Fiesta Bowl

Charter a Private Jet to the Fiesta Bowl

It’s Bowl Mania for football fans on and around the beginning of every new year. There are more than 40 NCAA bowl games but the best of the best compete in six major bowls, including the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona.

We Can Get You There

If you are lucky enough to have a ticket to the Fiesta Bowl, held at the University of Phoenix in Glendale, Paramount Business Jets can arrange a charter flight for you into any of the nearby airports, including:

• Glendale Municipal Airport, KGEU, GEU, Glendale, United States (2 miles)
• Luke AFB Airport, KLUF, LUF, Luke, United States (7 miles)
• Phoenix Goodyear Airport, KGYR, GYR, Goodyear, United States (10 miles)
• Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, KDVT, DVT, Phoenix, United States (15 miles)
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, KPHX, PHX, Phoenix, United States (16 miles)
• Pleasant Valley Airport, KP48, P48, Peoria, United States (19 miles)
• Scottsdale Airport, KSDL, SCF, Scottsdale, United States (21 miles)
• Pierce Airport, 10AZ, 10AZ, Buckeye, United States (24 miles)
• Stellar Airpark Airport, KP19, P19, Chandler, United States (26 miles)
• Buckeye Municipal Airport, KBXK, BXK, Buckeye, United States (26 miles)

Fiesta Bowl History

The Fiesta Bowl was created to provide an automatic berth for the winner of the Western Athletic Conference, which felt slighted in bowl invitations

G. Homer Durham, then-president of Arizona State University, pitched the idea of an Arizona-based bowl game in 1968, the same year WAC champion Wyoming was not invited to a bowl.

Neither was Arizona State invited in 1969 and 1970 when it was the WAC champion

Enter the first Fiesta Bowl – with an automatic berth for the WAC champion – in 1971. That automatic berth ended in 1978 when both Arizona and Arizona State left the WAC. (Today, the WAC does not even include football. The conference dropped the sport in 2012 after frustrating years of teams coming and going in the conference.)

In its relatively short history, the Fiesta Bowl has hosted eight national championship games, including the first Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game in 1999 when Tennessee beat Florida State, 23-16.

After becoming part of the BCS in 1998, it took its turn hosting the national championship game every four years. In 2014, the BCS was replaced with the College Football Playoffs, in which the games are rotated between six bowls, guaranteeing a semifinal championship game every three years.

The national championship game is no longer in the rotation. It goes to the city that places the winning bid like the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four.

Many believe the 2007 Fiesta Bowl was one of the most exciting games in college football history. Heavily favored Oklahoma, taking on Boise State, scored 25 unanswered points to take the lead for the first time with a little over a minute remaining in the game. But Boise State was not to be denied. It’s famous “hook and lateral” play tied up the game and sent it into overtime. In overtime, Boise State went for a gutsy 2-point conversion attempt with a “Statue of Liberty” play and made it, winning the game.

How It Got Its Name

After getting officially sanctioned as a bowl site, it then had to determine a name for itself as it joined the Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton, and Peach bowls in the elite six of bowl games. So, in 1971, the Arizona Republic newspaper held a name-the-bowl contest. “Fiesta” was chosen on 73 of the 6,500 entries that were received. The contest winner, picked in a random drawing of the winning entries, got lifetime tickets to Fiesta Bowl games.

Most Appearances

Ohio State, which has played in the Fiesta Bowl seven times, winning five and losing two, is the school with the most appearances. Eight other colleges have played in four or more Fiesta Bowls. They are:

• Ohio State: 9 times (5-4)
• Penn State: 7 times (7-0)
• Arizona State: 6 times (5-1)
• Nebraska: 6 times (2-4)
• Notre Dame: 6 times (1-5)
• Oklahoma: 5 times (2-3)
• Florida State: 4 times (2-2)
• Pittsburgh: 4 times (1-3)
• Miami: 4 times (0-4)

To Do And See In Glendale

• Glendale Glitters: For six weeks, starting Thanksgiving weekend, 1.5 million lights illuminate 16 downtown blocks. There is a different theme each weekend.
• The Arizona Coyotes: Catch an Arizona Coyotes NHL game at Gila River Arena. The team plays games in the fall, winter and spring.
• Sahuaro Ranch Park: Historic ranch buildings provide the backdrop for visitors there to picnic, play, or hike. Chickens and peacocks roam the park.
• Manistee Ranch: This ranch, build in 1897 by a Wisconsin lumberman, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was one of the last working cattle ranches in the area. The ranch and its Victorian home and gardens are run by the Glendale Historical Society.
• Xeriscape Botanical Garden: Pick up a listening device at the Glendale Main Library and take a self-guided tour of more than 1,000 trees, plants, and cactuses on the garden’s four acres. There are also tips on adding cactus to your landscape.
• Historic Downtown Glendale: There are more than 90 boutique shops and a dozen ethnic restaurants in the downtown area with brick streets and bungalows.

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Picture 2 Source