ARLINGTON -- The Super Bowl Host Committee said Wednesday that it expects to have a $7.15 million surplus from putting on the game in February. It agreed to set $2 million aside as a reserve for another Super Bowl bid and distribute the rest to four charities.
Receiving funds are the NFL Youth Education Town center for at-risk youths, which is being built in Arlington as the league's "legacy" project for the area; the North Texas Food Bank; the Tarrant Area Food Bank; and the NFL's Slant 45 service projects in North Texas.
The YET center, scheduled to open early next year, will receive half the surplus beyond the $2 million reserve; the food banks will get 20 percent each; and Slant 45 will get 10 percent.
The committee also voted to reduce itself to 10 members responsible for managing the reserve and starting a new bid.
"The committee's prime responsibility would be the next Super Bowl," said Roger Staubach, the outgoing chairman and former Cowboys quarterback.
Because Arizona was just awarded Super Bowl XLIX, in 2015, "I think we're looking at [a Super Bowl] in the 50s -- LI, LII," Staubach said.
Committee CEO Bill Lively retained his post in the board's vote. The new chairman is Alan White, CEO of PlainsCapital Corp.
The committee said that it submitted a reimbursement request for $22.5 million in host expenses to a state trust fund that helps communities put on major events and that $20 million has been reimbursed.
The Texas comptroller is reviewing the rest of the request, and committee members said they expect approval soon. With that, the host committee would have a surplus of $7.15 million with revenue from the state fund, sponsorships and hotel occupancy taxes.
The committee said it expects to repay a PlainsCapital credit facility using the state reimbursement.
After approving the $2 million for another Super Bowl bid, members debated whether to set aside more for the food banks than the 20 percent allocations recommended by Staubach and Lively. Further allocations would have been subtracted from the YET center funding.
But the committee agreed to the initial recommendation to ensure that the center doesn't become underfunded, which would hurt future Super Bowl bids.
"That, to me, is where our priority ought to lay," said former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, a committee member. "I think it's imperative that we make sure the YET center survives. The legacy component [of the Super Bowl bid] first and foremost was the YET center."
Scott Nishimura, 817-390-7808
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