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DALLAS COWBOYS STADIUM
What Fans Need to Know
Access
One of the great assets Arlington has is accessibility to the entire metroplex. There will be 14 approaches from major highways into the new stadium in Arlington, compared with three at Texas Stadium.
From a regional standpoint the new stadium will be one of the most accessible venues ever planned. The Arlington Entertainment District is the beneficiary of $270 million in improvements to the area highways that will directly benefit the new stadium. This infrastructure investment will provide new and improved access to the venue from three exits off of I-30 and upgrade the interchange at Hwy 360 and Division.
Parking
There will be plenty of parking at the new venue. It is estimated that between parking owned or under control of the Dallas Cowboys as well as the entrepreneurial lots in and around the stadium area, that there will be 30,000 parking spaces available to fans on game day.
Plaza Area and Open End Zones
The stadium design incorporates two open end zones with glass retractable doors measuring 120 feet high and 180 feet wide, making them the tallest glass retractable doors in the world. These doors open in 18 minutes. The plazas outside these doors, one in each end zone - along with the three party decks in each end zone - create over 420,000 square feet of entertainment space, or approximately 10 acres. This space gives the stadium great flexibility with its capacity. These areas will be great spaces for people to gather before, during and after events to socialize and experience a unique interactive experience.
The field is actually 50 feet below ground level, so fans entering on the plaza level will have a panoramic view over the field. The end zone area will have the flexibility to convert from standing-room only to seating, based on specific event needs. Media boards and large-screen monitors add entertainment to the area, and create a festival atmosphere.
Suites
The new stadium will have 200 suites in eight different locations on five separate levels. The suite sections have been decentralized and positioned at different areas throughout the stadium, rather than having all suites on one level. With the new stadium, there are suites on the field-level sidelines and field-level end zones, and suites on higher levels for a different vantage point. Just 20 rows up from the field will be the Hall of Fame suites. These will be the lowest suites in the NFL in relation to the field. All of the suites will also have access to club areas. The building will have eight different clubs spread throughout the various levels.
Club Level
The stadium will have 15,000 Club Level seats, accessible to field-level suite patrons as well as club members. The clubs will feature large-screen monitors and multiple entertainment venues, such as restaurants and concession areas. Prior to kick-off, the Dallas Cowboys players and coaches will walk through the Field Level Sideline Club on their way to the field.
Video Boards
There will be eight video boards in this facility. The most unique being the four board cluster that will be suspended 110 feet directly over the center of the playing surface. The board will run from the 20-yard line to the 20-yard line -- measuring 180 feet in length and 50 feet in height - making it the largest video board installation in the world. The video center will allow fans on all levels to view the game in crisp, clear images during the game. This will create a premium on the value of the upper-level seats and make the game more exciting for all fans.
Amenities and Restrooms
The stadium features 286 concession points as well as more than 1,600 toilets. Some of the restrooms will be reversible based on the needs of the event.
Ring of Honor
The Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor will be a featured part the new stadium. Plans are being made to ensure the Ring's members are similarly honored in the new facility.
Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame and Pro Shop
The Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame will be one of the finest attractions of it kind anywhere. The Cowboys are fortunate enough to have a great history and tradition and plans include many new an innovative ways to display that history in an interactive, hands-on environment. Included in the display will be a gallery of images from the world of sports in many different mediums: paintings, photography and video to name a few. With the ability to incorporate technology in many different ways, fans will be able to immerse themselves in Dallas Cowboys history.
The Hall of Fame will be located on the concourse level and open to the public year round as well as be available for special events and gatherings. Adjacent to the Hall of Fame is a Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop.
Somehow seven years ago I didn't forsee 5-star bars equipped with back-lit chandeliers and littered with HDTVs.
The Facility
Date Opened May 29, 2009
Ownership
(Management) Arlington, Texas
(Dallas Cowboys)
Surface RealGrass Matrix
Cost of Construction $1.15 billion
Stadium Financing City sales tax increased by one-half of a percent, the hotel occupancy tax by 2 percent, and car rental tax by 5 percent. The City of Arlington provided $325 million in funding, and Jerry Jones covered any cost overruns. Also, the NFL provided the Cowboys with an additional $150 million.
Stadium Architect HKS, Inc.
Tenants Dallas Cowboys
(NFL) (2009-Present)
Texas High Schools
Population Base 3,500,000
On Site Parking 11,500 / 30,000 Vicinity
Nearest Airport Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Ring of Honor
#74 Bob Lilly
#17 Don Meredith
#43 Don Perkins
#54 Chuck Howley
#20 Mel Renfro
#12 Roger Staubach
#55 Lee Roy Jordan
#HC Tom Landry
#33 Tony Dorsett
#54 Randy White
#22 Bob Hayes
#GM Tex Schramm
#43 Cliff Harris
#70 Rayfield Wright
#8 Troy Aikman
#88 Michael Irvin
#22 Emmitt Smith
Championships
1st
VI
1971 2nd
XII
1977 3rd
XXVII
1992 4th
XXVIII
1993 5th
XXX
1995
Seating Football 80,000
Average Ticket $84.12(2008)
Fan Cost Index (FCI) $435.49(2008)
The Team Marketing Report FCI includes: four average-price tickets; four small soft drinks; two small beers; four hot dogs; two game programs; parking; and two adult-size caps.
Luxury Suites 300 Suites
Club Seats 15,000
Season Total Capacity Change
1993 510,068 97% 0.7%
1994 516,628 98% 1.3%
1995 518,167 98% 0.3%
1996 513,794 98% -0.8%
1997 511,767 97% -0.4%
1998 510,438 97% 0%
1999 513,295 97% 0.56%
2000 504,360 96.0% -1.7%
2001 2002 2003 2004
505,501 504,717 511,224 510,892
2005 2006 2007 2008
505,258 506,308 508,278 506,944
When the Dallas Cowboys move from Texas Stadium, they'll leave behind 35 years of history, but the signature hole in the roof will go with them.
