Location in the United States Location in Texas | |
Address | 2701 Sun Bowl Drive |
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Location | University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
Coordinates | 31°46′23″N106°30′29″W / 31.773°N 106.508°W |
Elevation | 3,910 feet (1,190 m) |
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 [2] |
Opened | September 21, 1963 |
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 nominal seating capacity of 51,500, although UTEP currently lists the capacity as 46,670. [3]
The stadium, named for the game it hosts, was opened 61 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. [4]
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.
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 were completed in time for the 2021 season.
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.
On February 2, 2007, the stadium hosted the inaugural Texas vs. The Nation all-star college football game; the Nation defeated Texas 24–20. [5]
Since the 1990s, the Sun Bowl has hosted several concerts such as The Rolling Stones, U2, Pink Floyd, Ricky Martin, NSYNC, One Direction (a sellout), Guns 'n' Roses, and a co-headlining performance by Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and Alice Cooper. Notably, the Mexican pop group RBD kicked off their Soy Rebelde Tour at the stadium, marking their first live show in nearly 15 years. British rock band Coldplay are scheduled to perform at Sun Bowl on June 13 and 14, 2025 as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour, they will become the first act to hold two concerts at the stadium during a single tour. [6]
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 Juárez, Mexico, several miles away across the Rio Grande. [7]
For a short time before moving to Dudley Field, the El Paso Patriots soccer team in the Premier Development League (now known as USL League Two) made its home at the Sun Bowl. The Patriots played their final seasons at Patriot Stadium.
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American student population after the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
Stanford Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. It is the home of the Stanford Cardinal and hosts the university's commencement exercises. Opened 103 years ago in 1921 as a football and track and field stadium, it was an earthen horseshoe with wooden bleacher seating and flooring upon a steel frame. Its original seating capacity was 60,000, which grew to 89,000 by 1927 as a nearly enclosed bowl.
The Don Haskins Center, formerly known as the Special Events Center, is the home of UTEP Miners men's and women's basketball. The venue is located in the heart of El Paso, Texas. In addition to hosting sporting events, the Don Haskins Center is also used by many area schools, such as El Paso Community College, for graduation and commencement ceremonies. Due to its large seating capacity, the center is also the city's premier entertainment venue and has hosted big-name acts such as pop star Shakira's Tour of the Mongoose, Oral Fixation Tour and The Sun Comes Out World Tour, Britney Spears during her Circus Tour, comedian George Lopez and rock band KISS.
Aggie Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the southwestern United States, located on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It is the home field of the New Mexico State Aggies of Conference USA.
Kidd Field is an athletic facility used primarily by the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in El Paso, Texas. Constructed for its then-primary use as a football field in 1938, it was the site of the Sun Bowl until 1963 when Sun Bowl Stadium opened. Kidd Field is used for track and field meets today. Kidd Field cost $2,000 to build, and El Paso holds an annual Easter festival there. Built in the early 1930s, Kidd Field has been home to numerous All-Americans, national champions, national record-holders and Olympians. Named after UTEP professor and athletic booster John W. Kidd, the facility was shared with the UTEP football team until 1962, when the facility became sole home to the track and field team. The track features an eight-lane Mondo Track, the same surface used for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The track was made possible by generous donations from Wayne and Russ Vandenburg of EPT Management and Mark Fry. The track was dedicated in former Miner legend Larry K. Durham's name. His contribution gave Kidd Field a makeover in 2011, and it was dedicated in his name in April 2012. A state-of-the-art Daktronics video board was added in January 2008. The 9x15-foot LED video display plants fans right into the action on the track, providing graphics and video elements that display real-time highlights throughout a meet. The lit facility also houses throws and jumps arenas, making Kidd Field one of the top track-only complexes in the country.
The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, when they joined Rice, Tulsa, and SMU in leaving the WAC for Conference USA. The UTEP Miners are best known as the first team in Texas to win an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. UTEP's colors are orange and blue and the mascot is a miner named Paydirt Pete.
The Battle of I-10 is the name given to the New Mexico State–UTEP football rivalry. It is a college rivalry game between New Mexico State University (NMSU) and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). It is called the Battle of I-10 because the two universities are located along Interstate 10 connecting Las Cruces and El Paso. The teams compete for the Silver Spade Trophy and the Mayor's Cup.
The 2007 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Mike Price. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso. UTEP averaged 36,569 fans per game, ranking 64th nationally.
The UTEP Miners football program represents University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in the sport of American football. The Miners compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the West Division of Conference USA (CUSA). They are coached by Scotty Walden. UTEP has produced a Border Conference championship team in 1956 and a Western Athletic Conference championship team in 2000, along with 14 postseason bowl appearances. The Miners play their home games at the Sun Bowl which has a seating capacity of 51,500.
The 2008 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Mike Price. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. UTEP averaged 37,296 fans per game, ranking 66th nationally.
The 2004 EV1.net Houston Bowl was the fifth edition of the college football bowl game, and was played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The game pitted the Colorado Buffaloes from the Big 12 Conference and the UTEP Miners from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The game was the final competition of the 2004 football season for each team and resulted in a 33–28 Colorado victory.
The 2000 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Gary Nord. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas.
The 2015 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the third year for head coach Sean Kugler both with UTEP and overall. They were members of the West Division of Conference USA. The Miners played their home games in El Paso, Texas at the Sun Bowl Stadium. They finished the season 5–7, 3–5 in C-USA play to finish in a three way tie for third place in the West Division. UTEP averaged 23,212 fans per game.
The 1937 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Texas Mines Miners and the Hardin–Simmons Cowboys.
The 1988 Independence Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the UTEP Miners.
The 1954 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Texas Western Miners and the Mississippi Southern Southerners.
The 2016 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by fourth-year head coach Sean Kugler. They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the West Division. UTEP averaged 23,001 fans per game.
The 2017 UTEP Miners football team represented University of Texas at El Paso in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by fifth-year head coach Sean Kugler until his resignation on October 2 and then by interim head coach Mike Price, who had previously served at UTEP's head coach from 2004 to 2012. The Miners finished the season with a record 0–12, 0–8 in conference play to finish in last place in the Conference USA and winless for the first time since the 1973 season. UTEP averaged 19,548 fans per game.
The 2022 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Dana Dimel, who coached his fifth season with the team. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
The 2023 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, and competed as members of Conference USA. They were led by sixth-year head coach Dana Dimel.
Events and tenants | ||
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Preceded by | Home of the Sun Bowl 1963–present | Succeeded by Current |
Preceded by | Home of the UTEP Miners 1963–present | Succeeded by Current |