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Cactus Bowl in Phoenix: More than just football

"This will be the third year in a row that we have donated the field used for the Cactus Bowl at a school that is in need of a youth field," Bob Whitehouse, the vice president of operations for Fiesta Bowl, said.
Fiest Bowl will host Cactus Bowl Tuesday, January 26. (Photo: Ozzy Mora / 12 News)

The Cactus Bowl college football game has been around for 29 years.

Teams from the Big 12 and Pac-12 conferences will return to downtown Phoenix at Chase Field on Tuesday, Dec. 26.

The game is more than just about football, it's also about giving back to nonprofits in Arizona.

Fiesta Bowl hosts Cactus Bowl at Chase Field and PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

"We're a 501-C3, a lot of people don't realize, we're a nonprofit," said Bob Whitehouse, the vice president of operations for Fiesta Bowl.

When people attend the bowls, Fiesta Bowl is able to give back to various organizations.

This past season, Fiesta Bowl gave about $2.5 million to charities alone.

"We would not be able to put on these bowl games without the great volunteer family," said Whitehouse. "We have 125 yellow jackets, a board of volunteers directors and over 3,000 volunteers."

Whitehouse says they have not seen a decline in attendance to the bowl events, but if that were to happen, it would be difficult to give as much money to charities in Arizona.

"This will be the third year in a row that we have donated the field used for the Cactus Bowl at a school that is in need of a youth field," said Whitehouse.

Fiesta Bowl will be donating the field to the Laveen School District, it's not clear which school just yet.

Rows and rows of people will fill Chase Field for the Cactus Bowl. There's no need to be a fan of football to come and enjoy if you know it's also for an amazing cause.

There will also be a performance by country band LoCash during a first-ever concert.

So if you think your ticket is just money being spent, remember other people benefit from it.

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