Sun Bowl (stadium)

Sun Bowl
	Aerial view from the northwest in 2009;; Kidd Field at upper left
	Sun Bowl Location in TexasShow map of TexasShow map of the United StatesShow all
Location	2701 Sun Bowl Drive; El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Coordinates	31°46′23″N 106°30′29″W / 31.773°N 106.508°WCoordinates: 31°46′23″N 106°30′29″W / 31.773°N 106.508°W
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)
Surface	Natural grass (1963–1973); AstroTurf (1974–2000); AstroPlay (2001–2014); FieldTurf (2015–present)
Construction
Broke ground	August 1, 1961; 60 years ago
Opened	September 21, 1963; 58 years ago
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)

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.

History[]

The stadium, named for the game it hosts, was opened on September 21, 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.

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 school's 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.^[3]

Concerts[]

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 ($)
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	34,801 / 41,534	3,112,504

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.^[4]

Other tenants[]

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.

Photos[]

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

Panoramic view with Kidd Field and the underside of the Sun Bowl stadium

References[]

^ ^a ^b "UTEP-Marshall Game Sold Out". UTEP Athletics. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
^ "Bean Tags Charge As "Ridiculous"". The Bonham Daily Favorite. September 6, 1962. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
^ Matthew Aguilar. "Team Nation victorious". El Paso Times. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
^ "Pope Francis hosts papal mass 2Nations1Faith event". Fox7Austin.com. Retrieved August 24, 2017.

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

[cap-1] "UTEP-Marshall Game Sold Out". UTEP Athletics. Retrieved October 9, 2012.

[2] "Bean Tags Charge As "Ridiculous"". The Bonham Daily Favorite. September 6, 1962. Retrieved September 27, 2011.

[3] Matthew Aguilar. "Team Nation victorious". El Paso Times. Retrieved August 24, 2017.

[4] "Pope Francis hosts papal mass 2Nations1Faith event". Fox7Austin.com. Retrieved August 24, 2017.

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[4]

v t UTEP Miners football
Venues	Kidd Field (1938–1962) Sun Bowl (1963–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games New Mexico State (Battle of I-10)
Culture & lore	Paydirt Pete KROD
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

v t University of Texas at El Paso
Located in: El Paso, Texas
Facilities	Border Intermodal Gateway Transportation Laboratory Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens Don Haskins Center Dudley Field Kidd Field Memorial Gymnasium Open Source Research Lab Sun Bowl University Field
Athletics	Football Basketball Men Women
Media	"The Eyes of Texas" Glory Road KTEP Rio Grande Review Texas Western Press
Founded: 1914 Students: 23.397 Endowment: US$217.2 million

v t Sun Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History 1949 controversy Jones Stadium Kidd Field Sun Bowl Broadcasters Pac-12 Conference Atlantic Coast Conference
Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 (Jan.) 1958 (Dec.) 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1977 (Jan.) 1977 (Dec.) 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Notes	Util the 1957 season, the Sun Bowl was played in January of the ensuing year (for example, the 1935 season game played in January 1936). Since 1958 (except in 1976), the Sun Bowl is played in December. The 1976 season Sun Bowl was played in January 1977 and the 1977 season Sun Bowl was played in December 1977. No game was held in the 2020 season because of pandemic-related issues.