So, See, Super Bowl XLV Really Is Coming to Dallas -- Fair Park and Downtown, Even

The North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee this morning issued this joint media release, along with the National Football League, announcing venue selections for "16 key events" that'll be associated with Super Bowl XLV. Dallas and Fort Worth each get five; Arlington, four (including, ahem, the game); Irving, two. A few of these events were announced in January, among them where the NFC and AFC champs would be staying -- the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Las Colinas and the Omni Fort Worth, respectively. Also, the league said in January that the Taste of the NFL event would be held at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

Now, to the new stuff: Dallas will host the NFL Experience extravaganza (at the Dallas Convention Center), serve as the NFL's official HQ (that'd be Harlan Crow's Hilton Anatole),  provide the media center (the downtown Sheraton Dallas) and host the NFC Fan Party (at Fair Park on February 5, 2011). There will also be a Kick-Off Concert Series at the soon-to-open Winspear Opera House that will take place on May 22, 2010. In addition to the two previously announced Fort Worth events, the city will also host the AFC champs' practice facility (on the TCU campus), the AFC Fan Party (downtown, also February 5, 2011) and its own kick-off concert at Bass Hall on March 6, 2010.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the NFC champs will practice at the Dallas Cowboys' Valley Ranch facilities. Which leaves Arlington with the game and a tailgating shindig day of, and a concert series "grand finale" on September 10 of next year, all of which takes place, of course, at Jerry Jones's EnormoDome. And the Super Bowl XLV Accreditation Center will be in Arlington; dunno where, yawn.

Says Host Committee president and CEO Bill Lively, till last fall the president and CEO of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, "Everyone involved with this process has said since Day One that this would be a true regional effort, benefiting not just one city but all citizens of North Texas. Today that was proven to be the case. There will be more important venue announcements to come, but these selections speak to the regional spirit this game is fostering."