Cotton Bowl Renovations

[Cheesesteak]

Friday, October 7, 2005
Dallas mayor 'confident' UT-OU game will stay put
Associated Press l ESPN College Football

DALLAS -- Confident the city won't lose the Texas-Oklahoma football game, Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said Friday that voters could be presented with a bond referendum next year to help fund renovations of as much as $50 million to the decaying Cotton Bowl.

Miller said a public bond is one of several financing options to spruce up the outdated stadium, which both schools insist must be upgraded to prevent the game from becoming a home-and-home series as early as 2008.

Without committing to an exact price tag, Miller said planned upgrades could cost as much as $50 million. Miller said she would like the schools to make a new 10-year commitment to a renovated Cotton Bowl within the next three months.

"It's one thing to say to the teams we're going to upgrade it,'' said Miller, who added that not all the funding would necessarily come from a bond. "It's another thing to actually have a bond that has been approved by the voters.''

The schools are committed to keeping the series at Fair Park in Dallas through 2008, but can opt out after the 2007 game.

Since 1929, the border rivalry has been played in Dallas, roughly halfway between the campuses in Norman, Okla., and Austin. The stadium is equally divided between burnt orange-clad Texas fans and crimson-wearing Sooners and surrounded by the State Fair of Texas.

Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said Wednesday he wants to keep the game in Dallas, but is not optimistic. He said he would find it difficult for the city to commit so much money to a stadium that hosts only a handful of games each year, adding that he doesn't "want to tell Dallas what to do with their stadium.''

Dodds also denied that he supports a home-and-home series simply because it would mean increased revenue for his athletic program. He said Texas and Oklahoma earn $2 million each year playing in the Cotton Bowl. If the series alternated between Austin and Norman, Okla., Dodds said the home school would make $4 million.

Dodds said he hopes the game's future will be resolved within the next year.

"Dallas needs to make up its mind,'' Dodds said. "We need to get it decided and behind us.''

Miller said the upgrades would likely happen in two phases, with the first phase aimed at adding a still undetermined number of seats to the stadium. Four thousand seats were added this year to the Cotton Bowl, increasing its capacity to 76,000.

She said among the requests the schools have made are improvements to the scoreboard and stadium sound system. Miller said the schools also want to see the addition of a club for alumni and a hall-of-fame museum to show prospective recruits, all of which Miller said are both reasonable and doable.

Miller's plans for the Cotton Bowl include having a college football game every weekend during the monthlong fair. The city has been trying to lure Texas A&M and Texas Tech to play its annual game at Fair Park.

She said she also wants to see large video screens sprinkled throughout the park so that fairgoers can watch the games.

Because fans from both schools are largely in favor of keeping the game in Dallas, Miller said it will be difficult for the game to leave Fair Park.

"I'm very optimistic that because they can't duplicate the (atmosphere) on their own, that as long as we do what we need to do to satisfy the team....I am absurdly optimistic that the teams will stay here,'' Miller said.

[Paladin]

I want to see the game continue in Dallas, but what UT and OU are doing is extorsion. Why do they need a museum to show recruits ? Isn't the game itself enough...

[Mexmustang]

That door closed when downtown Dallas lost the Rangers, then Laura lost the Cowboys. No way people will pony up for $50MM for one game a year when the athletic directors won't agree to a long-term commitment. The Cottin Bowl will eventually have to move to Jerryville if it hopes to become BCS. Good ridence to both professional teams, this should be our town anyway.