Cotton Bowl game day excitement comes with concerns for snow and ice
ARLINGTON — The winter weather expected this week could impact the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Friday night.
The University of Texas and Ohio State University will go head-to-head in one of the two playoff games this week ahead of the College National Championship.
The City of Arlington is ready to host 75-80,000 UT and OSU fans on Friday, but with the game day excitement also comes concern for the potential of snow and ice. Road crews were out in full force Tuesday pretreating roads.
"We put salt brine on 24 or 48 hours in advance. We don't sand until it starts snowing or ice is forming," said DJ Ryals, one of Arlington's field operations supervisors.
The city says it will bump up staffing, have plows on standby, and even an updated operations center.
"That will give us the ability to pretty much monitor the entire city and specifically, you know, the entertainment district all around this area, around the stadium," said Adam Evans with the Arlington Fire Department.
Evans says they are even more prepared after the 2011 Super Bowl when nearly a half foot of snow fell in DFW before the big game.
"We learned a lot from that. Our guys are highly trained to drive in it and respond in it. All our response vehicles are outfitted with tire chains for hazardous winter conditions," he said
Organizers with the Cotton Classic said no changes have been made to game day plans, with AT&T Stadium and the Cotton Bowl Classic releasing the following statement:
"We continue to monitor weather reports, and over the last 24 hours, the forecast for later this week has improved according to the National Weather Service. We have been meeting routinely with city officials, the Director of Transportation for North Texas and the College Football Playoff. Should the forecast shift, we are prepared for all contingencies. North Texas highways are already being brined and plans are in place to assure a safe environment for everyone in and around AT&T Stadium on game day. The teams arrive tomorrow, as planned, and the 2025 CFP Semifinal at the 89th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic will kick off on Friday evening as scheduled."
"We are not excited for the snow. We are excited for all the visitors to come to Arlington. And hoping for a great game," Ryals said.
Both the OSU and UT marching bands said the weather has changed their travel plans. UT will arrive in North Texas earlier on Wednesday and OSU plans to fly in on Thursday morning and has made plans to now practice indoors at the Melissa Championship Center.
