by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
First and foremost, the people who put together the New Mexico Bowl wanted the game to be reasonably priced.
At a press conference Wednesday, New Mexico Bowl Executive Director Jeff Siembieda announced that tickets are now on sale for the state's inaugural bowl game.
Ticket prices are $23 for seating in the north end zone and $30 for premium seats in University Stadium. There is also an option to buy four tickets for $80 for seating in the New Mexico Bowl family section, which is located in the south end zone.
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"We wanted to make sure that this event and this game was affordable for people in New Mexico to come to," Siembieda said. "Understanding that it is a special event, that it is a bowl game, we really feel that we hit a price point that makes sense."
The New Mexico Bowl will pit a team from the Mountain West Conference against a team from the Western Athletic Conference on Dec. 23. The game will be televised live from University Stadium on ESPN at 2:30 p.m.
Siembieda and New Mexico Bowl Executive Board Chairman Rudy Davalos also announced the launching of the New Mexico Bowl Web site, www.newmexicobowl.com.
The Web site will provide information such as bowl week events, ticket information, sponsors, updates on the WAC and MWC and general information about Albuquerque and New Mexico. Tickets for the game may be purchased on the Web site.
Season-ticket holders from UNM and New Mexico State University can help their respective schools by purchasing tickets for the New Mexico Bowl prior to Oct. 1.
The New Mexico Bowl will give $5 back to the school from each ticket purchased by a season-ticket holder prior to Oct. 1, Siembieda said.
He said some of the bowl week events have already been planned, such as a chili cook-off contest hosted by El Pinto restaurant and a team dinner and bowling event hosted by Santa Ana Star Casino.
The game itself will match the third or fourth available team in the MWC against the third available team from the WAC.
Although the New Mexico Bowl will not feature the top teams from both conferences, it will still be a successful event, Siembieda said.
"I understand we're not the Rose Bowl," he said. "We're not the Orange Bowl. We get it, but it puts us in a time of year when everybody's talking football - a Saturday afternoon where we're the only game in that window on television."
Davalos said the New Mexico Bowl has the potential to grow into an important annual game.
"I think we have a chance to do something with it," he said. "If it's rolling on really successful, then there's no telling what might happen. This is something that could be a solid bowl for a long, long time."
One concern about the game could be the effect on attendance if neither UNM nor NMSU is invited to play in it. Davalos said attendance would be a lot higher if UNM played in the bowl game.
However, Siembieda said the game will still draw a crowd whether or not a New Mexico team is involved.
"Make no mistake, this event is going to stand on its own," Siembieda said. "This isn't the University of New Mexico Bowl or the New Mexico State University Bowl. This is a huge event on the national scale. We will have a successful event with or without one of those schools."
