PHOENIX — Tucson has been granted approval to host a bowl game. But it won’t necessarily kick off this year, if at all.
Alan Young, chief operating officer of the Arizona Sports and Entertainment Commission, said Wednesday the would-be bowl is still seeking a title sponsor and contract to use Arizona Stadium.
Young said the proposed bowl game, which will pit teams from the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA, has an estimated budget between $2 million and $3 million. A sponsor is needed to cover an unspecified chunk of that, with ticket and television revenue helping cover the rest.
Young said the bowl would have an estimated $30 million economic impact if it is played.
“We were approved and it’s a huge step, but we still have an awful long way to go,” Young said.
People are also reading…
Young said a “number” of companies have been in talks to possibly sponsor the game, while the commission also has been seeking a contract with the UA to use Arizona Stadium.
If the steps aren’t completed by midsummer, Young said, the bowl would not be held.
It would need to apply again for recertification in 2016, but Young said he didn’t think that would be a problem. Whether in 2015 or 2016, Young said he felt the bowl game has a future.
“I feel good about it,” Young said. “Our goal is to make it (this year) but certain things have to happen.”
Tucson attorney Ali Farhang, a Sabino High School and UA graduate who spearheaded Tucson’s application, told the Star Wednesday that nothing is official yet. UA athletic director Greg Byrne and football coach Rich Rodriguez, in Phoenix for Pac-12 meetings, denied reports that the game was a done deal.
“We want to do things that help Tucson, so we’re having discussions and we’ll see where it goes,” Byrne said.
NCAA officials announced late Tuesday that Tucson, along with two other cities — Orlando, Florida, and Austin, Texas — had been granted bowl games for 2015 following an approval process. ESPN reported the game, tentatively called the Arizona Bowl, would take place Dec. 29 at Arizona Stadium.
A game in Little Rock, Arkansas, was also up for certification, but Wright Waters, executive director of the Football Bowl Association, said organizers recently asked to be considered for the 2016-17 season. The Austin and Orlando games will match teams from the American Athletic and Sun Belt conferences.
The new bowls mean 82 of 128 FBS teams will play in the postseason next season. That number would drop to 80 if the Tucson game is not played.
Tucson has been without a bowl game since 1999, when the Insight.com Bowl — now called the Cactus Bowl — left for Phoenix.
