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Thursday, August 21, 1997

Cowboys likely to return to El Paso next year

By EDUARDO MONTES / Associated Press Writer

EL PASO, Texas (AP) - The Dallas Cowboys will likely return to El Paso again next year, but it probably won't be for training camp and it certainly won't be for an exhibition game, officials said Wednesday.

When civic leaders first began pursuing the Cowboys to scrimmage in West Texas, they said they eventually wanted to expand the team's presence in some way, including possibly bringing the camp here for a week.

Two scrimmages later, "We obviously have come to a fork in the road and we can pursue more scrimmages ... or we can singlemindedly pursue an exhibition game," said Larry Peterson, who spearheaded the efforts that brought the team to the Sun Bowl stadium in 1996 and 1997.

Peterson and Chamber of Commerce president Wes Jurey said at a news conference that the idea of hosting an exhibition game appears unrealistic because of the cost to the city and the cost of the tickets.

Jurey estimated it cost event organizers about $750,000 to put on the July 26 scrimmage between the Cowboys and the San Diego Chargers. It would cost at least $2 million to bring the Cowboys and another team to the Sun Bowl for a preseason game, he said.

Ticket prices would rise as a result. The average preseason ticket for a game at Texas Stadium is $45, while the average at the El Paso scrimmage these past two years has been $22.

"We just can't do that," said Peterson.

Playing host to the training camp seems more likely, although that depends on whether the city can provide adequate facilities.

Peterson and Jurey said the most probable scenario would involve modifying a previously proposed city sports complex to accommodate an NFL team during the summer but also making it so it would be available for other uses the rest of the year.

The Associated Press has reported the team plans to return to its Austin training site next year, but might move its camp to El Paso as early as 1999 if the border city follows through with plans to build a resort where the team could train.

Still, Peterson said local officials are not currently pressing for the Cowboys to train in El Paso for a week next year, an idea floated before last month's scrimmage.