After the unveiling of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV logo, the Dallas Cowboy new stadium in Arlington is buzzing with activity – both on and off the field.
At a press conference held May 5 at the stadium’s construction site, Super Bowl XLV Host Committee members released the Super Bowl’s logo, which refers to the game as the North Texas Super Bowl, as well as announced efforts to raise private funds for the game.
Meanwhile, behind the press conference stage, an estimated 1,200 members of construction crews worked to complete the stadium’s arches that will house the structure’s football field.
“This is going to be a great thing for all of North Texas,” said Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck.
“Everyone is working hard to make sure of that.”
Ross Perot Jr. announced that he will begin the assimilation of corporate sponsorships with the price tag of $1 million each for the 2011 game to be held in Arlington.
Perot said he and former Dallas Cowboys stars, such as Troy Aikman, will be hitting the sponsorship trails immediately to sell 15 Founding Sponsorships for $1 million each. Four sponsorships have already been secured from the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, Dallas residents Ted and Shannon Skokos, Dallas development firm The Staubach Co. and Perot’s Hillwood Development Co.
“Never in the history of the Super Bowl has a host committee established a sponsorship program as bold and ambitious as our Founding Sponsorship Program,” Perot said in a prepared statement. “Of course, no Super Bowl has yet been played in North Texas.”
Designed by HKS Architects Inc., the new home of the Cowboys will open in 2009 and could accommodate up to 125,000 fans. The stadium will feature arches that span the length of the stadium, a retractable roof and the world’s tallest end-zone plazas, which will stand 120 feet high and 180 feet wide and will be made of glass.
Original estimates for the stadium’s cost were $650 million. Current estimates are $1.1 billion.
Arlington voters approved tax increases in 2004 to help Jones cover the mounting costs of the stadium and pledged to contribute $325 million in exchange for Jones covering any over-running costs. The National Football League will provide an additional $150 million for the stadium’s construction.
Planning for the North Texas Super Bowl will be in the hands of the Super Bowl Host Committee, which will be chaired by Roger Staubach, former Dallas Cowboy and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback.
Bill Lively, president and CEO of Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, will serve as president.
After all 15 of the $1 million sponsorships have been confirmed, Perot said he and his team of former football players will begin campaigning for smaller increments of sponsorships beginning with $500,000 sponsors.
“This is like the Olympics for us and we are excited to begin approaching companies,” Perot said.
The event’s namesake – the North Texas Super Bowl – gives credit to all participating cities, Cluck said.
“We’ll play the game in Arlington, but everybody will enjoy the benefits of hosting the Super Bowl here so we never wanted to go with one certain city,” he said.
No name has yet been announced for the stadium, though Jones has reportedly been in talks with several Fortune 500 companies both in and out of the United States for naming rights.
Roads surrounding the stadium, however, have already been spoken for.
The stadium is located on Baird Farm Road just blocks from the Texas Rangers’ Ballpark in Arlington.
At the May 6 Arlington City Council meeting, city leaders announced they would rename the newly constructed portion of Baird Farm Road from Interstate 30 to Division Street to Legends Way. Rogers Street from Collins Street to Stadium Drive will become Cowboys Way.
Deputy City Manager Trey Yelverton, however, told council members that Legends Way will be a temporary name until the stadium’s naming rights have been sold. Legends Way will then be named after the company that buys the complex’s naming rights.
With sponsorships already in play, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert said the Super Bowl will undoubtedly be an enormous economic generator for the North Texas region.
The Arizona Host Committee announced recently that Super Bowl XLII, which was held this year, generated $500.6 million of economic impact in the greater Phoenix region – the largest economic impact in the history of the Super Bowl.
Leppert said the North Texas Super Bowl will bring an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 fans to the Metroplex and will generate record-breaking economic impact numbers for the area as well as “value from marketing that will last well into the next decade,” he said.
