Cotton Bowl's New Venue

Didnt they just renovate the Cotton Bowl?

 

Let me know when they change the time of the bowl game.

 

The Cotton Bowl wasn't in "east Texas," it was in Dallas. As a resident of a northern suburb of Dallas, most of us are pretty furious that Dallas mayor Laura Miller didn't even seem to try to get the Cowboys stadium in Dallas. She let Arlington have it (I just wrote a blurb for The Dallas Morning News about that being her legacy.)

Now, the Cotton Bowl is going to be in Arlington, too. Obviously, the facilities will be a thousand times better, but an awful lot of tradition goes down the drain with this move. The Red River Shootout will follow after the 2010 season.

A previous poster asked about Cotton Bowl renovations. None have been done yet, but a $30 million bond issue was just passed for that. I'm not sure why they should bother anymore.

 

Thanks, and yeah, no need to improve that much now.

 

How much of a difference will the move make in regards to attendance?

 

I think you're probably right on this, StaceyO. Seems like a lot of folks want to give it up and make it a home and home. Common argument I hear from Texas fans is it's too difficult to get a ticket to the Shootout, even with a sizable contribution to the university. Folks tell me that it'll be better to get to see it in Austin every other year than not at all.

Attendance for the Cotton Bowl should be better the new stadium, (1) larger venue, and (2) with the retractable roof, fans won't have to worry about the unpredictable January weather in Dallas.

Personally, I like traditions. But this one indeed seems in jeopardy.

 

Most NFL stadiums have a smaller amount of seats than most college stadiums have. That's why I asked about attendance. Granted, if the weather is inclimate, I can see the #'s being better for the bowl game, but if it's a nice day outside?

The capacity used to be at just over 68K. Last season, they pulled the old seats out and put in bleachers...that undoubtably boosted the capacity numbers, at least, I would think it would.

Texas stadium, on the other hand, was just over 65K.

 

That's a good point, and I'm not sure, but I think the capacity in the new Cowboys stadium is going to be larger than Texas Stadium's.

I've lived in Dallas for 10 years now and there was only one New Year's Day when there was snow/ice. I know it had happened before then, too, but the inclement weather element is not the big issue--the palatial new stadium 20 miles west is the issue.

 

This is a great move for them. They'll actually be able to sell tickets to the game now.

However, Les & LSU are still pissed at the Cotton Bowl board for leaking that we went to meet with them before the SECCG... Word is that Miles wants nothing to do with them. I doubt we accept a bid from them for the foreseeable future unless its our only decent option.