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    Cotton Bowl Classic Tickets

    Jan. 1, 2027 CFP quarterfinal · value pick: the 300-level Mezzanine

    Under the AT&T Stadium roof, the giant video board and the Mezzanine ring shape the best seats. Here is how to choose one for a playoff game in Arlington.

    By the Reserved Seat editorial teamUpdated How we research
    AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX
    Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Upcoming Cotton Bowl Classic dates

    Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.

    The Cotton Bowl seat call, made fast

    For the Cotton Bowl Classic, the best value seat at AT&T Stadium is a sideline seat in the 300-level Mezzanine, a shallow ring that beats the upper deck for closeness and still sits high enough to see plays form. With a bigger budget, aim for 100- or 200-level sideline seats inside the 20s. The roof takes weather off the table, so the only real variables are distance, angle and which side your team's fans are on.

    This season's edition is a College Football Playoff (CFP) quarterfinal, played Friday, January 1, 2027. Goodyear is the title sponsor, and the game is organized by the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association.

    Four levels and a video board you will watch all game

    AT&T Stadium, between Dallas and Fort Worth, opened in 2009. Football capacity is about 80,000, and the building can expand for larger events. A roof that opens and closes sits overhead, and glass doors stand at both end zones. The center-hung video board, roughly 160 feet wide and about 90 feet above the field, is what nearly everyone watches for replays.

    • 100s. Lower bowl seating, with club areas at field level along each sideline.
    • 200s. Club seats that come with indoor lounges.
    • 300s, called the Mezzanine. Roughly 17 rows, wedged between the clubs and the top deck.
    • 400s. Upper deck.

    Facing the field, seat numbers climb from right to left; seat 1 is on your right.

    Sideline, Mezzanine or upper deck for a playoff game

    • Sideline 100 and 200, between the 20s. The highest demand. For Cowboys games, a seat-license resale guide lists 109–112 as south-sideline sections and 134–137 as north-sideline sections. Either side suits a bowl.
    • Mezzanine sideline. The value play: nearer than the upper deck, high enough for a full read of formations.
    • Upper-deck sideline. The whole field is visible, but you may end up watching the screen more than the players.
    • Low end-zone rows. The poorest football sightlines here. At field level behind the goal line, depth is nearly impossible to read.

    At a playoff game, supporters bunch up behind their team's bench side, and the bowl sets those assignments for each matchup. If sitting with your crowd matters, wait for the assignment.

    How the quarterfinal pairing gets decided

    On January 1, 2027, the Cotton, Peach and Rose bowls split three quarterfinal start times published by the CFP: 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Central (noon, 4 and 8 Eastern). Which one Arlington gets is announced by the playoff and its networks.

    • Selection day in early December places the top four seeds, who skip the first round, directly into quarterfinal games, so half of the Cotton Bowl matchup is normally set right then.
    • The first round on December 18–19, 2026, at campus sites, produces the other team with under two weeks to go.
    • Local schools change the market. With numerous Big 12 and SEC schools in the state, a Texas team or nearby rival fills the stadium with local fans and thins out resale supply.

    In the 12-team format, the six New Year's Six bowls (the top-tier games that host playoff rounds) trade quarterfinal and semifinal duty over a three-year cycle. Arlington had a quarterfinal on New Year's Eve 2025, has another on New Year's Day 2027 and is slated for a semifinal on January 14, 2028. The format is locked only through the 2026 season.

    Fan fest, tailgate, parade and a New Year's Eve party

    Bowl week is busy. Events named on the official site include a band competition, Cotton Bowl Live, Goodyear's Huddle Up Fan Fest and the Tall Cotton Tailgate, plus a drone show, a December 31 celebration at Texas Live (the dining and entertainment complex next door) and a Classic Keynote held in Dallas at the Bush Presidential Center. The calendar shifts each year, so look again once the teams are known.

    Two more traditions: a New Year's parade sponsored by Comerica Bank, widely known as the Cotton Bowl Parade, and a hall of fame for the game's standout players and coaches.

    Driving to Arlington, parking and the bag rule

    • Car or rideshare. Arlington has no train service to the stadium. On Cowboys game days there are about 12,000 spaces in the numbered lots and roughly as many in lettered lots by the Rangers' ballpark. Bowl parking passes are their own purchase; get one early.
    • Airports. DFW International and Love Field are both within driving range. A hotel in Arlington's entertainment district, around the stadium and the ballpark, shortens game day.
    • Arrive early. Three playoff games share New Year's Day, and Texas Live fills well before kickoff.
    • Bags. For the 2025 season, permitted bags were a transparent tote no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches, a clear gallon bag, or a 4.5-by-6.5-inch clutch. No cash is accepted inside. See the stadium's bag policy before you go.

    Reserved Seat orders include guaranteed entry.

    Fair Park beginnings and games still retold

    The opener, on New Year's Day 1937, drew roughly 17,000 to Fair Park in Dallas and ended TCU 16, Marquette 6. Fair Park's open-air Cotton Bowl stadium remained home through January 2009. Chilly January weather was one reason the game relocated under a roof in Arlington for 2010.

    For 55 years, 1941 to 1995, the Southwest Conference sent its champion. Once that league folded, the Big 12 (starting 1997) and the SEC (starting 1999) supplied the teams until the bowl entered the playoff rotation in 2014 and fixed tie-ins ended.

    • 1954: Alabama's Tommy Lewis came off the bench to tackle Rice's Dicky Moegle, and officials awarded Rice the touchdown.
    • 1957: Jim Brown scored three times for Syracuse, but a blocked point-after decided it, TCU 28–27.
    • 1979: the "Chicken Soup Game," Notre Dame 35, Houston 34, after Joe Montana led a comeback from a 22-point hole.
    • December 2015: the first playoff semifinal in Arlington, a 38–0 Alabama shutout of Michigan State. Two more semifinals came in December 2018 and December 2021.
    • January 2025: Ohio State handled Texas 28–14 in a semifinal and went on to win the championship.

    The sponsor list runs from Mobil (1989 to 1995) to Southwestern Bell, renamed SBC and then AT&T (1997 to 2014), to Goodyear since 2014.

    Frequently asked questions

    What is the best value seat for the Cotton Bowl?

    Look at Mezzanine (300-level) sideline sections, which combine a good height with a much shorter distance than the 400s.

    What date is the Cotton Bowl this season?

    New Year's Day 2027, a Friday, when it hosts a CFP quarterfinal. The start time comes from the playoff and its TV partners.

    Which seats should I avoid at AT&T Stadium?

    The bottom rows behind the end zones. Sitting at field level behind the goal line makes it very hard to read depth.

    Can I take the train to the Cotton Bowl?

    No. There is no rail service to the stadium, so drive or take a rideshare, and prepay for parking.

    When does the Cotton Bowl host a semifinal next?

    It is scheduled to host a CFP semifinal on January 14, 2028.

    Why did the game leave the Cotton Bowl stadium?

    Cold New Year's weather in the open-air Fair Park venue was one factor in the 2010 move to the roofed stadium in Arlington.

    Sources