Three Legg
It’s rivalry week in high school football and the El Paso Independent School District superintendent has arranged for three games to played at the Sun Bowl on Saturday, including Bowie versus Jefferson.
But not everybody is happy about it.
While Irvin, Andress, Austin, El Paso High, Bowie and Jefferson will experience their dream of playing in the Sun Bowl, there are some concerns from at least one school about tradition and concession revenue.
“It’s fantastic for the kids,” said Bowie High coach Robert Padilla, who couldn’t have been more excited about his team getting the opportunity to face rival Jefferson at the Sun Bowl on Saturday.
His players like the idea too.
“This morning I had a couple in class and they were already talking about it,” Padilla said. “They’re smiling … It’s a golden opportunity for us.”
The last time Bowie and Jefferson played at the Sun Bowl was 1983. That’s 30 years ago and while Coach Padilla likes the experience for his players, not everybody is happy about it.
“Our alumni groups have gotten together for a pregame tailgate, kind of a cookout, that’s just started up the last couple of years,” Padilla said. “That’s going to be kind of put on hold. They’re still going to tailgate, but it’s not going to be as in close proximity to the team and the game itself.”
This rivalry game is also the biggest game every year when it comes to concession revenue at Bowie, which they will be giving up to play at the Sun Bowl.
“Our direct fundraising comes from concessions and we’re gonna very happily give that up this year,” Padilla said.
“Initially, the concern was that the sentiment was going to be not as positive,” said Jaime Rodriguez, president of the Bowie Alumni Association, which has nearly 10,000 members nationwide. “Some of the organizations that would typically hold fundraisers at the school are not being allowed. But I think what those folks are keeping focus on is that the positive certainly outweighs whatever negative there might be.”
Coach Padilla, who says the school could lose about $2,000 in concession revenue, agrees.
“You go back far enough and people remember Bowie and Jeff was a yearly thing at the Sun Bowl,” Padilla said. “It’s a very happy trade for us to trade one time concessions for a lifetime worth of memories for our kids.”
An EPISD spokeswoman told ABC-7 the district is aware of the concern regarding the loss of concession revenue. She said a large portion of that lost revenue will be paid to the Bowie booster club through corporate sponsors.
