(5/12) Cotton Bowl Bond, A.D., Rufus SportingNews Preseason Favorite.
Cotton Bowl Bond Improvements details to be released: Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm will include $30 million in Cotton Bowl improvements within her 2006 bond program proposal, according to a document circulated among Park and Recreation Board members Thursday. And interviews this week with City Council members indicate most of them support spending that much to renovate the 76-year-old stadium -- especially after the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma agreed last week to continue their annual football showdown at the Cotton Bowl through at least 2010. Ms. Suhm plans to release complete details of her bond proposal today or Saturday. "The Cotton Bowl is to Dallas what the Rose Bowl is to Southern California," said council member Leo Chaney, whose district includes Fair Park, where the stadium stands. "What would Dallas be without the Cotton Bowl?" Mr. Chaney, Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia and council members Pauline Medrano, Maxine Thornton-Reese, Gary Griffith, Bill Blaydes, Linda Koop and Ron Natinsky each said they support including the $30 million in renovations in the bond program. "We'll get practically a brand-new stadium for a lot less than it would cost to build a brand-new stadium," Mr. Natinsky said. "We need to move forward on it. We'll have a facility that we can be proud of." Council member Steve Salazar said he would support including the $30 million if the city commissions a study to update Fair Park's master plan. Council member Angela Hunt said she supports stadium renovations but wants more information before backing a specific dollar amount. Council member Mitchell Rasansky said he needs to research the issue more before deciding whether to back the proposed bond item. "You know, $30 million for a few games is a lot of money," he said. "Texas-OU is a great tradition. The other games are great traditions. We have to decide how much is a tradition worth?"(In part from Dallas Morning News)
SportingNews ranks OU highly in Preseason: Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson and Rufus Alexander have been tabbed The Sporting News Preseason Big 12 Players of the Year for offense and defense, respectively. TSN's preseason publication will be available in June. (SoonerSports.com)




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