The New Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Construction on the new Dallas Cowboy stadium in Arlington, Texas was completed in May of 2009.  The Cowboys first regular season game playing in the new stadium was on September20, 2009.  The Cowboys lost this game to their division rival the New York Giants 33-31 with a record breaking crowd of 105,121 in attendance.  So far the new stadium has been a house of horrors for the Cowboys as they posted only a break even record at home over the first two seasons in the new stadium.

“Jerry’s World” as some call it will host Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011, which will be the first Super Bowl hosted in Texas.  The Cowboys had hoped to be the first team in history to play the Super Bowl at home.  A 1-7 start to the 2010 season assured the Cowboys they would not even make the playoffs.  Jason Garrett took over for the fired Wade Phillips at mid-season and guided the Cowboys to a winning record in the second half of the season.  But at 6-10, the Cowboys would miss the playoffs.

The construction of the stadium took about three years to complete.  My home is just a few miles from the stadium so I was able to watch the construction while it happened.  I frequently shop at the Wal-Mart that is across the street from the stadium so I had many opportunities to observe the construction.  I have always been amazed at the sheer size if the stadium.  There are not many tall buildings in Arlington so you can see the stadium from a large portion of the city.

The stadium itself is over 3,000,000 square feet.  It has a seating capacity of 80,000 with room for an additional 30,000 people in the part pass section which is standing room only.  The two arches that support the retractable roof are ¼ mile in length and reach 292 feet in the air.   Jerry Jones wanted the retractable roof so the new stadium would have the same feel as the old stadium that had the hole in the roof.  But the roof could be closed during bad weather, making the stadium eligible to host the Super Bowl.

The stadium cost was 1.1 billion dollars with another 400 million dollars added on for road improvements.  One of the most expensive and impressive features of the new stadium is the video screen.  It is the world’s largest high definition screen in the world, measuring 160 feet wide and 72 feet tall.  It has 10.5 million light emitting diodes and 30 million light bulbs.  The 1.2 million pound screen was manufactured by Mitsubishi.  The Guinness Book of World Records certified it as the world’s largest high definition display on September 28, 2009 when the Cowboys hosted the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football.  The screen stretches almost from one 20 yard line to the other 20 yard line.

Besides hosting Super Bowl XLV, the stadium has hosted many other events.  The 2010 NBA all-star game was hosted at the stadium with a record crowd of over 108,000.  The Cotton Bowl has also been moved from Dallas to the new Cowboys Stadium.  There are frequent college games played here during the football season as well.  There have also been numerous concerts at the stadium.  The new Cowboys Stadium is a great venue for many different types of events.  If you ever have the opportunity to visit the stadium, I highly recommend that you do so.