Cotton Bowl

We came here for the Heart of Dallas Bowl and it was my first time inside the Cotton Bowl for a game. I see all the negative reviews here and yes, the stadium is old, but it is also a classic. With all of the other stadiums in the area, there is no need to update this one and people still seem to hold their events here.
Some of the negatives include the lack of seats… it is all bleacher seating with exception to a very small area on the 50 yard line. Additionally, you need to go downstairs to use the restroom outside of the concourse where I was seated (50 yard line). The restrooms were gross and could have been kept up nicer by the staff.
The positive includes the tailgating, which happened at Fair Park on the grounds. There is plenty of room to wander around and you didn’t have to worry about getting hit by a car in the parking lot. All in all, an A-​OK experience.

Stadium in a dump! The seats are HORRIDLY small! There is No Parking and did I mention it’s in the ghetto! I pretty sure we passed a crack house and witnessed at least 2 drug deals at the red light.
Not the area of town you bring your family on purpose!
We love our Eagles but if they come back to a bowl and it’s here we might just be watching from home!

I enjoy coming here in the fall during the State Fair of Texas for the Grambling vs. Prairie View A & M games. Hey… the game itself is not that great but definitely come for the halftime show! It’s what historically Black colleges do best. I went to one so I know. Anyway, back to the actual venue… I think they could improve on their concessions. Prices of course are sky high which is typical but the food is not that great. My chicken nachos were pretty bland. The seats provide a good view but it can get packed in there and hard to move around. I think if they make a few tweaks this place has potential but I would not frequent the stadium for any reason unless there was some seriously good entertainment.

This place is named after the part of your body that becomes VERY sore after you sit here for awhile. The «Bottom Bowl.»
First-​Hand Experience: Info on my personal visit to this stadium — The Cowboys used to play here and it was used for World Cup 94. I’m not sure why there is so much negativity, it is a good college-​style stadium East of Downtown. It’s likely that the Cowboys won’t play here again. I came here in 2007 when touring all the World Cup venues, and then again in 2010. I like it here.
Now that I’ve been to every NFL stadium (current and former) and seen all 32 teams play live in the flesh, time to review them on Unilocal!I love stadia! I’ve been to every cool sports arena in the UK & North America, it’s an obsession I have with travel & sport. I’ve roamed America as a musician for years. In that time, I’ve seen sports games at (or toured when empty, or both) almost every major stadium in US/​Canada. Many pictures taken which I’ll upload eventually. On future travels, I’ll new pix, and add more stadiums! Watch this space!
***back to regular review***
Not sure why there is no love for the Cotton Bowl to be honest. It’s a lovely, iconic place. Yes the seating is awful, but it’s a huge, intimidating, impressive, wonderful piece of Texan history, it was made famous by the TV show and later the World Cup 1994, there is no stadium like the Cotton Bowl, though lots of stadiums try to be. I could not possibly give it less than a 5.
However if they do convert it to a sheep farm, then I say it should be renamed the «Mutton Bowl.»
And if Old Country Buffet moves in across the street as planned, then maybe the «Glutton Bowl.»
And if the Pussycat Dolls ever do a show here, then it should be the «loosen up my Buttons Bowl.»
And if you like the idea of taking a little money from everyone and giving it all to one person (i.e. capitalism), then (a) you’re in the right country, (b) you’re in the right state, and ©, it should be the «Lotto Bowl.»
And if you think that this stadium had an effect on lots of people, which in turn had an effect on even more people, and so on… then it should be renamed the «Knock-​on Bowl.»

Awful! It was my first time and the seating was terrible. I moved to the top since the second level was so crammed. I’m not a huge person and my rear did not fit on these bleacher like seats. The venue ran out of Guinness for the Guinness soccer series… Um ok. Then the food stations were out of everything. It was awful! Don’t do it!

I have only been here once. I guess the place is okay, without being anything spectacular. The way the stadium is built, almost every location will give you a pretty decent view of what’s going on on the pitch. The seats are not very comfortable, but pretty well organized. It wasn’t filthy, but not too clean either. We tried several types of food, but all of them were pretty rubbish. We had the burger, which was very dry and was very hard to chew. Usually the hot dogs at events such as this taste really good, but here it sucked. The nachos were pretty okay. The only thing that tasted decent enough was the Philly Cheese Steak. Then again this place should not be judged based on the food. There was plenty of parking places in and around the stadium. All in all, pretty okay place to go watch some sports, but nothing that great.

