$1.15 Billion Stadium is Open

Shapecity · Jun 7, 2009

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Standing on stage with a can of beer, Blake Shelton pretty much summed up the mood at the debut of the $1.15 billion Cowboys Stadium.

He said, quote, "We're the luckiest people in the United States of America. We get to watch the king and queen of country music in this place tonight. And it just so happens to be in the grand opening of the new Cowboys Stadium. I'll drink to that."

Shelton was the second of 2 warmup acts for native Oklahoman Reba McEntire and George Strait at the grand opening of the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. The real star was the stadium itself.

It was the first time fans were invited inside.

The most stunning feature was the center-hung, overhead video board. It's the world largest and there are actually 2 of them, one for each side, plus smaller boards on the ends.

There's even a "hole in the roof" tribute to its predecessor -- Texas Stadium. Only, this one is retractable.
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Source: News9

Shapecity · Jun 7, 2009

With beer, boots, ballads and bar songs, Cowboys Stadium officially opened Saturday.

More than 60,000 George Strait and Dallas Cowboys fans flocked into the $1.15 billion stadium and were treated to a concert under the stars as the roof opened around 10:15 p.m.

And while the inaugural event went fairly smoothly, there were a few glitches: hourlong waits for margaritas and several performers welcoming fans to Dallas. Even the stadium announcer said, "Welcome to Texas Stadium."

Oops.

Fans got their first glimpses of the stadium around 2 p.m. when the parking lots and the west end zone opened.

Spilling on to the main concourse’s end-zone platform, they gawked at the large video boards, snapped photos with their phones, and munched on nachos and popcorn while leaning on the drink rails.

Among those impressed with the Cowboys’ new home was Fran Mackey of Keller, who celebrated her 49th birthday at the new stadium for her first-ever concert.

She said it was worth the $137.50 per ticket.

"It’s a great chance to see Reba [McEntire] and George together and the stadium," she said, looking down into the stadium bowl. "We couldn’t pass it up."

Before the show, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones signed autographs from his owners box on the 50-yard line. Former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison also hung out with members of the Jones family at their suite.

"This has been an incredible night. It is everything we dreamed and more," Jones said. "After almost 10 years of working toward this day, it has been a joy to see the reaction of everyone coming through the doors. . . .

"The crowd has just been electric and we are all feeding off that energy."

Jerry Jones Jr. decided to wander around the stadium’s west end-zone platform, mingling with fans to see their reaction.

"It’s a culmination of a lot of hard work," Jones Jr. said, adding that he saw a lot of Cowboys fans wearing their jerseys even though it was a country music concert.

"Our biggest challenge for this project was to meet our fans’ expectations," Jones Jr. said. "Walking around, I see a lot of smiles."

Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck declared the stadium "will be a wonder of the world."

Traffic coming into the stadium also seemed to be manageable as the audience of 60,188 arrived via the 14 parking entrances. Arlington police prepared for 24,000 vehicles for the concert.

Official stadium parking was $40, but a few nearby lots were charging even more. CiCi’s Pizza on Collins Street offered $60 "safe parking" and threw in a pizza buffet. Several private lots were priced around $30.

While most fans said they had no trouble getting to parking lots, performer Blake Shelton had something to say about it.

"Traffic coming into this thing sucks!" the country singer said as the crowd let out a loud cheer.

"I guess that’s how it’s going to be. I didn’t know if we were going to make it here on time."

While no Cowboys players were spotted in the stadium, there were some actual cowboys there. Harvey Martin and Matt Lough drove in from Tyler for the concert, wearing their spurs and cowboy hats.

Both show cutting horses and are Cowboys fans; they said they are impressed with the stadium.

"You don’t have that closed-in feeling, even if there are a lot of people in here right now," Martin said.

To start with, the roof was closed, as were the end zone doors, keeping the air conditioning blowing on a day when temperatures topped
90 degrees. Large black shades were lowered on most of the glass end zone doors to prevent the afternoon sun from blinding concertgoers.

But not everything in the stadium was working, including the air conditioning on the Hall of Fame level, where the owners club is.

Straws were nowhere to be found at the concessions, and long lines for food were the norm. The soda machines (Pepsi, not Coke!) didn’t work for some of the time, and trash bins were overflowing with beer bottles and half-eaten barbecue sandwiches.

Angela Cooper of Fort Worth waited an hour for her frozen margarita. The popular drinks — said to have had quite a bit of input from Jerry Jones — were going fast. Only two machines were running near Section 226, and the line was several dozen deep.

Elizabeth and Chad Thorpe of Mesquite got to their seats in Section 323 to find that Seats 19 and 20 didn’t even exist. After waiting about 30 minutes, a supervisor got them new tickets in Section 329, which is a little closer to the stage.

"At least they got us better seats," Thorpe said.

While the Joneses entertained Hutchison in their suite, Gov. Rick Perry was also in attendance.

He posted his thoughts, complete with a picture from the concert, on his Twitter feed: "Nowhere but Texas," he wrote, "this thing is huge!!!"

Staff writers Eva-Marie Ayala, Gordon Dickson and Clarence Hill Jr. contributed to this report.
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Source: Star-Telegram

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$1.15 Billion Stadium is Open

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