Top 10 Worst College Football Bowl Locations

5. Mobile, AL (GoDaddy.com Bowl)

You are certain to find a big helping of Southern hospitality in Mobile, along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. But the city’s population is just under 200,000 and it’s a bit second-rate. We would rather enjoy the Mardi Gras celebration in nearby New Orleans – Mobile has one of its own – travel to Birmingham or college towns Tuscaloosa or Auburn instead. GoDaddy.com – who likes to sell sex in its commercials – could find a more glamorous spot for a bowl game.

4. Albuquerque, NM (Gildan New Mexico Bowl)

Located in the middle of the desert, it’s like a poor man’s Las Vegas without the glamor and fun. One of the biggest tourist attractions is the Albuquerque Aquarium, which makes about as much sense as a bowl game in New Mexico. The weather stinks in the winter and it’s also really far away for East Coasters – like the Temple fans who made the 2,000-mile trek to last weekend’s bowl game.

3. Detroit, MI (Little Caesars Pizza Bowl)

Sorry, good people of Detroit, we are rooting for your city’s economic comeback. But please don’t make us visit during the winter. The Motor City is freezing. The game will be played indoors at Ford Field, but who wants to trek through dilapidated Detroit with the biting wind numbing his or her face to see Purdue take on Western Michigan in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl? Count us out.

2. Boise, ID (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)

Just under 1.6 million people live in Idaho – that’s about as many as you will find in line to use the ice-skating rink at New York City’s Rockefeller Center. We aren’t knocking the city itself – it’s picturesque and no doubt a quiet spot to raise a family – but it’s not a hub of excitement and certainly not an ideal place to take a trip in December. The big tourist attraction? Boise’s blue field. And you will have to endure the cold and two non-BCS teams battling it out in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Not enticing.

1. El Paso, TX (Hyundai Sun Bowl)

What does it say about the bowl’s location in remote West Texas when coaches warn their players not to cross into Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez, a.k.a. “The Murder Capital of the World,” out of fears for their safety? El Paso itself is best known for being at the center of the never-ending U.S.-Mexican drug war. Looking for warm weather? You’re also in the wrong place during the winter. And with the game set for Dec. 31, who wants to ring in the New Year in the middle of nowhere feeling like they are on an actual battle field?

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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.