Castiglione: Fans want OU-sexat in Cotton Bowl

[Mississippi Sooner]

Cowboys Stadium may be the shining jewel of the world's football facilities.

A home game in Norman may bring in $30 million to the local economy each autumn weekend.

But moving Oklahoma-Texas out of the Cotton Bowl? Don't count on it, OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said Wednesday.

"We're not even speculating about anything else," Castiglione told a crowd of a few dozen supporters during a Tulsa Sports Charities event at the Silver Flame Steakhouse.

Castiglione pointed out that the current OU-Texas contract with the City of Dallas has the game played at Cotton Bowl Stadium during the Texas State Fair until 2015. He also clarified that Dallas has invested "well over $60 million" to renovate and expand the ancient facility.

"Not sure how many people in this room have been down to the Cotton Bowl since it expanded, but it's a neat deal. It's a really neat deal," Castiglione said. "Now, is it as opulent as Cowboys Stadium? No. But I can tell you, unequivocally, as an athletic director, 9-to-1, I hear — maybe more than that — the vast majority of our fans favor keeping the Red River Rivalry right where it is, the Cotton Bowl Stadium, year after year. I know that."

Castiglione said he's been told that a typical home game brings in $25 million to $30 million to the Norman economy. The Sooners last year got $2.25 million for playing BYU at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington — which is below the usual payday of around $3 million for a home game. The City of Dallas
pays each team $850,000 to come to the State Fair — a cool $1 million each starting in 2012.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/OU/article.aspx?subjectid=92&articleid=20100408_92_B1_OUathl680791

I think Joe has been great for the OU program, but I'm having some trouble with the math in all of this. I'm all about tradition, too, but it's hard for me to see, outside of the recruiting aspect, how the annual game in the Cotton Bowl is such a boon to either school.

[Collier11]

it isnt necessarily financially beneficial but it is beneifical to the program to play OU/tx at the cotton bowl

[Mississippi Sooner]

My biggest problem with the Cotton Bowl has always been that it was made for 1920's-sized people. That makes for a very cozy feeling when you fill it with modern-sized bodies.

[Collier11]

Agreed, its too bad the just didnt build a new stadium as opposed to redoing the current one

[yermom]

my biggest problem is the jumbotron. put one in the Texas end zone too :mad:

on the money aspect, i'd imagine donations coming in from season ticket holders to keep getting Texas tickets make a nice amount of money for OU too

[Herr Scholz]

Hell no, never move that game. It's perfect. The $30M in improvements they made to that stadium were great too.

[Collier11]

I wonder what benefit it is to Dallas now that the Cotton Bowl has left for them to keep improving the stadium for one game a year?

[yermom]

Hell no, never move that game. It's perfect. The $30M in improvements they made to that stadium were great too.

fo sho.

i'm really glad to hear him say this...

[yermom]

I wonder what benefit it is to Dallas now that the Cotton Bowl has left for them to keep improving the stadium for one game a year?

well, there is the other game during the fair

aren't they doing more Big 12 and OOC games there now too?

[Herr Scholz]

I wonder what benefit it is to Dallas now that the Cotton Bowl has left for them to keep improving the stadium for one game a year?

Our game easily brings $30M+ to the Dallas economy that weekend every year. That's why the city ponied up and made those improvements. They have other games there too, just not as big.

[Collier11]

I dont know of any other games that are at Fair Park...Just OU/tx???

[Herr Scholz]

There's a Grambling game there every year plus a lot of high school playoff stuff.

[Collier11]

Gotcha, I didnt realize that

[...sooner]

my biggest problem is the jumbotron. put one in the Texas end zone too :mad:

on the money aspect, i'd imagine donations coming in from season ticket holders to keep getting Texas tickets make a nice amount of money for OU too

AGREED! Gah that is TERRIBLE. i cant see ANYTHING!

[Herr Scholz]

Look, you can either sit by the tunnel or have a jumbotron to look at it. You can't have both. ;)

[soonervegas]

Look, you can either sit by the tunnel or have a jumbotron to look at it. You can't have both. ;)

Yeah, but since they put up the crybaby tarp it hasn't been as fun....

[badger]

The only issue is that it's in Dallas, thus it's more to the state of Texas' benefit to never go home-and-home.

Alas, we've been sending our university's graduates south of the border for virtually everything, so I guess we can send some money too :(

[Jacie]

The argument is tradition over money. The fans, 9-1 according to Joe C., favor the tradition. Since the fans usually get trampled in the rush by the people at the top chasing the money, it is somewhat refreshing to see that this one time the fans win.

In the long run, don't count out Jerry Jones making an attempt to lure the State Fair to Arlington from Dallas just so he can get the RRS . . .

[oudavid1]

Hell no, never move that game. It's perfect.

hot, uncomfortable, and cheap. This is the Red River Rivalry.

[Herr Scholz]

hot, uncomfortable, and cheap. This is the Red River Rivalry.

I don't know about you but I like my beer out of wax paper cups. Don't even get me started about Fletcher's corndogs either.

[thesnowbishop]

With a mention of corny dogs you got me riled up Herr. Last year, maybe two years ago, hell any year possible, some dink in a tube top skirted the edge of the line. She tried to outflank the masses. Burnt orange and crimson and cream united in a brown mad blob to send her to the back of the line.

Keep it at the fair. It's where ostrich boots meet their inner carney. Go Joe C.

[BigTime1]

It is 100% an unrecreatable atmosphere. There truly is nothing like the game with the fair and the things that particular stadium brings to the game. All that and thats not even including the pre/post game activities-buses coming in through a line of crimson and orange each yelling and "gesturing" (depending on their affiliation) at the buses, listening to the bands under the shade trees, and getting to interact with the players as they go to the bus after the game. Without all of these and many others its just another rivalry...not the greatest rivalry and atmosphere ever in college football history. Thanks Joe C. and the other Sooner supporters of keeping it there and also to the Texas supporters. Its cool for all of us and this is one thing we re gonna have to stick together on. If we do it will never be moved...this is one situation where the fans will be heard.

[SunnySooner]

Last year was my first time to go since the renovations, and I thought it looked fine. Even the bathroom lines weren't all that long, and as a chick, that's saying something. It all seemed clean and well-kept, but with a patina of age that reflects the history. In other words, perfect. I hope they never change a thing, because if it ain't broke, DON'T FIX IT!! Even if Jerrah brings a golden hammer to try to do just that.

[virginiasooner]

To quote my beloved mother (class of 1954), "NO! I don't want that many Longhorns in Norman. Keep it in Dallas." She's a smart woman.

[auto]

I will never step in Jerral world, keep it at the Cotton bowl:D

[StoopTroup]

I'd be for moving it to Jerry World as long as we got 10 million and the whorns got $850,000

[janderson255]

Here is a brilliant idea! Actually allow the State of Oklahoma to buy 1/2 of the cotton bowl statium and they can do with it whatever they want. That part of the stadium can actually be considered part of the state of OK. any takers?