A private group yesterday unveiled its $120M plan to
privately finance a project that would dome the Cotton Bowl
Stadium, a project backers say could help Dallas lure events such
as the Final Four and Super Bowl. The task would be largely
financed by 25-year options for premium seats in the facility,
with the goal for completion set for '98. The group, headed by
former Dallas mayoral candidate Darrell Jordan, would call itself
the "Cotton Bowl Foundation." The group hopes enough money can
be raised from luxury box expansion, concessions, naming rights
and advertising to fund the remainder of the project. They also
believe a domed Cotton Bowl could add several big-name college
football games to a schedule that includes Oklahoma-Texas, the
Cotton Bowl Classic and SMU (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/28).
Columnist Frank Luksa writes the project seems "more crackpot
than crackerjack," since the Bowl has lost Tier I bowl status,
"the Cotton Bowl as a field is perceived as doomed rather than
domed." However, he adds, "At least they have a plan. No one
else does" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/28).