Super Bowl activities (Dallas: to live, eat, rated)

[rantanamo]

Originally Posted by JJG

Maybe the bid was too spread out, but you gotta understand, this is the Super Bowl. And it just so happens to be in an area with more than one big city.

But I guess you're right. The bid should be centered around ONE city. So next time we host (and we WILL), have everything in Fort Worth.


Besides, all this bitching is really coming from the media. But I think we all know that.

I really would not mind if Fort Worth took the reigns of everything. The problem is, Fort Worth does not have the overall venues nor anywhere close to the number of hotel rooms, even high end hotel rooms to keep the bid from being spread out again. Spreading things out to the west really took away the focus on some of the better hosting opportunities away with Dallas being such a north focused city.

The next bid will have some advantages not enjoyed this time around that are certainties:

1.) Relevant rail expansions. DART rail to DFW's terminals will be open. DART rail directly into Las Colinas will be open. Hopefully the lessons learned will be applied. The streetcar system downtown and to Oak Cliff will be open. This could have a huge impact on how people perceive and move around a more centered bid. Places like North Park and Galatyn Park that could nicely host events open up with a more eastern, rail centered bid. The next bid committee MUST emphasize option along the rail and streetcar lines and rail authorities MUST heed lessons learned. Neither was done.

2.) Omni-Hotel Dallas. I imagine the NFL Experience will land at the Dallas Convention Center again. It has been one of the bright spots of the bid. The newly attached hotel would allow the Media Center or NFL HQ to be attached to the same building and a covered attached rail stop. This simple move for the media would likely end the bitching that has been taking place all week. This would also allow a center to the bid, which many are saying is simply missing. Lastly this extra 1,000 plus rooms allows more of a shift east, perhaps freeing up the Sheraton to host the NFC team and allow the AFC team to stay in Las Colinas.

3.) Cowboys indoor facility. This goes along with the end of the last paragraph. The NFC team was to practice at valley ranch originally. Perhaps a shift east would allow the AFC team to practice at a new Valley Ranch indoor facility.

4.) Irving Convention Center. Here is another Dallas County facility that will be accessible by its own rail station. Perhaps not large enough for the NFL Experience, it may be a possible Taste of the NFL host that is directly accessible by its own rail stop and is only 15 minutes from Downtown Dallas.

5.) Museum of Science and Nature and The Park. I think the Arts District expansion was a huge coup as far as tourism in the Downtown Dallas area is concerned. The new museum being one of the most visible and best located venues in the area and presents a significant shift of a world class district to the Woodall Rogers corridor. The mantra that there's nothing do in Dallas pretty much ends at that point for the people in the area. The Park will be street car accessible and perhaps serve as a staging area for some events. Dallas MUST sell this area.

I simply believe this would be a far superior and much more successfully focused bid than having events in every other suburb. This would make not having a car in town much more easy. I would like to see a hotel built in the West Village area as well. Really great opportunity that would open up Uptown to visitors. Deep Ellum also needs one, especially having such a large hospital nearby. It would only help the Fair Park area as a host again and put the vast majority of events in permanent venues because you move the bid to include north Dallas and its suburbs more. Irving, Garland, Richardson even points in North Dallas grossly underutilized because of the feeling that the bid needed to be spread westward. Tarrant County is growing, but it has far less venue-wise than the connected points north. I think the committee got caught up in 3 things; Pleasing points west because of the location of the stadium being in Tarrant County(its only a couple of miles from the Dallas County line), Trying to make this a tourism exercise when it should have been treated as a business exercise, and trying to show people how spread out and leisurely the area is. We also put our low self-esteem as an area on display. Saying that Dallas can't host these types of events is a bunch of hooey. Every year, 14 million business travellers show up to Dallas. Every year, the State Fair is hosted safely and without a hitch and millions pass through the gates there. We host TX-OU every year. We host two NASCAR events every year. We hosted the NBA All-Star game last year that had an attendance bigger than the Super Bowl will have, that had 2/3 of the Super Bowl events and even happened during an all-time record snow fall, and it went off with a hitch. Stop the low self-esteem crap. This area has almost 7 million residents, one of the largest and busiest airports in the world, over 100,000 hotel rooms, one of the largest downtown areas in the country, and one of the largest rail systems in the country(yes it is). We need to get over ourselves and realize this area is big and growing.

