Arlington, Texas Super Bowl Bid Committee Formed; Appilcation Due April 2, 2007

Panel launches Super Bowl bid
By SALLY CLAUNCH
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
IRVING — North Texas leaders are launching a regional push to get the area’s first Super Bowl game, which would be played at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium in 2011, Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said Thursday at a meeting of the North Texas Commission.

Cowboys officials plan to work with area leaders to select a Super Bowl bid committee to put together an application package, said George Bayoud, a team adviser and lead negotiator in the Cowboys’ stadium deal.

The bid committee will raise money to pay a coordinator and cover costs associated with preparing the application. The Dallas law firm Winstead, Sechrest and Minick will offer the committee pro bono help, Bayoud said.Donations could also come from groups such as hotel and motel associations, whose members would benefit from more visitors coming to the area, or corporations.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that Arlington is a good location and that the city is about 18 or 19 minutes from downtown Dallas and downtown Fort Worth.

“We really are in the heart of all of the action,” he said. “Of course, we need 88,000 hotel rooms if we’re going to have upwards of over 200,000 people associated with the game coming to the area. And that’s why every city in this area and every business and restaurant will benefit from having this Super Bowl.”

A Super Bowl in Arlington could have a $400 million impact on North Texas, Cluck said, although the economic benefit of such large events have been debated by experts.

The commission, made up of North Texas business leaders and elected officials, unanimously approved a resolution Thursday calling for a regional effort to bring the Super Bowl to North Texas.

Cluck, surrounded by Cowboys officials and mayors from other Metroplex cities, said having the game here would benefit the whole area, not just Arlington.

“We plan to bring many Super Bowls to our city and our region over the next 30 years,” he said.

Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said she is looking forward to Super Bowl fans coming to the area, staying at hotels in Dallas and spending money in her city.

“Dallas and Fort Worth love a good party, and the Super Bowl is the best party of them all,” Miller said. Dallas and the Cowboys unsuccessfully negotiated to build the stadium in that city.

Irving Mayor Herbert Gears reminded Miller that all the fans flying into D/FW Airport will have to pass by Irving hotels on their way to the stadium.

Miller added that she has faith in Jones’ ability to persuade other team owners to vote to hold the game in Arlington when they decide on the 2011 site in May.

The bid committee must submit an application and bid proposal to the National Football League by April 2.

Pro Football Hall of Fame member Roger Staubach, a former Cowboys quarterback who was also at the meeting, said, “I think one of the fun things we’re going to have to do is show people what this Metroplex is capable of doing. The infrastructure is really in place to support a Super Bowl — with hotels, restaurants and people.”

Staubach, who was Super Bowl MVP in 1972, and is a Dallas businessman, added that NFL owners will see the infrastructure, and that could encourage them to vote for the Arlington venue.

Going after Super Bowl XLV
What happened: Regional leaders agreed Thursday to try to bring the 2011 Super Bowl to the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington. The stadium is under construction and is to open for the 2009 season.

What’s next: A bid committee is being formed. It must submit a proposal to the NFL by April 2. Team owners are expected to vote on the venue in May.