(04-23-2017 02:06 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  

(04-23-2017 09:20 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(04-22-2017 10:58 AM)johnintx Wrote:  You're right on Dallas as a destination. It's nothing special compared to say, Miami. I never claimed it to be anything different. It just happens to be in the American conference footprint, within reasonable driving distance of 5 schools. If you're going to have a lower-level bowl game with 10-15,000 in attendance and 3 1/2 hours air time, a soccer stadium in Frisco serves the purpose. Nothing more, nothing less. For bowls like this, that mainly serve as 3 1/2 hours of filler on ESPN, I like the idea of the Bahamas Bowl, but that's a different topic.

I meant DFW as being centrally located compared to the rest of the country. It's a major airline hub in the middle of the country with direct flights from most cities. Now that the tollways have been extended, Frisco is roughly the same distance from DFW as downtown Dallas or downtown Fort Worth. I didn't realize that until I mapped it, as it was via two-lane road until fairly recently. It's still a lot of sprawl. That's how we roll in Texas, for better or worse.

These are fine points, and all correct.

My main beef could be rephrased more simply then, with respect to this response as: "yeah, that would be great if Dallas just had the Cotton Bowl in AT&T and nothing else ... but aren't there already like 50 bowl games in Dallas????"

(04-22-2017 12:38 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  Actually, Dallas has a number of points of interest, it's just that it's terribly spread out, including other cities and suburbs in the area. You can't just walk or bike to them like in Washington or New York.

This is the general issue with places in the Sun Belt except for New Orleans, San Antonio and Las Vegas.

That's a good, and interesting observation. Atlanta too. I think of Atlanta and Dallas as the same thing, from a northerner's perspective: there's nothing particularly amazing to see there that justifies it as "vacation worthy", and the weather is surprisingly cold in the winter for being in "the south".

So in defense of Dallas tourism ... what attractions in your opinion justify the trip, and when is the best time to visit??

The school book depository/Dealey Plaza/the grassy knoll, Sundance Square in FW, Six Flags in Arlington, etc... and a whole bunch more. As you can tell by those three alone, it embodies everything I said about it all being so spread out.

You're right about Dallas and Atlanta. With no disrespect intended to either city, I've often called Atlanta "Dallas with trees and hills". They're both Southern cities with large airline hubs that have attracted lots of jobs, and populated by people from all over the country and all over the world. Both are sprawling (though most of the attractions in Atlanta are centralized). And, both cities are far enough north to have winter weather, though not on the level of a city like Chicago. Both cities have had Super Bowl weeks impacted by ice storms, though the games themselves were indoors.

These are cities that serve as regional destinations. Great for a weekend trip, but not places you would want to fly to from halfway across the country for a week's vacation.