The Dallas Cowboys are “America’s Team.” They are known throughout the world as a major National Football League franchise and as the team cheered on by “America’s Sweethearts”, the world famous Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. For more than 30 years, Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas has been the home of both the football team and the cheerleaders. All of that will change at the start of the 2009 season when the team takes the field at New Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
In the more than 40 years since joining the NFL as an expansion team, the Dallas Cowboys have had two homes: the Cotton Bowl and Texas Stadium. The Cowboys started at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. After several years of playing in the Cotton Bowl, the team yearned for a state-of-the-art stadium that they could call their own. His wish came true when construction began on Texas Stadium (simply named for the state of Texas) in the late 1960s. The stadium was unique for its time and remains so to this day. It is partially vaulted, allowing the fans to be covered and, at the same time, exposing the football field to the elements of nature. Two stands, of more than 65,000 blue seats, stretch around the pitch. Initially it was planned that the stadium would be completely vaulted. However, it was found that the stadium could not support the weight of the entire roof and before the roof structure could be modified public funds ran out. Leaving well enough alone, in 1971 the Dallas Cowboys became the proud owners of a partially domed stadium. Texas Stadium has been the site of some great Cowboys football and has served the team well for the past thirty-six years. There will no doubt be some regret when the team moves into their new home.
New Stadium is the working name of the Dallas Cowboys stadium under construction in Arlington, Texas, due to open before the 2009 NFL season. Designed by Dallas-based architecture firm HKS, the new stadium will have a capacity of 80,000 with the possibility of a future expansion to 100,000.
The road to the new stadium has been long and winding with its fair share of obstacles. In 1994, Jones made it known that he wanted to expand Texas Stadium by 40,000 seats, add a retractable roof panel, and climate control to make the stadium a year-round venue for sporting events, concerts, conventions, and hopefully one day. the Super Bowl. In the late 1990s, the Cowboys had discussed a $260 million upgrade to Texas Stadium, as well as holding talks with the city of Arlington about building a new stadium. In 2000, the team compiled a list of potential attractions for a new stadium while negotiations with Irving to renovate Texas Stadium continued.
Discussions with various cities in the Dallas area and with the city of Dallas itself continued over the next few years. The Cowboys asked the city of Irving to extend their lease on Texas Stadium on a year-to-year basis (the Cowboys’ lease expires at the end of the 2008 season). In April 2004, the team announced plans to build a $650 million stadium at Fair Park in Dallas ($425 million of which would come from public funds). The deal fell through two months later when Dallas County commissioners determined they could not justify asking voters to approve the $425 million in public funds. A month later, the Cowboys announced that they were in negotiations with the City of Arlington. In August 2004, the Arlington City Council agreed to put taxpayers to a vote on a tax increase to fund the $325 million public funding portion of the project. On November 2, the taxpayers approved the tax increase and the future home of the Cowboys was liquidated.
In 2005, the final site for the stadium was chosen in Arlington and in 2006 the Cowboys hired their general contractor. Excavation at the site began and in December 2006 detailed plans and the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones unveiled the stadium designs to the public.
The original cost of the stadium was estimated at $650 million. Today, the estimated cost is over a billion dollars, which could make it one of the most expensive sports venues ever built.
The new stadium will feature an arch (nearly 300 feet tall), anchored at each end, that will span the length of the stadium dome. In a fitting tribute to its former home, the New Stadium will have an identical hole in the roof. The hole will have the option of being covered with a retractable roof in case of rain or unbearable heat conditions. There will also be gates at each end of the structure that will allow the end zones to be opened. The final name of the New Stadium is unknown. The stadium may follow the trend of other sports venues by selling the naming rights to a large corporation. In all likelihood, New Stadium will be used by other organizations for sporting and non-sporting events, including college football. It has already been determined that the AT&T Cotton Bowl will move to the new stadium for 2010.
The Cotton Bowl and, more significantly, Texas Stadium have played an integral role in the history of the Dallas Cowboys. As excitement builds for the opening of New Stadium, there will also be some sadness as the Cowboys leave Texas Stadium, the structure they have called home for the past thirty-six years. New Stadium will undoubtedly be the home of some of the most incredible Cowboys football and will take its rightful place in Dallas Cowboys history.