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The Sun Bowl is an outdoor football stadium in the southwestern United States, 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 Sun Bowl. The stadium opened in 1963 and has a current seating capacity of 51,500.

Sun Bowl

Aerial view from the northwest in 2009; Kidd Field at upper left
El Paso Location in the United States Show map of the United States El Paso Location in Texas Show map of Texas
Address	2701 Sun Bowl Drive
Location	University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Coordinates	31.773°N 106.508°W / 31.773; -106.508
Owner	University of Texas at El Paso
Operator	University of Texas at El Paso
Capacity	30,000 (1963–1981) 52,000 (1982–2000) 51,500 (2001–present)[1]
Surface	Natural grass (1963–1973) AstroTurf (1974–2000) AstroPlay (2001–2014) FieldTurf (2015–present)
Construction
Broke ground	August 1, 1961; 61 years ago (1961-08-01)[2]
Opened	September 21, 1963; 59 years ago (1963-09-21)
Renovated	2006, 2018
Expanded	1982
Construction cost	$275,000 (approximate, original)
Architect	Garland & Hilles Carroll & Daeuble
General contractor	Ponsford Brothers
Tenants
UTEP Miners (NCAA) (1963–present) Sun Bowl (NCAA) (1963–present) El Paso Patriots (USL PDL) (1989–2001) Texas vs. Nation Game (NCAA) (2007–2010) El Paso ISD (selected games)

History

The stadium, named for the game it hosts, was opened 59 years ago in 1963 with a Texas Western win over North Texas State on September 21. The opening play was a 54-yard touchdown run by Larry Durham of the Miners.[3]

The land on which the stadium sits was originally donated by the university to El Paso County, who built the stadium for the school and the Sun Bowl game. Both had previously used Kidd Field, the current track and field venue, which 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 adjacent to the west. It originally sat 30,000, with only the sideline grandstands. The playing field runs nearly north–south (tilted about 10° NW–SE) at an elevation of 3,910 feet (1,190 m) above sea level.

Renovations

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 end zone stands and the expansion of the east stands. (The south end zone 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, when hundreds of seats were removed as part of a re–configuration of the seating bowl to accommodate soccer, which lowered capacity to its current figure of 51,500.[1]

The school's Athletics Director, Jim Senter, announced on April 13, 2018 plans to renovate the Sun Bowl stadium. The $15 million project would include luxury boxes installed in a new press facility, renovation of the concourses and premium seating added on the west side of the stadium. The renovations are projected to be completed in a 16-month timespan.

Notable events

Postseason college football

Sun Bowl

The college football bowl game began in January 1936 and moved to the new stadium in December 1963. All games have been played in El Paso.

All-star game

On February 2, 2007, the stadium hosted the inaugural Texas vs. The Nation all-star college football game; the Nation defeated Texas 24–20.[4]

Concerts

This section does not cite any sources. (January 2018)

The Sun Bowl is also a venue for music and other large public events, having hosted concerts by U2, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and Kenny Chesney.

Date	Artist/group	Opening act(s)	Tour/concert name	Attendance	Revenue ($)	Notes
October 27, 1992	U2	The Sugarcubes Public Enemy	Zoo TV Tour	35,564 / 39,500	1,066,920
April 26, 1994	Pink Floyd	—	The Division Bell Tour	34,945 / 37,000	1,148,228
August 27, 2001	NSYNC	Li'l Johnnie Deborah Gibson	PopOdyssey	38,313 / 48,987	2,048,331
October 20, 2006	The Rolling Stones	Dave Matthews Band	A Bigger Bang	38,653 / 38,653	3,106,995
September 19, 2014	One Direction	5 Seconds of Summer	Where We Are Tour	44,910 / 44,910	3,632,097
September 6, 2017	Guns N' Roses	ZZ Top	Not in This Lifetime... Tour	39,780 / 43,123	3,087,980

Other events

On February 17, 2016, the stadium hosted festivities and a simulcast of the Mass held by Pope Francis during the pontiff's visit to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, several miles away across the Rio Grande.[5]

Other tenants

For a short time before moving to Dudley Field, the El Paso Patriots (PDL franchise) made their home at the Sun Bowl. They played their final seasons at Patriot Stadium.

Photos

• 
  View from the Durham Center
• 
  View from tunnel
• 
  View from within the stadium
• 
• 
  View from northern entrance

See also

• List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums

References

External links

• UTEP Athletics – Sun Bowl

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

На других языках

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- [en] Sun Bowl (stadium)

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[es] Estadio Sun Bowl

El Esatdio Sun Bowl es un estadio para fútbol americano inaugurado en 1963, el estadio posee una capacidad para 51.500 espectadores. Está ubicado en el campus de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso. En él disputa sus juegos como local el equipo de fútbol americano de esa universidad, los UTEP Miners. También se disputa en este estadio desde 1935 el Sun Bowl, partido de Fútbol americano universitario de la División I de la NCAA.[1]

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