Cotton Bowl renovations move forward with another chunk of money. Here’s how much

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved an additional $65 million in upgrades to the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park. The latest tranche of money is part of an ongoing $140 million renovation of the historic South Dallas stadium, planned to be complete by fall 2025.
Renovations on the west side of the 94-year-old stadium began in March, and the $65 million is expected to pay for improving bathrooms and concession spaces, expanding concourses, installing more elevators and escalators, and mechanical, plumbing and security improvements. Overall building upgrades include improving the venue’s entrance and seating and boosting the in-stadium Wi-Fi signal.
The council approved an initial $145,000 contract with construction firms JE Dunn and H.J. Russell & Company for the stadium work in December and added $52.9 million in February.
Council member Adam Bazaldua, who represents South Dallas, called the ongoing restoration work “a huge win.”
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“We’re trucking along and making great time with the needed upgrades at the Cotton Bowl,” he said.
The money is from a 2% increase in hotel occupancy taxes that Dallas voters approved in 2022. The city expects to raise $1.5 billion over 30 years. Up to $300 million is planned for the Cotton Bowl and five other Fair Park venues. The remaining $1.2 billion is set aside for a new downtown convention center.
Future upgrades are planned for the east side of the Cotton Bowl, but that work isn’t scheduled to start until at least 2030.
The stadium upgrades were a key part of the universities of Texas and Oklahoma agreeing to keep their annual Red River Showdown football game at the Cotton Bowl. Both schools in December announced a contract extension to keep the game in Dallas through 2036. The contract previously was set to expire after the 2025 game.
According to the term sheet, the schools can terminate the deal if the city doesn’t finish the first phase of at least $140 million in stadium improvements by September 2026. The universities can also cancel the deal if the city doesn’t present “a viable construction plan and funding solution” for the second phase of Cotton Bowl improvements to the schools by September 2030, and those improvements must be complete by September 2034.
The new deal calls for the city, State Fair of Texas and VisitDallas to pay the schools around $1.5 million a year — $500,000 for each school from the city and $225,000 for each school from the State Fair and VisitDallas — for a hosting fee, and an additional $40,000 each from the State Fair for the right to sell concessions in the Cotton Bowl.
The Cotton Bowl hosts the Red River Showdown as well as the State Fair Classic football game between Grambling State University and Prairie View A&M University during the fair each fall.