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The Sun Bowl
File:UTEP Sun Bowl Stadium Aerial View Sept 6 2009.jpg
Sun Bowl Stadium in the foreground; Kidd Field is in the background
Location Sun Bowl Drive
El Paso, TX 79968
Coordinates 31°46′24″N 106°30′29″W / 31.77333°N 106.50806°W / 31.77333; -106.50806Coordinates: 31°46′24″N 106°30′29″W / 31.77333°N 106.50806°W / 31.77333; -106.50806
Broke ground August 1, 1961[1]
Opened September 21, 1963
Renovated 2006
Expanded 1982
Owner University of Texas El Paso
Operator University of Texas El Paso
Surface AstroPlay 2001 to present
AstroTurf 1974 to 2000
grass 1963 to 1973
Construction cost $275,000 (approximate, original)
($1.97 million in 2024 dollars[2])
Architect Garland & Hilles
Carroll & Daeuble
General Contractor Ponsford Brothers
Tenants UTEP Miners (NCAA) (1963–present)
Hyundai Sun Bowl Game (NCAA) (1963–present)
El Paso Patriots (USL PDL) (1989–2001)
Texas vs. The Nation Game (NCAA) (2007–present)
El Paso ISD (selected games)
Capacity 51,500 (2001-present)[3]
52,000 (1982-2000)
30,000 (1963-1981)

The Sun Bowl is an outdoor football stadium, on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. It is home to the UTEP Miners of Conference USA, and the late December college football bowl game, the Hyundai Sun Bowl. The stadium was opened in 1963 and has a current seating capacity of 51,500.

The land on which the stadium sits was originally donated by the university to El Paso County, Texas, who built the stadium for the school and the Sun Bowl game. Both had previously used Kidd Field, the school's current track and field stadium, which only seats 15,000. The city had realized that the game could not expand its audience or the list of teams that it could invite without a bigger stadium, so the Sun Bowl was built in a natural bowl lying to the west of the old stadium. The AstroPlay playing field runs nearly north–south (tilted about 10 degrees NW-SE) and is at an elevation of 3910 feet (1191 m) above sea level.

The stadium, named for the game it hosts, was opened in September 1963 with a Texas Western win over North Texas State. The opening play was a 54-yard touchdown run by Larry Durham of the Miners.

It originally sat 30,000, with only the sideline grandstands. The current press box was added in 1969, and the stadium reached the capacity of 52,000 in 1982 with the addition of the north endzone stands and the expansion of the east stands (The south endzone is still vacant, with the ground of the bowl covered with the school's logos.) The school retook control of the land and stadium in 2001. Also in 2001, hundreds of seats were removed as part of a re-configuration of the seating bowl in order for soccer to be played at the stadium, which lowered capacity to its current figure of 51,500.[3]

For a short time before moving to Dudley Field, it was the home to PDL franchise, the El Paso Patriots. They now play at Patriot Stadium.

On February 2, 2007, the stadium hosted the first ever Texas vs. The Nation all star college football game. The Nation team defeated the Texas team by a score of 24–20.

Photos[]

References[]

  1. "Bean Tags Charge As "Ridiculous"". The Bonham Daily Favorite. September 6, 1962. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-f9dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zF8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4996,190051&dq=en. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  2. Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "UTEP-Marshall Game Sold Out". UTEP Athletics. http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102105aaa.html. Retrieved October 9, 2012.

External links[]

Events and tenants
Preceded by
Kidd Field
Home of the Sun Bowl
1963 – present
Succeeded by
Current
Preceded by
Kidd Field
Home of the UTEP Miners
1963 – present
Succeeded by
Current

es:Estadio Sun Bowl fr:Sun Bowl Stadium

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