DALLAS -- The annual football game between the University of
Oklahoma and University of Texas will be played at the Cotton Bowl
at least through 2015, Dallas city officials announced Friday.
Although a formal contract has not been signed, an agreement is
in place between the schools, the city and the State Fair of Texas,
said Meranda Cohn, chief of staff for Dallas Mayor Laura Miller.
The Dallas City Council must also approve the contract.
Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said he was pleased
all sides agreed to keep the game at the Cotton Bowl.
"Because of its prominent history and unique atmosphere, the
setting of the Red River Rivalry truly represents one of the most
special games in all of college football," Castiglione said in a
statement. "We are grateful for the relationship we share with the
State Fair and City of Dallas.
The teams have played in Dallas every year since 1929, but it
was unclear in recent months if the organizers of the annual game
would leave for another venue after the current agreement ran out
after the 2010 game. In February, Cotton Bowl officials announced
that in 2010 they were moving the New Year's Day bowl game to the
Arlington, Texas, site of the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium, set to
open in 2009.
"We have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the State Fair
of Texas and the Cotton Bowl stadium," Texas men's athletics
director DeLoss Dodds said in a statement, "and we look forward to
continuing our tradition in Dallas."
Texas fans in burnt orange and Oklahoma fans wearing crimson
fill each fill one half of the seats at the Cotton Bowl, which are
divided at the 50-yard line for the rivalry game played annually on
a Saturday during the state fair in October.
In addition to $20 million recently spent on Cotton Bowl
renovations, Dallas residents voted in November to approve $30
million in bonds for additional improvements, including upgrades to
bathrooms at the aging stadium and expanding the stadium to seat
92,000.