Super Bowl XLV highway signs may be sold

ARLINGTON -- Call it a sign -- actually, 12 signs -- that there's still money to make from Super Bowl XLV.

The big game is now a little more than a year in North Texas' rearview mirror, and signs proclaiming Interstate 30 "Super Bowl Hwy" have been removed.

But regional transportation planners see no need for those green highway placards, owned by the North Central Texas Council of Governments, to gather dust. So instead, members of that organization's offshoot, the Regional Transportation Council, are taking steps to auction off 12 of the signs.

The signs come in two sizes: 2 feet by 14 feet and 18 inches by 10.5 feet. They were attached to the top of the permanent "Tom Landry Highway" signs along I-30 in Fort Worth, Arlington and Dallas.

Michael Morris, the council of governments' transportation director, thinks the signs would be perfect for a wall at a restaurant, at a sports park or perhaps even inside Cowboys Stadium. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might care to put in a bid, since his team hasn't found a road to the Super Bowl in 16 years.

"They aren't going to raise a lot of money, but they've been sitting here for months and they're not doing us any good here," Morris said during a break at the transportation council's meeting Thursday in Arlington, where the signs were leaned up against a wall.

For prospective bidders, there are two catches:

Owners of strip clubs or other businesses that aren't considered family-friendly likely will not be considered. "Certain places, we won't have them," Morris said.

Auction winners will probably have long-term but temporary custody of the signs. They'll have to agree to give them back if the region is selected to host another Super Bowl -- perhaps as early as 2016. The signs would once again need to be placed on I-30.

Auction proceeds will go to the Super Bowl Host Committee's Youth Education Town, which provides after-school activities for boys and girls.

The transportation council will likely vote on the final auction rules March 8 and hold the auction shortly afterward.

"I hope they bring in lots of money," Arlington Councilwoman Kathryn Wilemon said.

Gordon Dickson, 817-390-7796

Twitter: @gdickson