North Texas, Glendale, Indy to make Super Bowl pitches

The Dallas
Cowboys have been to more Super Bowls than any team, yet they’ve never hosted
one. They hope that changes Tuesday when NFL owners vote on whether the 2011
game will be played in

Arlington,

Indianapolis or

Glendale,

Ariz.

Formally
known as the

North Texas bid, the plan was
submitted to league officials last month. All that’s left is the personal plea
— and who better for the Cowboys to send in for some final-minute heroics than
Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach?

Staubach
is the leader of the local bid committee, which he proudly says he expects to
become the local host committee by Tuesday night.

“I
really believe we can enhance the best way a Super Bowl can be hosted,”
Staubach said. “I’m 2-2 in Super Bowls. I want to be 3-2. We want to make
sure people can look at [2011] as the gold standard.”

Staubach
will have 15 minutes to plead his case to league owners.

The team
ownership from each potential host city will then speak for five minutes after
each area’s 15-minute pitch.

“The
teams aren’t part of the presentation, but they are part of the process,”
Cardinals executive Michael Bidwill, who also is on the

Arizona committee’s board told The East
Valley Tribune.

Glendale

will host the Super Bowl in 2008, meaning

Dallas
or

Indianapolis
might have the edge in hosting the 2011 Super Bowl.

Tampa

Bay will host
the 2009 game and the 2010 game will be in

Miami.

Staubauch
will talk up the new $1 billion, 100,000-seat stadium that opens in 2009 and
the support of all the communities pitching in to make the plan work, from

Dallas to

Fort
Worth and the cities in between. He’ll also likely
remind everyone that ”

America’s
Team” has been to a record eight Super Bowls and has won five.

Then he’ll
share his own story, of how he listened to two Super Bowls while in the
military, watched the next from the sideline as the Cowboys lost on a
last-second field goal, then was the MVP of the following year’s game, in
January 1972, leading Dallas to its first title. Staubach won another Super
Bowl in January 1978. He also lost two classics to

Pittsburgh, a fact he’ll point out to Dan
Rooney, the owner of the Steelers then and now.

“I’ve
had a Super Bowl history that I’m going to try to bring out into my remarks
because it’s been a part of my life, a very instrumental part of my life,”
Staubach said, adding that his success in the business world can also be traced
to his football fame.

“I
have a lot at stake to do this right,” Staubach continued. “I want
them to know I want to give back to what football and what the Super Bowl has
done for me. This is a chance for me to be the host and make sure it’s the best
Super Bowl they’ve had.”

Staubach
described himself as “kind of the coach” of the local effort,
offering expertise and clout when possible while deferring to others for much
of the grunt work. Auto racing mogul Roger Penske had a similar position for

Detroit’s 2006 Super
Bowl, and Staubach sought Penske’s advice before taking on this challenge.

“I’m
really proud of the bid we’ve actually put together,” Staubach said.
“Again, you get nervous because you put a lot of heart and effort into it.
Like going to the Super Bowl, I’ve experienced some wins and I know it’s no fun
when you lose.”

The

Dallas-to-Fort Worth
aspect of this bid is legitimate. Hotels and other facilities would be used in
both big cities, plus more in stadium site

Arlington
and

Irving,
home to team headquarters and their current stadium.

Finances
aren’t likely to be an obstacle. Told that Indianapolis was going for a $20
million budget, Staubach said that was “right in the range” of the
Arlington bid, while noting there are plenty of corporations based in the area
likely to be interested in helping the cause.

“We’re
not worried about it,” he said.

Indianapolis
Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell said the

Indianapolis
committee expects to raise at least $20 million and possible $25 million for
its Super Bowl bid.

“When
we make our presentation, we’ll have it in hand,”

Campbell said last week.

The
economic impact of such an event is measured in hundreds of millions. The pride
of doing it right is even more of a lure, which is why Staubach hopes

Arlington can be a frequent host like

Miami
and

New Orleans.

“There’s
not a city we’ve talked to that doesn’t want to have the Super Bowl back,”
he said.

Of course,
that takes getting a first one.

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