Top 10 Worst College Football Bowl Locations

Over the next few weeks, college football fans will be provided with wall-to-wall action thanks to the smorgasbord of bowl games on the slate, 35 in all.

But would anyone want to travel to some of the games’ locations to actually watch them in person? For every Pasadena, CA, there is an El Paso, TX, that is hosting a game. So, let’s examine the 10 worst locations hosting a college bowl game based upon the weather, travel and the city’s condition, activities and night life..

10. Nashville, TN (Franklin Am. Mortgage Music City Bowl)

A trip to Tennessee for the Franklin Am. Mortgage Music City Bowl? We’ll pass. Of course, “Music City” has a great entertainment scene and is a worthy tourist spot. But if you aren’t into country music or Civil War history, that cuts down your options in Nashville. We don’t know about you, college football fans, but live performances of the Grand Ole Opry? Yawn. And while technically in the South, late December isn’t exactly toasty in Tennessee.

9. Memphis, TN (AutoZone Liberty Bowl)

Memphis has found itself on the list of country’s most-dangerous cities based on a Crime Risk Index from U.S. News and World Report. We don’t need that formula to tell us that there are better places to spend New Year’s Eve, when Cincinnati will play Vanderbilt in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Beyond Beale Street and Graceland, Memphis doesn’t have any significant attractions and, well, is not far from the borders of rural Mississippi and Arkansas. Yay?

8. San Antonio, TX (Valero Alamo Bowl)

Let’s get this out of the way: San Antonio is a nice city with friendly people. But anyone who has been there can tell you that it’s not exactly a destination. It’s a laid-back spot with a good economy, but does that make you want to make the trek for a winter vacation? Sure, the River Walk and Alamo are attractions, but they aren’t enough to make the Valero Alamo Bowl anything more than a decent game to watch on TV. As Phil Jackson put it, “Once you’ve been (to San Antonio), you’ve been there enough.”

7. Birmingham, AL (BBVA Compass Bowl)

Unless you are an athlete headed to see famed surgeon Dr. James Andrews, we really don’t see a reason to visit Alabama’s largest city. And don’t say for the BBVA Compass Bowl, either. Southern metropolises New Orleans or Atlanta are better options – both of which are within reasonable drives of Birmingham. It’s reputation as one of the nation’s most-dangerous cities also makes the trip less-enticing, to say the least.

6. Shreveport, LA (AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl)

So close, yet so far away. If you are heading to Louisiana, why not check out party-all-night New Orleans or college town Baton Rouge? Instead, Shreveport has a population of just 217,000 people. Its claim to fame is being the cultural center of Ark-La-Tex, where the states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas meet.

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1:29 PM on 12/21/2011

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Chandler

Nashville was recently named the #1 Manliest City in the U.S. Sounds like a great city to have a Bowl game.
J12harris

Yea I am sure it is rough for a sport writer to travel to Memphis instead of San Diego having to wear a jacket or sweater. All of the food and hotel ammenities are free so I am sure that makes it tough.

Hey Moron these players dont care where they play. The y get to play in a bowl game, a memory they will have forever.
Meh

I’ll give you one thing, El Paso definitely isn’t as exciting as some of the bigger bowl cities… But to say it’s dangerous in El Paso itself is a bit ignorant. For our size, we have about the same violent crime rate as Pasadena, and a lower one than New Orleans. Yes, Juarez is extremely dangerous place, and the coaches are right to warn players not to venture across the border. El Paso is like a zoo; you’re fine unless you decide to climb into the tiger habitat.
Edward Vera

El Paso is not in a battle field. El Paso does have a reputation as the safefest city in the nation in our population size. Why did you not mention Phoenix. What is there to do there? Look at your football history. The Sunbowl is the forth oldest bowl game and has a reputation for its hospitality. Fans came to watch the game, not to party. What is there in New Orleans other than then French Quarter? Nothing exciting about seeing fans get drunk and being seen drunch.
RayArk

If the writer thinks Nashville is boring, then I doubt he has been there. You don’t have to be a country fan to enjoy Nashville. Great City.
HookemHorns

I don’t know about San Antonio as a horrible location. its not the best but they have Six Flags, Sea World, and are one of the top shopping cities in the nation without even mentioning the the Riverwalk. Arlington, TX and several other “somewhat close to good locations” locations don’t even come close to being as good as SA. But if its being compared to the media darling cities of LA, Miami, NY, Chi City, Honolulu, etc. then no.
- malcolmkass
  
  Chicago in late December? Give me Shreveport and its many casinos (easily on par with the ones in NO because of the DFW area), cheap golf, and considerable warmer weather.
LonghornLostInMiami

I’d take El Paso over Miami any day. The people there really care about their bowl game and are friendlier than anywhere in the country. The crime from Juarez has not spilled over as you inaccurately describe. You’ve obviously never even been there.