First, JC, “the game” in Norman COULDN’T draw the Texans who normally travel to Dallas for the annual UT-OU slugfest. As long as the game is at a neutral site, where tickets are equally available to fans from both schools, it 's possible draw huge crowds from both sides. But if the game is held in Austin, virtually all the tickets will got to UT fans and alumni, so hardly any Okies will come to Austin. And if the game were in Norman, all but a few thousand seats would go to OU alumni and students. Why would 40-50,000 Texans make the trip to Norman when they know they won’t get in?
That’s the FIRST stupid mistake the Norman Chamber of Commerce types make. Unless they want to make half the stadium seats available to UT fans, how do they expect to entice people to travel to Norman?
The SECOND stupid mistake is that they read media reports saying, “The annual UT-OU game bring $X zillion into the Dallas economy each year,” and idiotically think, “Wow, that could be US making $X zillion!”
Dallas doesn’t make so much money from the game per se- it makes money because people come to Dallas days before the game, go to the State Fair, party for days, see the game, party a little more, and THEN go home. There’s a lot to do in Dallas, so people make a long weekend of it.
Is there ANYTHING to do in Norman? Any good restaurants? Any stellar hotels? ANYTHING that would entice a TExas fan to stay there longer than he has to?
NO!
If the big game were held in Norman, I’ll tell you exactly what would happen: the few thousand UT fans able to get tickets would head out on the road at 4 AM, get to Norman right before the game, watch the game, and drive home immediately after the game was over. Period.
So, there’d be no big payday for Norman. A few gas stations and fast food joints around the stadium would clean up, but that’s about it.
Thing is, this is OBVIOUS to everyone except E.Z. Million and the Norman Chamber of Commerce, who actually believe fans would spend all week in Norman, spending the kind of cash they now spend in Dallas!
Pitiful.