Facility Notes

NFL Senior VP/Events Frank Supovitz on Friday said that standing-room-only tickets for Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium will be sold for the first time in the event’s 45-year history. The Cowboys have the right to sell 320 SRO tickets inside the building for $350 apiece. Those locations are on stair risers in the corners of the seating bowl. Cowboys season-ticket holders get the first opportunity to buy those tickets. Supovitz said that the Cowboys get about 3,000 regular Super Bowl tickets to offer their season-ticket holders (Don Muret, SportsBusiness Journal). In Sacramento, Victor Contreras notes Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones is "out to break the all-time Super Bowl attendance record of 103,985 fans." The Cowboys will "sell tickets to fans to watch the game on video screens outside the stadium." Contreras: "It's expected the league will allow the total figure -- inside and out" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 1/17).

TURF BATTLES: In Pittsburgh, Ray Fittipaldo noted the Steelers and Ravens Saturday "played on new sod" at Heinz Field thanks to the NHL, which "paid for the new grass surface after staging the Winter Classic" at the stadium on New Year's Day. There also were "an extra 1,300 seats sold for Saturday's playoff game because the NHL put additional seats behind the end zone in the open end of the stadium," increasing attendance to 64,879 (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/16). Meanwhile, Fox' Tony Siragusa reported the turf at Soldier Field for yesterday's Seahawks-Bears game was "really bad." Siragusa: "They had a crew of about 50 people out here trying to fill the holes because where they put the turf together there was a lot of space, so they were trying to put green sand" ("Fox NFL Sunday," Fox, 1/16).

ON THE HUNT AGAIN: In DC, Jonathan O'Connell reports MLS DC United "has renewed its hunt for a stadium in the District," and team President & CEO Kevin Payne said the club has discussed "at least four" sites with city officials. Payne "declined to name or comment on sites," but city officials said that a "leading contender" is Buzzards Point in Southwest DC, where developer Akridge owns nine acres southwest of Nationals Park. Another area the team "has looked at is the Capital City Market" in Northeast DC (WASHINGTON POST, 1/17).

HOT TICKET: In Newark, Ted Sherman noted the Prudential Center "was a hot ticket for concerts and shows last year, doing better than the Izod Center in the Meadowlands for the first time since the Newark arena opened four years ago." Pollstar reported that Prudential Center "sold 358,984 tickets, making it the 24th busiest arena in the world." The 30-year-old Izod Center "saw a big decline," selling 251,319 tickets last year, "ranking it 45th" in the world (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 1/16).