EXHIBIT 99.1


                                  NEWS RELEASE


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           For Further Information Contact:
April 2, 1997                                        Michael L. Bowlin, Chairman
                                                                   (505)266-5985
                                                       Rudy R. Miller, President
                                                                The Miller Group
                                              Investor Relations for the Company
                                                                   (602)225-0504



                    BOWLIN OUTDOOR ADVERTISING DIVISION BUYS
                     METROPOLITAN ALBUQUERQUE DISPLAY BOARDS


ALBUQUERQUE,  NEW MEXICO,  April 2,1997 -- (NASDAQ-NMS:  BWLN) -- BOWLIN Outdoor
Advertising & Travel Centers  Incorporated  said it purchased 100% of the assets
of  Pony  Panels  Outdoor  Advertising,  a  division  of  McCarty  Company,  for
approximately  $4.2  million.  The  acquisition  of the 747 display faces in the
metropolitan  Albuquerque  market makes  BOWLIN's  the largest  owner of display
faces in the State of New Mexico.

BOWLIN's  additional gain with this, its first  acquisition as a public company,
is a new national  advertising agency  relationship and a billboard display size
(8-sheet poster panels) not previously a major part of its product mix.  Located
in its  headquarters'  city, the addition will be easily integrated into already
existing outdoor advertising operations managed by BOWLIN.

"This  acquisition  makes BOWLIN Outdoor  Advertising  the only company that can
provide  advertisers  display  billboard  coverage  in  every  city  and  county
throughout the State of New Mexico. We also now have a major billboard  presence
in the metropolitan  Albuquerque market," said Michael L. Bowlin,  president and
chief executive officer of BOWLIN Outdoor Advertising & Travel Centers.  "We are
evaluating additional acquisition  opportunities that fit the BOWLIN profile for
our outdoor advertising division."

BOWLIN  is a  regional  leader in the  Southwestern  United  States  in  outdoor
advertising  displays  and in  travel  centers  strategically  located  on major
interstate highways that utilize co-branding agreements with national companies.