GOODBYE TO FAIR PARK
By Steve Richardson, Football Writers Association of America

After 73 years, the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic game bids Fair Park adieu.

A game initially called "Sanford's Folly" because of the difficulties finding teams and a solid financial footing, the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic eventually became a staple on the football landscape, providing a perfect setting for some of the great college games over eight decades.

There are snap shots galore, all caught in one of the game's grand old stadiums that was built at the height of the Depression in 1930, then expanded in the 1940s, remolded in the early 1990s and completely enclosed recently with an additional 16,000 seats in upper tiers in the end zones. With its current capacity of 88,175, the Fair Park site has one last hurrah before the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic moves to Jerry Jones' state-of-the-art Cowboys Stadium in Arlington in January, 2010...

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HISTORY OF FAIR PARK/COTTON BOWL STADIUM 1921-2000

Fair Park Stadium
1921-1930

The original 15,000-seat Fair Park football stadium was built in 1921, entirely of wood, just beyond the south end of the racetrack. In what surely qualifies as the earliest Texas Centennial event on record, the stadium opening celebrated the discovery and settlement of the Lone Star State. Local retailers sponsored a social event with an elaborate cast in costumes performing before stands filled with citizens dressed in elegant gowns. Many thought the stadium was a "white elephant" and that it would never be filled for a football game. However, as early as 1923, the stadium was sold out when SMU played Baylor.

Fair Park/Cotton Bowl Stadium
1930-1948

In 1930, the wooden structure was razed, and construction began on a new crescent bowl in the center of the fairgrounds on the racetrack infield. The playing surface was 24-feet below ground, and a 46-foot embankment was built up from the field. Concrete and redwood were used to construct seating for 46,200 spectators at a cost of $328,000. The outside slopes were landscaped, and the largest stadium in the South was surrounded by 60 acres of parking. The inaugural event on October 7, 1930, attracted 46,000 fans for a high school football game between the North Dallas Bulldogs and the Sunset Bisons. In 1936, Fair Park Stadium was officially renamed the Cotton Bowl in recognition of the fact that "more cotton was raised within 200 miles of Dallas than any other town in America and because Dallas was the largest interior spot cotton market in the world", according to A. Starke Taylor, President of the Dallas Cotton Exchange.

Cotton Bowl Stadium
1948-1993

In 1948, the superstructure was built and the west side of the stadium double-decked at a cost of $1.28 million increasing capacity to 67,431. The construction was financed through the sale of bonds allowing the bond holders priority for events in the stadium. Demand for tickets to sporting events in North Texas reached an all-time high in the late 1940s, due primarily to the popularity of SMU halfback and Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker.

Just one year later in 1949, an upper deck was added to the east side of the stadium at a cost of $400,000, increasing capacity to 75,504. Additional improvements included new locker rooms, sprinkler system, lighting for night games and a three-story press box. The cost of construction was funded through the sale of ticket options. With renovations complete, a field level retaining wall was the only remaining part of the original bowl, but the "House That Doak Built" began to attract record crowds. The first big-time college football doubleheader in history was played in the Cotton Bowl on October 14, 1950 featuring Oklahoma vs. Texas and SMU vs. Oklahoma A&M. The stadium was filled with more than 150,000 spectators watching three of the nation's top four teams in action.

The Cotton Bowl took on a new look again in 1968. Custom- designed aluminum chair back seats, brightly painted in turquoise and white, were installed, reducing seating capacity to 72,032. The public address system was updated, scoreboards added, and a coating of Resto Crete gave the stadium a new white exterior. On New Year's Day 1970, a pivotal game in Cotton Bowl history was played between Notre Dame and #1 ranked Texas. The Fighting Irish, who had not participated in bowl games for 45 years because of school policy, accepted a bid to play in the Cotton Bowl Classic. In the spring after that famous game, a revolutionary artificial playing surface called AstroTurf was first installed, and was replaced three times in its 23-year history.

Cotton Bowl Stadium
1994-2000

In preparation for 1994 World Cup Soccer, the Cotton Bowl underwent a $14-million renovation. The artificial surface was removed for the final time as Bermuda Tifway sod was planted in April, 1993. Additionally, the playing field was widened for soccer, dropping stadium capacity to 71,456. The press box was enlarged and fully renovated as a part of an 11-story west side stadium expansion. The eyes of the world were once again on the Cotton Bowl as quarterfinal hosts for the World Cup and Fair Park as the location for the International Broadcast Center. Also, the first sporting event of the new millennium was played in the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 2000, when Arkansas met Texas in the 64th Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic.