiate with other teams (hopefully better) for the following years.

Lakewooder

Thank you rantanamo - I think it looks nice - Jerry's monstrosity would have overwhelmed the park and destroyed its historic feeling. I had enough trepidation about even doing this much.

Kelley USA

Looks good! If it does nothing but retain the TX / OU game then I say its worth it! But I think in the long run this will continue to attract games- probably not the big schools- but still better than nothing!

TexasStar

Beautiful stadium. I'm proud!

DFWCRE8TIVE

Breaking News: Park Board Approves Selling Naming Rights to Cotton Bowl
Thu Sep 04, 2008 at 12:39:08 PM
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unf...board_appro.php

For years, folks have whispered that perhaps one day, the city might consider selling the naming rights to the 76-year-old Cotton Bowl in Fair Park. After all, maintaining The House That Doak Built is an expensive proposition with, some would insist, dwindling rewards hardly worth the $50 million worth of just-completed upgrades. The AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic will move to the Dallas Cowboys' new digs in Arlington in January 2010. Texas-OU is committed only through 2015. The annual Prairie View A&M-Grambling State showdown does not yet have a long-term commitment. And the August 19 announcement of the Dallas Lonestar Classic, featuring Texas Southern and Arkansas-Pine Bluff on November 29, also did not come with a multi-year commitment.

But moments ago, rumors became reality: During a meeting of the Administration and Finance Committee of the Park and Recreation Board, officials voted to proceed with looking for a corporation to buy up the naming rights to the Cotton Bowl. As in: "The city attorney will draft an amendment to the State Fair of Texas's contract [with the city], and the State Fair will hire a third-party company to solicit naming rights for the Cotton Bowl," Mark Jarrell, senior manager of Fair Park, tells Unfair Park.

Jarrell expects State Fair officials to begin soliciting offers as soon as the city attorney amends the contract, which will happen "in four to six weeks, probably," says Jarrell. But the city council will have to sign off on the sale. And "after we get a sponsor," Jarrell says, it will go in front of the Landmark Commission -- since, as Jarrell says, "the company that buys the naming rights will want to put their company name's on the structure, and since [Fair Park] is a historic landmark, we have to get their permission to make that change."

But the city wants to see "what's out there, who might be interested," Jarrell says. And the money raised will go toward attracting more games and toward the Cotton Bowl's maintenance fund.

As for how much money the city's looking at, Jarrell guesstimates it won't be more than "$500,000 to $1 million a year," with the city looking for no less than a 10-year contract with the corporation that ultimately ponies up the dough. And he doesn't think the Classic's move to Arlington will hamper efforts to woo a suitor.

"You still have Texas-OU, which was a bigger draw than the Cotton Bowl Classic, and Prairie View-Grambling, in addition to the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Texas Southern game that was just announced. And now that the renovations are done, we've gotten interest from spring football leagues and from some international soccer federations, so I think while we're sad to see the Classic leave, I don't think it'll hurt us that much."

And for those worried that the name itself will be eradicated by the selling of naming rights, Jarrell says you need not worry at all.

"Cotton Bowl will have to stay in the name," he says. "It will not ever be the Federal Express Bowl. It would have to the Southwest Airlines Cotton Bowl or whatever. That is one of our requirements.

NThomas

Can't say I didn't see this coming... :mumbles: But if it helps with renovations and expansions at Fair Park I'm down with it.

cowboyeagle05

It would be interesting if AT&T sponsored the Fair Park Cotton Bowl and the Cowboys new stadium in Arlington especially since they already sponsor the Cotton Bowl Classic which will move to the Cowboys new stadium, talk about confusion. Hopefully it will not be as bad as "SuperYellowPages.com Cotton Bowl" talk about stationary printing costs.

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NThomas

The gates have changed. Instead of being numbered their now lettered.

mdg109

I haven't been to the cotton bowl in a while. That picture^ just brought back good memories of Dallas Burn games. Thanks!