Sunday, May 16, 2010

Touring the Dallas Cowboys' New Stadium





It cost $1.15 billion to build and seats 80,000 which will be expanded to 100,000 for the Super Bowl. Average ticket cost is $84.12; standing room only is $29 per person. There are 300 suites and 15,000 Club seats. Some big spenders have bought a parking space in the lot nearest the front doors and their names are painted on the curb!

It is 3 million sq. ft. with a domed, retractable roof that is 660,800 sq. ft. and can be opened or closed in 12 minutes. It's supported by two steel trusses that arch up to 292 ft. abovefield level. The dome skin is said to be similar to that of a trampoline and our guide said that workmen were observed bouncing on it during construction.

The end zone retractable doors are comprised of five glass panels, each 129 ft. tall and 180 ft. wide which open or close in 18 minutes.

The Mitsubishi video board is 60 yards long and seven stories tall with 25,000 sq. ft. of screen. There's an additional 2,900 Sony TVs scattered around by concession stands and, quite possibly, the bathrooms. The boast is: "No one needs to miss a single play!"






The gift shop sells (among many, many other things) a "sod plaque" which is a regular wood and metal plaque -- with a 2 in. sq. tuft of Matrix artificial turf....

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