Cowboys To Erect New Texas Stadium

[Inside of existing stadium...note the star at the 50 yard line.]

The year was 1994 and we were attending the Networld+Interop computer show in Dallas around Halloween time. It was a server and networking oriented show at the Dallas Convention Center and a warm up for COMDEX in Las Vegas. Back in the good ol' days, when the tech industry was booming, we went to about 6 major shows a year and several minor events along the way. Show management often put on a huge party at these events for the vendors and attendees. This year, they rented Texas Stadium and held the event there. There were all sorts of food vendors on the field and we waited in a really long line to have our fortunes told. I was told that I'd end up settling down with a teacher. It's over 10 years later and I'm still waiting. :)

My best friend at the time said he'd always dreamed to lay on the star mid-field and looking up through the dome at the stars. After imbibing quite heavily that evening, our close knit group fulfilled his fantasy. We all laid there, pondering the universe, and making a great memory.

I'll have to write about our trip back to the hotel that night since it is worthy of a post in and of itself.

When I was growing up we always rooted for the Cowboys. My brother was, and still is, a sports nut. It's kinda corny to call them America's team but I think that's how they were viewed once upon a time. Similar to the New York Yankees in baseball where they have a mystique that attracts fans across the country. Lets see, there was Roger Staubach at quarterback, Too Tall Jones on the front line, and Tom Landry coached from the sidelines wearing his trademark hat.

Texas Stadium, in Irving, TX (a Dallas suburb), is their home field. It opened in 1971 at a cost of $35 million. It seats 65,675. Originally, the stadium was to have a complete dome but it couldn't support the weight of the entire roof and public funding ran out before the roof support structure could be modified. This resulted in most of the stands being enclosed but not the playing field itself — prompting Cowboys linebacker D.D. Lewis to quip that the opening in the stadium's roof was there "so that God can watch His team."

[Computer rendering of the outside of the new stadium.]

The Cowboys are taking their distinctive hole-in-the-roof design with them to their new $1 billion stadium scheduled to open in 2009. Only this time, a sliding lid will keep the elements out. A must considering there's going to be a 60-yard-long, 50-foot-high scoreboard hanging over the football field.

At 2.3 million square feet, it's more than 2.5 times the size of Texas Stadium and it will be the largest pro sports venue in the country. The showplace features a glowing, glass facade with humongous sliding doors that can open both ends. The capacity could jump from 80,000 to 100,000 if seats are added where the end zones are located in the football field layout.