Update, 1:30 p.m., March 27: Revised to include a statement from ESPN.

The Heart of Dallas Bowl still has a pulse, but it no longer has taxpayer dollars to keep it alive.

The City Council's Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee on Monday rejected paying $800,000 to ESPN over two years to keep the sparsely attended football game alive. Committee members said they're not totally turning down the game, which is one of the few football games held every year at the 92,000-capacity Cotton Bowl Stadium. But the council members want a better deal with the sports network.

"This bowl game is not good for the city of Dallas in its current form," said council member Mark Clayton, who previously worked in the sports marketing industry.

ESPN spokeswoman Anna Negron said in an emailed statement that the networks values "our relationship with the city of Dallas and are working with all parties involved."

The money, which is split among the competing teams, would have come out of the city's parks budget.

Officials said the average economic activity generated by the $400,000 annual subsidy is about $8.9 million. But last year, taxpayers ultimately took a loss. The city only made back about $147,000 in revenue and about $75,000 in concessions and parking from the event.

ESPN, meanwhile, averages about 2.2 million viewers for the game, officials said. Those stay-at-home fans tuned in to see modest crowds swallowed up by the massive Dallas stadium; average attendance since the game's inception in 2011 has been about 35,597.

Last year, the announced attendance was 20,507, but only about half those ticket-holders actually showed up to see the Utah Utes defeat the West Virginia Mountaineers, 30-14.

Dallas Park and Recreation Department officials said unpredictable winter weather — the game was Dec. 26 — creates trouble booking a quality game at the outdoor Cotton Bowl.

"It's not a good game," Park and Recreation Director Willis Winters said. As council members chuckled, Winters corrected himself to say he meant it wasn't "a good day for a football game."

Council members had also invited VisitDallas, the convention and visitors bureau, to ask them why they're not paying for the game. VisitDallas officials replied that the Heart of Dallas Bowl doesn't draw enough hotel stays to justify spending money on it.

"If it's a bad deal for the city of Dallas, it's certainly a bad deal for VisitDallas," said Phillip Jones, president and CEO of VisitDallas, in an interview.

VisitDallas will be part of future talks with ESPN. Jones said he wants to hear "what will it take to bring a higher quality game on a better date to Dallas." If a different deal makes sense and meets VisitDallas' hotel stay thresholds, Jones said he'd take it back to the board of the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District, which is funded by hotels taxing themselves, and ask them to pitch in.

But Jones said it might not make sense for the city to have a big event during potentially dreary and wet winter months. He said the public improvement district might also help fund different events in the future.

Council members said they were hopeful they could get better teams or better events at the stadium. Lowly finishers with Conference USA, the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences were part of the two-year agreement with ESPN for the Heart of Dallas Bowl. Better teams would presumably require a much bigger incentive.

Assistant City Manager Joey Zapata said the council will also need to consider a larger question: What defines success at the Cotton Bowl?

Over the years, the city has pumped millions of dollars into the 88-year-old stadium to expand seating and keep it competitive for events. But the stadium doesn't have a home college or pro football team anymore, and smaller events don't fill the place. The Cotton Bowl doesn't even have the Cotton Bowl Classic, which is now played at the venue's more modern indoor competitor, AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Bigger decisions about the stadium's future might be left up to one of the private management firms competing to operate Fair Park. City Council member Scott Griggs also suggested getting more creative. He said the city could package other games with the Red River Showdown, which packs the Cotton Bowl every year with University of Texas and University of Oklahoma football fans.

Jones said VisitDallas might be supportive of more events, but is unlikely to take up council members on that idea.

"From an operations perspective, it's very difficult to package something like that," he said. "But we're open to any and all opportunities and we'll look at that."