Seeing Stars

Yesterday we toured the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium on a homeschool field trip. It was well worth it...this coming from a self-declared non-sports fan. The boys were elated that Opa (my Dad) came to town to go with us. I have lots of pictures to post, and I'll share snippets of trivia that I learned too.

We started our tour in the pro shop, which is more like a pro mall. We window shopped only.

Price for a Romo jersey? $270.00! Yikes! Some jerseys of older players went for even more. (Am I missing something? Did Georgio Armani design these?? Ha!)

It brings all new meaning to "watching the big screen".

Seriously, y'all. Here's the scoop....

*It's the largest flat screen TV in the world.

*Know where the second largest flat screen in the world is located? On the other side!!!

*Total cost of TV console...$40 million

*Made by Mitsubishi

*2,000 of my living room TV screens could fit inside the parameters of this big screen.

*A 747 could fit on it.

*There is an LED star on top of the TV, directly above the star in the center of the field. It can be seen from five miles above the stadium!

*Before a recent concert, the Jonas Brothers asked Jerry Jones if they could play video games on it, so they spent two hours before their show playing Halo 3 together.

*It's really big. Really.

*The seats in the stadium are cushioned, and are made from recycled materials imported from Australia.

*Each seat is 19 inches, and pretty comfy! However, they will all be replaced with 17" chairs for the Super Bowl to accommodate a total of 125,000 fans.

View from a luxury box. Each luxury box is custom designed and available on a 30 year contract. Fancy.

Again, from the lap of luxury.

The end zone!

Our family was somewhere the players haven't managed to be yet this season. :(

The field was immaculate, and very soft! I was surprised by how long and furry the turf was. Although, I'm sure it doesn't feel too soft when getting sacked by an NFL player!

The "ring of honor" was brought over from the old Texas stadium. Here, the triplets...Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, and Emmitt Smith.

Dad called the plays...

...Opa was benched...

...and the boys split things up 50/50!

Any part of the stadium can be rented out for special events. You can even be married on the field or have a reception in the dining area! The locker room was rented out twice recently; once for a 21 year old's birthday party, and another time for a fantasy football draft party.

We each chose a favorite player and had our picture made by their locker. Dad chose Felix Jones because he played for Arkansas.

See this cute kid in the press room? He isn't mine. I had to settle for a picture of someone else's kid, because mine were...

...already running down the tunnel! Only Dallas Cowboys are allowed to run down this tunnel. Visiting teams and college players come out separate entrances for their games. At the end of the tunnel, on either side, there is a Miller Light bar. You don't really get a feel for that from these photos, but the fans can be right up next to the players as they come out. Of course, you have to be quite a VIP to have access to the Miller Light bar. On the visitor's side, which is across the stadium, there is plexi-glass to separate the players from the over exuberant fans.

Honestly, the huge highlight for my boys was getting to play on the field for as long as they wanted. They were in heaven. Cowboy heaven.

Until they got dragged here, completely against their will. :) They are probably a few good years away from fully appreciating this place, which is fine by me!

It really was a thrill to wander the field and know what a big deal this place is to many sports fans!

We were totally spent by the end of the day, and all agreed it was really something special!

Other fun facts to share...

*There are 1600 potties in the stadium; 60% of them for women.

*There are a total of 3,000 flat screen TVs stationed around the stadium.

*There are 700 points of sale for concessions, so if you want a hot dog during half time, you have 700 lines you can choose to stand in!!

*There are 6,500 employees working on game day, and they will employ 10,000 on Super Bowl Sunday.

*The stadium is TALLER than the Statue of Liberty and LONGER than the Empire State Building.

*It is 3 million square feet and covers 73 acres

*It is the world's largest dome structure, the world's largest arched structure, and the largest stadium in the NFL.

*The steel in the arches was imported from Luxembourg. (It is said that Jerry Jones didn't want any part of Philadelphia in his stadium!!)

*Each of the speaker components, which are suspended from the arches, is the size of an 18 wheeler flat bed.

*It's a fun place to visit when an Opa comes to town. :)