Their new stadium, scheduled to open in 2009, will include two quarter-mile-long steel arches and a retractable roof that mimics the famed feature. As the Cowboys faithful would say, God would still be able to look down on America's Team and watch the games on Sunday afternoon – even in Arlington.
"We want this stadium to have our traditional hole in the roof," Mr. Jones said, noting that it's just as much a symbol of the team as the Cowboys star.
But that hole is one of the few design elements making the trip from Irving to Arlington, as fans will learn tonight when team officials formally unveil the design at a gala in Arlington.
The new $1 billion stadium, the largest and most expensive in the NFL, will be the Cowboys' home, but it will be built with a bigger world in mind.
It will feature more than twice the square footage of Texas Stadium and cost nearly 30 times more. The stadium will also seat 80,000 fans on an average day and accommodate up to 100,000 for special events, such as the Super Bowl.
The new stadium, which has yet to be named, also will feature the world's largest movable glass walls, field-level suites and open-air end zones.
Team owner Jerry Jones and Bryan Trubey of HKS Architects said during an interview Friday that the team's new home was designed as a great building – not just a football stadium – and as a world-class sports and entertainment venue.
The stadium could host a World Cup soccer match or Olympics opening ceremony just as easily as an NFC East rivalry game.
"We made sure there really isn't any event it can't handle," Mr. Trubey said.
This new, grand stadium is something Mr. Jones said he has wanted ever since he bought the Cowboys in 1989 for $150 million. Although he said that at the time, he couldn't have imagined the advances in technology, such as the 60-yard-long video screen in the new stadium, or that the price tag for a stadium would soar this high.
Long time in the making
The work on the stadium also started much earlier than most outside of the Cowboys organization realized. Mr. Jones said Friday that he has been working with Mr. Trubey for nearly eight years on plans for a new stadium – even though Arlington voters approved the public financing only two years ago. The city's share of the cost is capped at $325 million – an amount that was originally expected to be half the stadium's cost.
Mr. Jones and his family closely studied the new NFL stadiums – more than 15 have opened in the last decade – but they didn't feel hamstrung by just football or even just U.S. sports venues.
The Jones family visited London's Wembley Stadium three times and studied Bloomberg Tower in New York City, the airport in Nice, France, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
"We didn't want it to just be a fine stadium," said Charlotte Jones Anderson, Mr. Jones's daughter and an executive with the team. "We wanted it to be a great piece of architecture that would reflect character and reflect the strength of sport, but at the same time, the living, the moving, the changing environment that happens when you put sports and entertainment in a venue."
Mr. Jones said he was looking to build a stadium that would inspire awe, illustrating his point with a story about his first visit to New York City.
The first order of business was a taxi ride to the Bronx.
"I had the cab take me out, and I put my hand on Yankee Stadium. That's all I want – just to touch it," he said.
That's the type of wonder a world-class stadium could inspire and what Mr. Jones has been seeking.
And that's what led the Joneses to agree on a modern design for the stadium.
Just down the street is the Texas Rangers' traditional, red brick Ameriquest Field, which was also designed by HKS and architect David M. Schwarz. The nearby Wal-Mart Supercenter took its architectural cues from the Rangers; the Cowboys did not.
The new stadium will be glass on the exterior with a glazing that will give the perception that the glass changes color, including shades of silver and blue from the Cowboys' helmet, from the top to the bottom. It was described as luminescent, elegant and strong: a limestone base "rising out of the earth" with great horizontal expanses of glass on top.
Comparison shopping
Jerry Jones Jr., team vice president and son of the owner, said the team benefited from the building boom in the NFL and seeing what other teams have done.
"As much as we compete on the field, we don't compete off the field," he said. "Everybody is very open-minded about sharing."
Mr. Trubey said he avoided the standard "racetracks," as the circular, bland stadium concourses are often called. Instead, the areas will be dotted with team gift shops and clubs.
The team also included field-level suites, which were first introduced by the Seattle Seahawks as the "red zone suites."
Stephen Jones, another son and team vice president, said many NFL executives regretted not building big enough. The new stadium's end zones will take care of that. Each will feature the glass doors, which are expected to stay open during most games.
That creates 210,000-square-foot plazas that can accommodate standing-room-only fans or could be used for temporary seating. Each end zone also has a three-level party deck inspired by Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Fla.
"There's really no end to the party," Mr. Trubey said about the plazas, which extend beyond the stadium walls.
While the Cowboys aren't playing, Mr. Jones said he wants to see his new stadium attract top-level bowl games and other college match-ups. There has been talk about whether the New Year's Day Cotton Bowl game or the Texas-Oklahoma game during the State Fair of Texas would eventually move to Arlington, but no public commitments have been made.
He said the magnitude of the stadium will give teams big enough paydays that it's worth giving up a home game.
"When a kid is in Louisiana or playing at a school in Minnesota, we want them to be hollering, 'We've got to go play in that stadium,' " Mr. Jones said.
Even in the off-season, the stadium is expected to be a draw. The team plans a football Hall of Fame that will be open 350 days a year and feature a pair of Norman Rockwell works as well as an extensive collection of football memorabilia.
The stadium – which also will offer tours year-round – could even become a destination for schoolchildren on field trips, said Gene Jones, Mr. Jones's wife.
Mr. Jones said this effort in Arlington goes beyond building a new stadium. It's intended to be a monument to one of the world's great sports franchises and had to be done right.
"This is a part of the franchise, the legacy of the Dallas Cowboys," he said. "We don't think we own the Dallas Cowboys. The fans do."