As for Miami. There were a ton of complaints with the rain the last two Super Bowls. The NFL has basically threatened, no roof no Super Bowl. Voters actually voted down the roof plan, so the Super Bowl is in real danger of not returning. Here are the plans





so, yes, even in places like Miami and LA, its about the stadium first, at least for this NFL regime. New Orleans had a similar threat, and the Super Dome is going through extensive renovations including a totally rebuilt lower bowl.

[FWForever]

Though Host Committee chairman said the next bid will be the same it'll be interesting to see if Dallas pushes anyway for a lot more events on it's side of the region considering the advancements you noted that the Dallas County will be undergoing. Hard to see Arlington and FW getting behind a more eastern-oriented bid as it seems leadership in both cities felt slighted by the NFL's placement of events for SB XLV.

[rantanamo]

Originally Posted by FWForever

Though Host Committee chairman said the next bid will be the same it'll be interesting to see if Dallas pushes anyway for a lot more events on it's side of the region considering the advancements you noted that the Dallas County will be undergoing. Hard to see Arlington and FW getting behind a more eastern-oriented bid as it seems leadership in both cities felt slighted by the NFL's placement of events for SB XLV.

a.) They don't need to get behind a bid.
b.) Troy Aikman is going to be the new chairman. I've not heard him or see anything quoted about the next bid.
c.) There is no way that Fort Worth or Arlington can truly feel slighted. They are simply not as venue heavy as points east, plus Fort Worth has the Stock show going on. Perhaps they were willing to push that out for more events?
d.) The focus needs to be about the event and the guests, not lining the pockets of every city that we can. That's what makes a good host. Even if the weather was great, we are spread thin. Sundance Square is fantastic, but consider that over 70% of the hotel rooms in the metroplex are in Dallas County, and that will be growing. We are asking most of guests from out of town to take huge driving trips daily to attend some events or at the least to take a long train trip over, when there could be the option to move people in much smaller trips. ESPN chose a great backdrop and area to be in, but most guests have to make that long trip if they want to participate. They really need to think about that as well.

We really need to watch how Indianapolis is as a host. Its a smaller metro, but it is very centered as a metro and is well organized as they annually host huge race events that we can't even imagine as well as hosting the Final Four many times. I said it when the bids were rewarded. People will enjoy the Indy Super Bowl and it will much better organized than our own.

[JJG]

I don't know about Dallas, but Sunance Square was AWESOME today. Steeler fans, Packer fans, Cowboy fans, Frog fans..... It was beautiful.

I loved every second of it, pics comin' soon.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by JJG

I don't know about Dallas, but Sunance Square was AWESOME today. Steeler fans, Packer fans, Cowboy fans, Frog fans..... It was beautiful.

I loved every second of it, pics comin' soon.

[numbskull]

The stadium is a constant reminder of the greed of the wealthy businessmen who run this area...kicking people out of their homes is immoral and i'm sure you would never see this happen in the more affluent neighborhoods of this area.

[JJG]

Sup with that?

[usc619]

Originally Posted by JJG

Sup with that?

If you're referring to me, I'm just clowning around.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by JJG

I don't know about Dallas, but Sunance Square was AWESOME today. Steeler fans, Packer fans, Cowboy fans, Frog fans..... It was beautiful.

I loved every second of it, pics comin' soon.

I was in uptown Dallas today with some friends who came in from LA. We had an amazing time. Uptown was crazy. There were people everywhere. There were people even eating on the sidewalk. I talked to some people from Green Bay and they said this is like mid-April for them!

My friends also went out last night and had a blast. The weather has not been ideal and people realize that. But for the most part, people have been making the most of it.

[loves2read]

friend of mine and her husband and 22 yr old son went to NFL experience today--
she was not that impressed