Texas Bowl

Advance ticket sales for the 2009 Texas Bowl have surpassed 59,000, the Texas Bowl Committee announced today.  That total already exceeds the total paid attendance for last year’s Texas Bowl, in which a crowd of 58,880 saw Rice beat Western Michigan 38-14. 

With three weeks to go until game day, only 11,000 seats remain for this year’s Texas Bowl.  If the game reaches full Reliant Stadium capacity of 70,500, it would mark the first sellout in Texas Bowl history and would be the largest crowd for a bowl game in Houston sports history.  The highest-attended bowl in Houston to date was the 1960 Bluebonnet Bowl, when 68,000 fans saw Texas and Alabama, who meet again this year for the national championship, battle to a 3-3 tie.

The 2009 Texas Bowl will pit Missouri against Navy on Thursday, December 31 at 2:30 p.m. CST at Reliant Stadium.  The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.  Tickets are available at all TicketMaster outlets, online at TicketMaster.com and by phone at 832-667-2390.

“We are thrilled with the way ticket sales have gone so far,” said Lone Star Sports & Entertainment president Jamey Rootes.  “We’ve had outstanding crowds at each of the last first Texas Bowls and this year, we have a chance to set new bowl game attendance records.  We are very pleased with the quality of this year’s matchup and are delighted with the support that the Texas Bowl continues to receive from the Houston community.”

Tickets went on sale to the general public on November 2 following an exclusive pre-sale window for those who bought tickets to the 2007 Texas Bowl.  Tickets, which start at just $15, may be purchased online at TicketMaster.com, on the phone at 832-667-2390 or in person at the Reliant Stadium box office inside Budweiser Plaza. 

Game tickets will also grant fans admittance to TexFest, a Texas-sized pregame party featuring live music from the popular Texas country group Reckless Kelly, as well as “team spirit walks” when the teams arrive.

The Texas Bowl moves to ESPN after airing on NFL Network for its first three years.  It will be a part of ESPN’s popular Capital One Bowl Week, which will feature 23 bowl games from December 19 to January 2.

The Texas Bowl has been a tremendous success both on and off the field over its first three years.  The bowl has generated an average of $25 million per year for the Houston economy.  The bowl has over 25,000 season ticket holders and sold over 50,000 tickets before its teams were announced last year.

Over its three-year history, the Texas Bowl has donated over $200,000 and over $5 million in promotional support and publicity to DePelchin Children’s Center, the bowl’s official charitable beneficiary.