The North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee conducted the next-to-last Board of Directors meeting in Arlington on Monday and preparations for Super Bowl XLV are going more smoothly than, well, let's say the Dallas Cowboys season thus far. In fact, Gene Jones, wife of owner Jerry Jones and honorary co-chair of the Kickoff Concert Series, asked the board "not to give up" on the Cowboys.
"We want the Cowboys to have a presence at the Super Bowl," she said, "and the best way is to play there." Jones said that the three concerts, which culminated with XLV Countdown Live from Cowboys Stadium -- a tribute to the Cowboys 50th anniversary, Emmitt Smith's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and starring Tim McGraw -- will likely make a profit when the goal was to break even. When all the bills are paid, the profit may range from $34,000-$100,000, Jones said, and the money will go to the SLANT 45 educational initiative involving elementary school students in the region.
Bill Lively, president of the host committee, said that the overall "state of preparation is good." He also said that a Transition Action Team has spent the summer on a fact finding mission, looking at how regional sports commissions work in other parts of the country. One of the host committee's aspirations is that it will form the core of a North Texas sports commission that will oversee major events coming to the region such as the NCAA Final Four, more Super Bowls, the World Cup in soccer and possibly the Olympics some day.
Individual committee chairs addressed some of the key programs and initiatives for Super Bowl XLV and here are the highlights:
City Super Bowl budgets: Tara Green, vice president of the host committee, said that the budget process with Dallas and Arlington is complete and is ongoing with Fort Worth and Irving. "We hope to wrap it up sometime in October," she said.
Sponsorship: Thus far, the host committee has raised $23 million with about $5 million in assets yet to sell. Mike Berry, chairman of the Sponsorship Development Action Team, said that Fort Worth is responsible for $5 million of the total. He said that there are 12 members of the $1 million founding sponsors, the most in Super Bowl history. Detroit is second with two $1 million sponsors.
Public Safety: Will Johnson, assistant chief of police in Arlington, said that there is unprecedented cooperation among the North Texas police jurisdictions and plans have been presented as to security around Cowboys Stadium. Police and fire chiefs from the four major cities in the region, as well as 65 agencies, participate in monthly meetings and break into individual action teams dealing with different aspects of security and even transportation. "Traffic doesn't care what jurisdiction it's in, only that it is flowing," he told the board.
Transportation: The Trinity Railway Express will provide service and make all stops during Super Bowl week and on Super Bowl Sunday, said chairman Michael Morris, which should help alleviate traffic congestion. He said that there will be routing options for all fleets, meaning that traffic command centers will be able to direct buses, shuttles and car services to alternate routes during times when major arteries are clogged with traffic or if there are accidents. Morris said that contingency plans are being made to account for bad weather such as ice or snow and that a transit pass for the railway will be made available during Super Bowl week. All traffic control centers will be up and running 10 days before the game.
Aviation: Federal and local agencies are formulating plans to handle increased air traffic during Super Bowl week. Bob Porter, manager at Arlington Municipal Airport, said that 147,000 travelers are expected to come to North Texas, with more than 100,000 arriving on commercial or private flights. There will likely be a 10-mile restricted flight area around Cowboys Stadium and a real time monitoring of airport conditions. When capacity is reached at any of the region's airports, he said, flights will be sent to other airports. Porter said that as many as 700 private jets may be on the ground on Super Bowl Sunday.
Volunteers: Tony Dorsett, chairman of the volunteer services team, said that more than 7,000 people have signed up to be volunteers during Super Bowl week, representing 38 states and 15 countries. All-State is sponsoring the volunteers and will fund their training, as well as manage and outfit volunteers.
SLANT 45: The program involving North Texas elementary school students completing projects to give back to their community has been an unqualified success, said Daryl Johnston, the program's chairman. More than 23,000 kids have registered, exceeding the goal of 20,000 with the new school year just beginning. Johnston said that many of the projects initiated by the kids are inspirational and that he'll provide plenty of tissues when the SLANT 45 movie documentary is shown this winter.
Emerging Business: More than 912 North Texas businesses -- representing African-Americans, Hispanics and women -- have registered for the program, the most in NFL history. There are more than 45 categories of businesses in which they are trying to secure an affiliation with the Super Bowl, said Gina Puente, co-chair of the committee.
-- Pete Alfano
