About Cotton Bowl
Cotton Bowl is recorded as a College Football and NFL stadium in Dallas, Texas. It opened in 1930. Its recorded capacity is 92,100. Former tenants include SMU Mustangs (College Football, 1930–1971, 1974–1978, 1995–1999), Dallas Texans (NFL, 1952, 1960–1962) and Dallas Cowboys (NFL, 1960–1970). In all, 3 teams from 2 leagues have called it home. On our ranked lists it ranks 9th for most tenants among 67 venues with 3 or more teams. It has also been known as Fair Park Stadium (1930–1935).
Appears in
Venue Information
Year Opened
Address
Elevation
140 m above sea level
Address derived from the venue's coordinates using data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).
Elevation of the venue's coordinates from USGS and NASA SRTM elevation data, via Open Topo Data.
Teams
| Team | League | Years |
|---|---|---|
|
SMU Mustangs While based here: 52 seasons · 250-267-26 regular season · 6 postseason trips
College Football · 1930–1971, 1974–1978, 1995–1999
Western Athletic Conference 1996–1999 · Southwest Conference 1930–1995 · FBS (Division I-A)
All 9 home venues of the SMU Mustangs
|
College Football | 1930–1971, 1974–1978, 1995–1999 |
|
Dallas Cowboys While based here: 11 seasons · 77-69-6 regular season · 5 postseason trips
NFL · 1960–1970
|
NFL | 1960–1970 |
|
Dallas Texans (AFL) While based here: 3 seasons · 25-17 regular season · 1 postseason trip
AFL · 1960–1962
|
AFL | 1960–1962 |
|
Dallas Texans (NFL) While based here: 1 season · 1-11 regular season · no postseason trips
NFL · 1952
|
NFL | 1952 |
Records are each team's full-season results while it was based here, home and away games alike, from final scores. They are not records of games played at this venue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the capacity of Cotton Bowl?
The capacity of Cotton Bowl is 92,100.
When was Cotton Bowl built?
Cotton Bowl opened in 1930.
Where did the SMU Mustangs play before Cotton Bowl?
Before moving to Cotton Bowl in 1930, the SMU Mustangs played at Ownby Stadium from 1926 to 1929.
Where did the SMU Mustangs play after Cotton Bowl?
After leaving Cotton Bowl in 1999, the SMU Mustangs moved to Gerald J. Ford Stadium in 2000.
Where did the Dallas Cowboys play after Cotton Bowl?
After leaving Cotton Bowl in 1970, the Dallas Cowboys moved to Texas Stadium in 1971. They played there until 2008.
Where did the Dallas Texans (AFL) play after Cotton Bowl?
After leaving Cotton Bowl in 1962, the Dallas Texans (AFL) moved to Municipal Stadium in 1963. They played there until 1971.
Sources
Where the facts on this page were read from. How VenueStats compiles them.
- Open Topo Data (Public domain): Elevation.
- OpenStreetMap Nominatim (ODbL): Address.
- VenueStats compilation: Coordinates (compiled by VenueStats; no outside source was kept for this point), Opening and closing years, name history and teams (compiled by VenueStats from Sports Reference and Wikipedia).
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA): Capacity.
Historical Names
Cotton Bowl
1936 - Present
CurrentFair Park Stadium
1930 - 1935
Location
Nearby Venues
| Venue | Years | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Reunion Arena | 1980–2009 | 2.9 mi |
| American Airlines Center | 2001– | 3.1 mi |
| Gerald J. Ford Stadium | 2000– | 4.2 mi |
| Ownby Stadium | 1926–1998 | 4.3 mi |
| Armstrong Field | 4.4 mi | |
| Moody Coliseum | 1956– | 4.4 mi |
Straight-line distance between the venues' coordinates.
References
Teams on Wikipedia
Every source for the facts on this page is listed under Sources.