Dallas after a Super Bowl
IRVING, Texas (AP) -- The Dallas Cowboys' sparkling new stadium isn't even close to completion, but local leaders are already planning a Super Bowl.
A group of public officials and business leaders announced Thursday it will bid to bring the 2011 Super Bowl to the Arlington stadium, which is set to open in 2009.
It would be the first Super Bowl for the Dallas area, home to the team that has appeared in an NFL-record eight Super Bowls.
"Dallas and Fort Worth love a great party, and the Super Bowl is the best party of them all," Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said.
The committee must submit a bid to the NFL by April 2, and team owners will vote on it at their meeting in May. Tara Green, director of sports marketing for the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau who will be working full time for the North Texas Bid Committee, said she expects Indianapolis to be the main competition.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach attended the announcement but didn't address reporters. Several committee members are mayors of several cities surrounding Arlington, which is located between Dallas and Fort Worth.
Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said Jones has served in an unofficial advisory role but can have "as much of a role as he wants." Cluck said Jones will be a big help because he knows how the bid process works.
"He has a lot of sway," Cluck said. "Jerry is the key to how this whole thing will work."
Construction started this year for the new 75,000 seat, retractable-roof stadium, two years after Arlington voters approved paying for half of the original $650 million price tag by raising sales, hotel and motel, and car-rental taxes.
Last week, under orders from the Texas attorney general who sided with a Public Information Act request, the team for the first time released architectural drawings of the stadium.
The team, which will keep its Dallas name, has played at Texas Stadium in Irving since 1971.
Although the Cowboys have played in plenty of Super Bowls, their stadium has never been host for the game. The Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers are the only teams to win five Super Bowls.
Houston has hosted the only Super Bowls in Texas, in 1974 and again in 2004. Miami will hold its record-tying ninth Super Bowl in February, joining New Orleans as the most popular host. Sites that have already been announced are 2008 in Glendale, Ariz., 2009 in Tampa and 2010 in Miami.
Green said the Dallas area offers plenty of experience with major events, including the Big 12 tournament, NCAA tournament games, the Breeders Cup and NASCAR races at the Texas Motor Speedway.
"We're not scared of doing big sporting events for the first time here," she said "We haven't had the venue to put us in place for a Super Bowl or a men's Final Four. We have that now."
Cluck said he expects the game would bring 200,000 visitors to the area and generate $400 million in revenue, based on the $336 million Houston took in for its last Super Bowl.
"Hotels will be full, restaurants will be busy, stores will do booming business," he said.
A group of public officials and business leaders announced Thursday it will bid to bring the 2011 Super Bowl to the Arlington stadium, which is set to open in 2009.
It would be the first Super Bowl for the Dallas area, home to the team that has appeared in an NFL-record eight Super Bowls.
"Dallas and Fort Worth love a great party, and the Super Bowl is the best party of them all," Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said.
The committee must submit a bid to the NFL by April 2, and team owners will vote on it at their meeting in May. Tara Green, director of sports marketing for the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau who will be working full time for the North Texas Bid Committee, said she expects Indianapolis to be the main competition.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach attended the announcement but didn't address reporters. Several committee members are mayors of several cities surrounding Arlington, which is located between Dallas and Fort Worth.
Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said Jones has served in an unofficial advisory role but can have "as much of a role as he wants." Cluck said Jones will be a big help because he knows how the bid process works.
"He has a lot of sway," Cluck said. "Jerry is the key to how this whole thing will work."
Construction started this year for the new 75,000 seat, retractable-roof stadium, two years after Arlington voters approved paying for half of the original $650 million price tag by raising sales, hotel and motel, and car-rental taxes.
Last week, under orders from the Texas attorney general who sided with a Public Information Act request, the team for the first time released architectural drawings of the stadium.
The team, which will keep its Dallas name, has played at Texas Stadium in Irving since 1971.
Although the Cowboys have played in plenty of Super Bowls, their stadium has never been host for the game. The Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers are the only teams to win five Super Bowls.
Houston has hosted the only Super Bowls in Texas, in 1974 and again in 2004. Miami will hold its record-tying ninth Super Bowl in February, joining New Orleans as the most popular host. Sites that have already been announced are 2008 in Glendale, Ariz., 2009 in Tampa and 2010 in Miami.
Green said the Dallas area offers plenty of experience with major events, including the Big 12 tournament, NCAA tournament games, the Breeders Cup and NASCAR races at the Texas Motor Speedway.
"We're not scared of doing big sporting events for the first time here," she said "We haven't had the venue to put us in place for a Super Bowl or a men's Final Four. We have that now."
Cluck said he expects the game would bring 200,000 visitors to the area and generate $400 million in revenue, based on the $336 million Houston took in for its last Super Bowl.
"Hotels will be full, restaurants will be busy, stores will do booming business," he said.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:10 PM
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