City of Dallas & The State Fair of Texas at Fair Park

The Historic Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas

Facing the loss of several key events in its aging and historic football stadium, The City of Dallas, joining forces with the State Fair of Texas, decided to take steps to protect the historic Cotton Bowl and expand its prospects for the future. The city retained constructor Charter Builders and the architectural firm of Heery International as the design-build team to add fan amenities and restrooms, renovate locker room and team areas and expand the capacity of this iconic facility under a highly accelerated schedule.

The expansion brought the Cotton Bowl from a seating capacity of 76,000 to 92,000 by September 2008 – an important date for the City of Dallas and the State Fair of Texas. The State Fair of Texas, which is the largest state fair in the country, plays host every year to the Red River Rivalry, an annual football game featuring the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma. It was crucially important that both phases of the renovation and expansion be complete in time for this signature event.

The scope of the project touched virtually every part of the facility. To begin, the concrete throughout the structure, much of which was from the original construction, required vast repairs and maintenance. The existing seating was replaced with new bench seating. Existing team locker room buildings were expanded and brought up to today’s standards.

Concessions, restrooms and point of sale locations were also renovated, creating better facilities with a more festive atmosphere reflective of the Cotton Bowl’s unique location in the middle of Fair Park and its important role in the State Fair of Texas. The Cotton Bowl plays host not just to the annual Texas and OU rivalry, but also to the Grambling versus Prairie View A&M game, both of which are integral to the State Fair of Texas schedule of events.