The NFL brain trust has rejected the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee’s proposal to allow upwards of 40,000 fans to party outside the Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium by selling the infamous “Party Pass.” The NTSBHC was hoping to generate an additional $4 million dollars into their operating coffer with the organized tailgating plan. During the Dallas Cowboys regular season, Jerry Jones had set a league record for attendance by selling as many as 25,000 Party Passes at $40 each. Fans could attend a Cowboys game and possibly watch the game in the standing-room-only end zone sections, but with no guarantee that they would even get inside. The overflow still gladly partied outside in a Party Pass area complete with a screen to watch the game, bands, beer and, of course, $12 Cowboy-ritas. At the 2011 Super Bowl, the NTSBHC must construct 20,000 temporary stadium seats in those regular season open end zone areas.

The NFL will allot approximately 5% of the 100,000+ Super Bowl tickets to the Dallas Cowboys as host team with an additional 17.5% to the NFC Representative (should the Cowboys play in the Super Bowl). Potentially, a total less than 25,000 local Dallas Cowboy football fans have a chance at seeing the game in person. I am sure that Super Bowl attendees who normally have access to the club from their ground level suites during the Cowboys game will not have the same access to the club which will be sold separately for the Super Bowl to a corporate sponsor. During a regular season Cowboys game, the ground level suites include premium seating at the 50-yard line, plus the option to park in an exclusive underground parking lot for $300 per game. For the Super Bowl, those 50-yard-line seats and underground parking will also be sold separately from the ground level suites and not included in the package.

Only 1,000 tickets are sold to the general public by a random drawing, but there will be many opportunities for Dallas fans to be a part of the Super Bowl action at the multi-media interactive NFL Experience Festival to be held at the Dallas Convention Center. The annual “Taste of the NFL” will take place in Ft. Worth at the Convention Center. If you want to be a part of this historic event, and not pay to attend the NFL Experience or Taste of the NFL, you can still be one of the 10,000 volunteers needed by the Host Committee.

You will be able to catch a glimpse of the Super Bowl players by positioning yourself outside of their hotel and practice fields. The NFC Champions will be at the Omni Mandalay at Las Colinas and practicing at the Cowboy’s Valley Ranch facility. The AFC Champions will practice at TCU and their hotel will be the Omni Ft Worth. The Marriott in Solana and the Hilton Dallas/Lakefront Rockwall are mysteriously “sold out” the weekend of the Super Bowl, according to a Dallas Hotel industry source. These hotels could be the unidentified sites for the Super Bowl teams to stay the night before the actual game. The best spot to see NFL past and present players will be the NFL Media Center at the Downtown Dallas Sheraton and the NFL Headquarters at the Hilton Anatole. I, however, will be skipping all this madness in favor of the Pro-Bowl in Hawaii. At least I can enjoy madness in paradise!