Bob Jogging Strollers

The new Cowboys Stadium opens Saturday with George Strait instead of Tony Romo, a substitution that says a lot about sports architecture these days.

Texas Stadium seated nearly 65,000, its replacement around 73,000 for regular games with the ability to accommodate more than 100,000 for the Super Bowl (coming in 2011) and other special events.

Originally estimated to cost $650 million, the stadium’s current construction cost was $1.15 billion, making it one of the most expensive sports venues ever built.

Likewise, the demand for more bars, clubs, restaurants and so-called promotional spaces – Cowboys Stadium has 300,000 square feet of them, most in the NFL – means bigger concourses, bulkier buildings and potentially serious circulation problems.

“Our main competition is the home media center,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in unveiling the stadium design in 2006. “We wanted to offer a real experience that you can’t have at home, but to see it with the technology that you do have at home.”

Although the stadium had yet to sell naming rights, many fans started referring to the project with various nicknames such as “Jerry World”, the “Boss Hog Bowl” in reference to Jones’ continued affiliation to his Alma Mater nickname, the Razorbacks (or hogs) “Six Flags Over Jerry” in reference to Jerry Jones and Six Flags Over Texas, which is near the new stadium, as well as lesser known others.

This economic segregation, in which premium seat holders have their own entrances, their own elevators and their own bars and restaurants, is one of the sorrier byproducts of corporate sports mania.

Measuring 160 feet wide and 72 feet tall (11,520 sq. feet), the high-definition television screen at Cowboys Stadium is the world’s largest.

Neven Middlesby has been a fan of the Dallas Cowboys for over 30 years. He has a blog that is about the dallas cowboys stadium and plans on being at every game the Cowboys play. He plans to blog about each game at the new dallas cowboys stadium.

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