Dallas Cowboys officials have spent the last few weeks sharpening their bid to lure the Final Four to the new stadium in Arlington.

Wednesday is the deadline for all bid submissions from cities wanting to host a men's Final Four from 2012 to 2016. Stephen Jones is confident the Cowboys will have everything in order to make a good impression on NCAA officials.

"We're getting real close," the Cowboys' vice president said. "We've got a great group to put together what we think will be a competitive bid."

Jones said team officials have been working with the Big 12 office and Rick Baker, executive director of the AT&T Cotton Bowl, to assemble their bid. Baker was instrumental in bringing the Final Four to Reunion Arena in 1986.

Arlington could be among nine cities to submit Final Four bids. Houston's Reliant Stadium has been awarded a Final Four in 2011. If the Cowboys hope to land a Final Four as early as 2012, they'll probably have to make a spectacular presentation.

The competition is just as strong for the Women's Final Four. Rick Nixon, an associate director of the women's NCAA Tournament, said American Airlines Center officials have submitted a bid to host the event between 2012 and 2016.

For the men's tournament, the Cowboys are banking on the new stadium being the main drawing card.

The basketball court would be situated in the middle of the football field with an in-the-round seating diagram. Jones said the final seating count hasn't been determined.

Next year, the Final Four will move to Ford Field in Detroit. It's a football stadium, and the setup would be similar to the Cowboys' venue. The event is expected to have a minimum of 70,000 seats.

"I just think it's hard to overlook a facility like that in terms of A, the business, which is the money, and B, the experience that we think we can deliver at these major sporting events, especially one like the Final Four," Jones said.

After the June deadline, NCAA vice president Greg Shaheen and other officials will make site visits to the cities that have submitted bids, Jones said.

Shaheen visited Dallas in January 2006 and met with Baker and stadium construction manager Jack Hill. At the time, Shaheen said at least nine venues around the country meet the NCAA's Final Four specifications.

Susan Blackwood, executive director of the San Antonio Sports Foundation, said the NCAA is still compiling the numbers from the Final Four held in San Antonio in April.

Heading into the event, the foundation projected the Final Four to have an $80 million economic impact for Texas businesses. Blackwood said this week she felt good about reaching that number when everything is counted.