With the deadline for host cities to bid on the new Big 12/SEC semifinal set for August 22, Cowboys Stadium in Arlington has emerged as one of three likely finalists:
↵↵↵Arlington, New Orleans & Atlanta only cities that definitely will bid for Champions Bowl, sources tell
↵— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) August 14, 2012@espn. 2 won't bid; 5 undecided.
Dallas, which already hosts a Cotton Bowl game that pits the two conferences against each other, would have to be considered the early front-runner, since neither Atlanta nor New Orleans have facilities nearly as impressive as the billion-dollar plus behemoth commonly known as "Jerry World" or "The Death Star".
↵The Big 12 would almost certainly prefer that the game be played closer to their home turf than all the way in Atlanta, an SEC-dominated market that already hosts the SEC Championship Game. The SEC, meanwhile, is already fairly familiar with the set-up in Arlington, as LSU opened the 2011 season here against Oregon while Alabama will square off with Michigan at the end of the month.
↵Winning the bid would be the latest feather in the cap for Jerry Jones, who has already won the right to host many of the most high-profile sporting events in the world (Super Bowl, Final Four, NBA All-Star Game championship boxing fights) since his newest toy was opened in 2010.
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