This facility was built in 1932 and is the home of the annual Cotton Bowl Classic college football bowl game. The game will be moving to Arlington, Texas, and the Dallas Cowboys New Stadium on New Year’s Day 2010.
The Cotton Bowl now seats 92,100 people, nearly twice what it did when it was first constructed. The city of Dallas invested $57 million in renovating the old stadium to make it a benefit to the city.
The stadium is the location of the Longhorns and Sooners annual Texas-Oklahoma college football game, this game is called the “Red River Shootout”. The game is played during the State Fair of Texas, instead of a campus site. With the upgrading of the stadium, there is little concern that these two teams will leave the area and move to the Dallas Cowboys facility in Arlington.
The Cotton Bowl has a grass surface and has a capacity of 68,252.
Not only is the Cotton Bowl the home of the Sooners and Longhorns game but the Red River Shootout, Grambling State University, and Prairie View A&M University in the State Fair Classic. Along with the game is the Battle of the Bands, which is arguably more eagerly anticipated than the game is.
The stadium has also been a venue for a number of historic concerts, most notably that which featured then 21-year-old Elvis Presley, which took place on October 11, 1956, and attracted what was then the largest audience in Texas history for an outdoor concert, in excess of 27,000.
Many consecutive summers of huge concerts featuring several bands began in July 1978 with the 1st annual Texas Jam, which sold out with over 80,000 attendees. Over the years the Texas Jam featured some of the top-billed headliner bands of the day, including The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Heart, Deep Purple, Boston, Journey, Ted Nugent, Scorpions, Loverboy, Cheap Trick, Van Halen, Blue Öyster Cult, Sammy Hagar, Nazareth, Styx, Foghat, Santana, Eagles, Triumph, and others. Each Texas Jam had a unique lineup of major artists chosen by the promoter. The annual events came to an end in the summer of 1988, when Van Halen headlined the “Monsters Of Rock” tour. Since then, the stadium has continued to be used as a major concert venue; Eric Clapton notably held his first massive 3-day Crossroads Guitar Festival there in 2004.
Tailgating or picnicking in the parking lot is permitted behind your own vehicle but not in an adjacent space.
Throughout the holiday season, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital For Children spotlight the artwork of the annual AT&T Cotton Bowl Art Contest. Each year, elementary students in Dallas submit thousands of illustrations for the contest. Patrons may view the nine winners in the Atrium on the clinic level of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, which is located at 2222 Welborn Street.
Driving Directions:
FROM THE NORTH ON US 75 (Sherman – Plano – Richardson)
Take I-45 South (Houston), Exit 283B (Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd), left on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, then right on Robert B. Cullum Blvd left on Fitzhugh…follow traffic personal instructions to enter parking areas.
or
Take I-30 EAST, Exit 48B (Barry/Munger) Turn Right on Barry which becomes Crosstown then Fitzhugh…follow traffic personal instructions to enter parking areas.
or
Take I-635 East, Exit I-30 West proceed to Dolphin Road Exit 49B, left on Dolphin, right on Haskell, left on Crosstown which becomes Fitzhugh…follow traffic personal instructions to enter parking areas.
FROM THE WEST ON I-30 (Fort Worth -Abilene – Weatherford)
Follow I-30 EAST, Exit 48B (Barry/Munger) Turn Right on Barry which becomes Crosstown then Fitzhugh…follow traffic personal instructions to enter parking areas.
FROM THE EAST ON I-30 (Terrell – Rockwall – Mesquite)
Follow I-30 West to Dolphin Road Exit 49B, left on Dolphin, right on Haskell, left on Crosstown which becomes Fitzhugh…follow traffic personnel instructions to enter parking areas.
FROM THE SOUTH ON I-35E (Austin-Waco)
Follow I-35E North to Downtown Dallas, take Exit 428A (Texarkana) to connect with I-30 East toward Texarkana, take Exit 48B at East Grand / Barry / Munger, turn right on Barry which becomes Crosstown then Fitzhugh. Drivers can utilize the two right lanes along the route since traffic will turn from both right lanes into the parking lot driveways.
NOTE: Due to DART Rail Construction near Fair Park along Parry Avenue, expect delays. All vehicles will be directed to available parking areas as they approach Fair Park and on the grounds. Please be prepared to follow directions and instructions from traffic personnel.
EXITING FAIR PARK: Depending on where you park your car, you may be directed to take a route back to the freeway system different than the one you traveled on the way to the game. To expedite the flow of traffic, five exit routes are used to connect drivers back to the freeway system. Police officers may direct you to an alternate exit route if the primary exit becomes congested. Also, look for the blue state highway route markers along each exit route.
Location: 3750 Midway Plaza, Dallas, Texas 75210