Another Super Bowl in North Texas? The 15-year wait may just be beginning
When the Dallas Cowboys built their approximately $1.2 billion palace of a stadium in 2009, the expectation was that multiple marquee events would be coming to North Texas over the next quarter-century, at the very least.
Then named Cowboys Stadium and now AT&T Stadium since 2013, that has held true. NBA All-Star Weekend in 2010, the inaugural College Football Playoff national championship in 2015, the Final Four in 2014, Manny Pacquiao and Mike Tyson fights, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concerts — shoot, even a Rose Bowl during the COVID-19 pandemic — have all been hosted inside Jerry World since it opened in 2009.
However, the one event that was expected to be a mainstay among the rest was the Super Bowl. But after just one shot at hosting it in 2011, the Cowboys haven’t sniffed another crack at the big game. Why? Well, multiple factors have played a role.
In the week leading up to the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers in February 2011, a storm hit North Texas that blanketed the stadium with ice and snow. As preparations were ongoing for the game, ice slid off the stadium and struck six workers. The resulting lawsuit found both the Cowboys and the NFL liable for the working conditions on that 27-degree February day.
During the game itself, temporary seating installed to ratchet up the possible attendance was not completed in time for the game, causing 850 fans to have to relocate, and 400 fans left without seating that they purchased. (They were refunded at triple the face value of the seat.)
Whether some issues were viewed as involving bad luck with Mother Nature, poor planning or a combination of the two, the NFL hasn’t given North Texas another crack at it since. With Super Bowls already in place through 2029, that wait could be just beginning.
“I haven’t seen anything, timewise, that has really disappointed me other than the reality that we’re one of 32 teams that are out there,” owner Jerry Jones said. “I know the kind of venue we got. I know where we’re located in the central part of the United States for people to be involved. We look good on television in the venue. All of those things, we have, and I can promise — I’ll bet on it — no ice storm the next time. I stand ready to bet on that.”
Jones’ son, Stephen, not only serves as the Cowboys’ executive vice president, but also as the president of AT&T Stadium itself. When asked at the NFL Annual League Meeting in Phoenix this week about any conversations with the league on returning the game to North Texas, Stephen Jones said that there hasn’t been much said recently.
“Not as of late,” he said. “I will say with all of these new stadiums coming on board, it makes it hard. When you build a new stadium, a part of that in many cases, a Super Bowl is awarded. We’ll just see how it goes.”
With 2030 now the next unassigned Super Bowl, could the Cowboys get back in the mix there? Well, things are complicated looking into next decade with those new stadiums coming into the league that Jones alluded to.
Washington, D.C., Nashville, Kansas City, Jacksonville and Cleveland have already approved efforts for new domed stadiums. Chicago and Denver are also working efforts to have new stadiums opened by 2031. New Orleans, which is a mainstay in the rotation of usual Super Bowl locations, will have a shot at the game in 2031 if renovations are made to the Superdome or if a new venue is built.
The Cowboys understand the competition ahead of them for bringing the event back, and it could lead to an even longer wait well into next decade or possibly beyond.
“You do see the entertaining aspects of those locations for that time of the year,” Jerry Jones said. “If we think about it, San Francisco, the city by the sea ... If you look at it, it always is going to lean, always has, leaned to the location and the attractiveness of a New Orleans for the party that we want to have in and around the Super Bowl.”
“That doesn’t deter us, though, for wanting to have a Super Bowl in our area because ... they can be quite a shot in the arm to the viability of the area financially, and we’re always interested in that in Dallas. That’s part of our responsibility.”
Speaking in December 2023, Jones mentioned the then-possibility of hosting World Cup matches in 2026 as a great proving ground for the venue. Fast-forward over two years later, and the venue is set to host nine matches this summer, including one semifinal.
“We were obviously fired up about the results of the World Cup,” Stephen Jones said. “We ended up with more games than anybody. We didn’t get the gem or crown jewel of the final, but we did get the semifinal. ... I think it speaks to the quality of AT&T Stadium and the type of event we can have at that venue.”
With more uncertainty ahead and many new venues and rotating venues alike getting in on the mix over the next decade, Dallas has an uphill battle to return the biggest game on the sports calendar to North Texas. When asked if it’s a motivation for the team, Jerry Jones pointed to the circumstances that are needed to have Dallas interested in a bid.
“It has to be right. It has to be under the right conditions,” he said. “There are a lot of nuances and responsibilities that teams and markets take on when you do a Super Bowl. We certainly feel that we can do one. We’ll step up there at the right times. The way the Super Bowl goes, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes trading going on. All of that is a consideration. The biggest thing if you have one of those coastal, great places, great traditional place to have a party or be in January or February, that helps. That doesn’t keep a lot of great Super Bowls from being had all over this country.”