The area this place is in reminded me of NewArk, NJ. Other then the area it seemed cool.

OK, now I’ve finally attended a Red River Shootout. Now you can tear it down. At least the poor condition of this tradition rich stadium wasn’t half as bad as the abortion that my Horns left on the field last Saturday.

Sad that UT vs OU will no longer be held here, but honestly, it was about time. The history was great, but this venue was way out dated. The seating is awful, the parking is terrible, and overall excited to see the game moved to Cowboys stadium.

Family and I was in town for our baseball trip! And when we drove by the Cotton Bowl I had to stop by! I grew up watching the four main bowl games on New Years that included the Cotton Bowl. So I sneaked in, and was able to find my way inside the stadium before I was caught! But I was able to get some pictures, and I was honored to at least been able to get inside and see this place. I know, I will never be able to see a game there, and this place might not be around much longer, but at least I was there once in my life.

So LSU is playing in the Cotton Bowl this year for the first time since the 2002 season and naturally it made me think about the Cotton Bowl Stadium itself.
I attended 2003 Cotton Bowl for LSU vs Texas (damn you Roy Williams)
The Cotton Bowl Stadium itself is a dump. Not in the best of neighboods and the seats are way too cramped. January mornings in Dallas after New Year’s are no joke either. Thankfully, the Cotton Bowl committee has moved to Jerry’s world. It’s funny… the Capital One Bowl is supposed to be the premier non-​BCS bowl, but LSU fans were clamoring for the Cotton Bowl this year, especially after the mud bowl that was the Citrus Bowl Stadium for last year’s Capital One game.
Unilocaler N below stated it correctly… the Cotton Bowl used to be one of the Big 4. The move to Jerry’s World will be huge in helping the Cotton Bowl get back BCS level.
The Cotton Bowl game has its 75^th Anniversary this year, thankfully the game has moved to a venue that is worthy of such a tradition rich bowl.

Remember when the four major bowls were the Rose, Cotton, Sugar, and Orange? Remember how shocked Cotton Bowl officials were when the BCS was created and the Fiesta Bowl shrugged the Cotton Bowl into obscurity? Well, if you don’t, it’s okay. Because the Cotton Bowl should be an unknown. For a stadium with this much history, the shoddy conditions, the crappy parking and the complete lack of atmosphere is just inexcusable.
I’ve been here a few times (for the actual bowl game as well as the Red River Shootout). It has consistently not measured up to expectations. The stadium has finally made some renovations, but it still is far surpassed by quality competitors. The parking is entirely too far from the actual stadium. I do like the seating, but that is really the only thing going for it.
I am generally a fan of preserving historically relevant buildings and sports stadiums. In the Cotton Bowl’s case, I say tear it down. It’s gone too far down the proverbial rabbit hole. Play the Cotton Bowl in Irving, TX and life won’t skip a beat.

One of the meccas of college football, somewhat renovated since I last came here back in college days. Don’t forget you can use State Fair coupons for concessions here during the fair!

The upgrades brought the stadium back up to 2 stars, but in comparing it to Jerry World, there is no comparison. You go there for the pagentry of the state fair, etc, not for the stadium. BTW the state fair is awesome.

Every year I hear people talk about moving the UT/​OU game from the Cotton Bowl, and I say that they’re crazy. It’s one of the best traditions in college sports people!!!
Then I go to the game, and can’t help but wonder what life in Jerryville might be like. Even with the recent renovations, this place is one of the worst set up stadiums that I have ever seen. Entry in the stadium takes about 45 minutes and you have at least 5 instances of wondering if you are going to be trampled.
The bathrooms are awful, there are too many obstructed views, and the scoreboards are no good.
I love the tradition of the game being at the fair, but this stadium stinks. Dallas’ former mayor is too blame. If some money had been put into this at the right time, Dallas might be the home of an annual BCS Bowl. Instead, this place with grow cobwebs in it until next year’s game.