if lsu is going to play a neutral site game, they should alternate between new orleans and houston...
There was an article in the in the Dallas Morining News about this: Will more teams pick Cotton? Dallas: Officials confident that stadium upgrades will draw big games, big money 10:53 PM CDT on Saturday, May 20, 2006 By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News Expect the announcement of one, and possibly two, new college football games at Dallas' Cotton Bowl sometime this year. Likewise, look for a $3 million Cotton Bowl video screen in time for games played this autumn during the State Fair of Texas. And envision, maybe by the next decade and perhaps sooner, a renovated and expanded Cotton Bowl playing host to a half-dozen or more college football contests each season. So says State Fair president Errol McKoy, who is bullish about the fortunes of Fair Park's 76-year-old stadium, particularly after the University of Texas' decision this month to continue playing the University of Oklahoma in Dallas through 2010. "We're going to have a lot of activity in the future. The Cotton Bowl is going to get tremendous utilization," Mr. McKoy said last week. Since Texas and Oklahoma on May 4 ended months of gridiron gridlock, "the level of interest in the Cotton Bowl has increased exponentially," he said. "There has been a resurgence of interest." Mr. McKoy said he or his associates have talked with about two dozen college football programs about playing at the Cotton Bowl, among them Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University, Oklahoma State University, the University of Arkansas, Louisiana State University and the University of Notre Dame. "And just about the bulk of the Big 12 teams we've had some sort of discussion with," Mr. McKoy said, adding that he's also talked with other schools from the Southeastern Conference and Conference USA, but not mentioning names. He said that he's talked with ESPN and Fox Sports about televising weeknight games and that they appear interested. Hosting a college football game before or after the State Fair is also a possibility, Mr. McKoy said. "Trying to get a long-term game with Notre Dame may necessitate something in November," he said. To date, the Cotton Bowl hosts three annual football games: Texas vs. Oklahoma, Grambling State University vs. Prairie View A&M University and the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic on New Year's Day. City officials have long lusted for additional contests. Each one generates millions of dollars for Dallas' economy as thousands of nonresidents fill hotel rooms, restaurants, bars and shops. But had Texas and Oklahoma not agreed to play at the Cotton Bowl beyond 2008, the final year of their previous contract, key Dallas officials said they may have opposed significant Cotton Bowl investments, leaving it to languish. That won't be happening. The State Fair, which leases the Cotton Bowl from Dallas' city government while conducting the fair, has itself this month begun $20 million worth of "phase one" renovations to the stadium, Mr. McKoy said. Selling stadium naming rights, which Mr. McKoy noted may take months or years, and asking the city to waive its annual lease charge are two financing options he says State Fair officials are considering. Meanwhile, Dallas City Hall plans to include $30 million worth of "phase two" improvements within its 2006 bond program, on which residents are slated to vote in November. Officials hope the renovations prove that the city is serious about reversing the Cotton Bowl's slide into obsolescence. The improvements include expanding capacity to more than 92,000 people, replacing seats, creating a new façade, and installing new bathrooms, concessions, electronics, lighting and audio systems. "We're fairly confident we'll double the number of games," said Willis Winters, Dallas' Park and Recreation Department assistant director. "We really believe we will have one of the premier college football venues in the nation." Colleges will probably be most interested in playing an annual game at an expanded Cotton Bowl – more seats mean more tickets sold, and therefore, more money – and because of North Texas' venerable high school football talent, from which they recruit while in Dallas. If Dallas voters in November approve renovation funding included in the city's 2006 bond program, "I expect interest in playing at the Cotton Bowl will be pretty fast and furious right afterward," said Craig Holcomb, executive director of Friends of Fair Park, an advocacy organization. "I don't see any stumbling blocks, just a lot of hard work ahead. And hard work itself is not a stumbling block." Other events, such as national or international soccer games, may also fit well inside a refurbished Cotton Bowl, Mr. McKoy said. The new games would come at a time when the Cotton Bowl's namesake game, the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, could find itself moving at some point 20 miles west to Arlington. The Dallas Cowboys' domed stadium is scheduled to open in 2009. And Cotton Bowl game directors want their contest to become a top-tier college bowl game, which given Dallas' unpredictable January weather will probably require a roof. All the more reason, Dallas City Council member Bill Blaydes said, to rebuild the Cotton Bowl and bolster its game schedule as soon as possible. "It will be a home run for our city if we can pull that off," Mr. Blaydes said.
Because the Cotton Bowl is doing this with specific TV contracts and other sources of income that you would not realize at home. My understanding is that if A&M and TTU sign a contract it will generate more dollars for each school than if they had a home and home. I can see how it would work for TTU as their stadium holds under 60,000, but the big SEC stadiums need to be filled. I guess they are trying to set up a Cotton Bowl Game of the Week.
My feeling . . . an LSU game at the Cotton Bowl vs a Big 12 opponent will not be a neutral site. Better than a game at Texas or Oklahoma, for sure, but not neutral. We surely won't give up a home game for it. Dallas is not a really fun trip for LSU fans in south Louisiana and there aren't enough local LSU fans to fill half the stadium, IMO. I don't think it will help LSU's recuiting in Texas much. Most of the players LSU gets from Texas are well south and east of Dallas.
Skip was clear last night at the Tiger Tour here in Dallas that a Cotton Bowl game made no sense for LSU and probably would not happen.
I don't think it makes sense, either. It would just be fun for those of us up here in Dallas. I'm actually surprised at the lack of love for Dallas on this thread. There are plenty of great restaurants--and even a few seafood places that are decent. Don't get me wrong, south Louisiana will ALWAYS hold a place in my heart as HOME--but I imagine I'll probably live in north Texas for the rest of my life. It's a really great place to live--except for the really hot summers.
Well, the article states that one reason why LSU is interested in the Cotton Bowl idea is they're struggling to find high-profile schools willing to come to Tiger Stadium. Notre Dame is kind of the exception, but otherwise it makes much less sense for, say, an LSU-Oklahoma State matchup in Dallas, hence the "one team has to be from Texas" comment.
If they really are considering a neutral site for a game, I think Houston would be the perfect spot. Reliant Stadium holds about 70,000. It's an easy drive from BR. We recruit that area. Lots of pluses and no negatives that I can think of. Do a 50/50 ticket split with A&M or Texas. Maybe even Texas Tech, though I'm not sure how big a draw they would be. I used to enjoy going over to Houston to play Rice back in the old days ... it was a fun trip.
Yea, I remember we could bring in an ice chest full of beer (into the stands!) and watch LSU beat the crap out of Rice. I sort of miss those politically incorrect days.:champs:
