Cowboys unveil stadium plans
Jones keeps an old tradition, expands into grander dimensions
December 12, 2006
By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News
When the Dallas Cowboys move from Texas Stadium, they'll leave behind 35 years of history, but the signature hole in the roof will go with them.
Their new stadium, scheduled to open in 2009, will include two quarter-mile-long steel arches and a retractable roof that mimics the famed feature. As the Cowboys faithful would say, God would still be able to look down on America's Team and watch the games on Sunday afternoon – even in Arlington.
"We want this stadium to have our traditional hole in the roof," Mr. Jones said, noting that it's just as much a symbol of the team as the Cowboys star.
But that hole is one of the few design elements making the trip from Irving to Arlington, as fans will learn tonight when team officials formally unveil the design at a gala in Arlington.
The new $1 billion stadium, the largest and most expensive in the NFL, will be the Cowboys' home, but it will be built with a bigger world in mind.
It will feature more than twice the square footage of Texas Stadium and cost nearly 30 times more. The stadium will also seat 80,000 fans on an average day and accommodate up to 100,000 for special events, such as the Super Bowl.
The new stadium, which has yet to be named, also will feature the world's largest movable glass walls, field-level suites and open-air end zones.
Team owner Jerry Jones and Bryan Trubey of HKS Architects said during an interview Friday that the team's new home was designed as a great building – not just a football stadium – and as a world-class sports and entertainment venue.
The stadium could host a World Cup soccer match or Olympics opening ceremony just as easily as an NFC East rivalry game.
"We made sure there really isn't any event it can't handle," Mr. Trubey said.
This new, grand stadium is something Mr. Jones said he has wanted ever since he bought the Cowboys in 1989 for $150 million. Although he said that at the time, he couldn't have imagined the advances in technology, such as the 60-yard-long video screen in the new stadium, or that the price tag for a stadium would soar this high.
Long time in the making
The work on the stadium also started much earlier than most outside of the Cowboys organization realized. Mr. Jones said Friday that he has been working with Mr. Trubey for nearly eight years on plans for a new stadium – even though Arlington voters approved the public financing only two years ago. The city's share of the cost is capped at $325 million – an amount that was originally expected to be half the stadium's cost.
Mr. Jones and his family closely studied the new NFL stadiums – more than 15 have opened in the last decade – but they didn't feel hamstrung by just football or even just U.S. sports venues.
The Jones family visited London's Wembley Stadium three times and studied Bloomberg Tower in New York City, the airport in Nice, France, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
"We didn't want it to just be a fine stadium," said Charlotte Jones Anderson, Mr. Jones's daughter and an executive with the team. "We wanted it to be a great piece of architecture that would reflect character and reflect the strength of sport, but at the same time, the living, the moving, the changing environment that happens when you put sports and entertainment in a venue."
Mr. Jones said he was looking to build a stadium that would inspire awe, illustrating his point with a story about his first visit to New York City.
The first order of business was a taxi ride to the Bronx.
"I had the cab take me out, and I put my hand on Yankee Stadium. That's all I want – just to touch it," he said.
That's the type of wonder a world-class stadium could inspire and what Mr. Jones has been seeking.
And that's what led the Joneses to agree on a modern design for the stadium.
Just down the street is the Texas Rangers' traditional, red brick Ameriquest Field, which was also designed by HKS and architect David M. Schwarz. The nearby Wal-Mart Supercenter took its architectural cues from the Rangers; the Cowboys did not.
The new stadium will be glass on the exterior with a glazing that will give the perception that the glass changes color, including shades of silver and blue from the Cowboys' helmet, from the top to the bottom. It was described as luminescent, elegant and strong: a limestone base "rising out of the earth" with great horizontal expanses of glass on top.
Comparison shopping
Jerry Jones Jr., team vice president and son of the owner, said the team benefited from the building boom in the NFL and seeing what other teams have done.
"As much as we compete on the field, we don't compete off the field," he said. "Everybody is very open-minded about sharing."
Mr. Trubey said he avoided the standard "racetracks," as the circular, bland stadium concourses are often called. Instead, the areas will be dotted with team gift shops and clubs.
The team also included field-level suites, which were first introduced by the Seattle Seahawks as the "red zone suites."
Stephen Jones, another son and team vice president, said many NFL executives regretted not building big enough. The new stadium's end zones will take care of that. Each will feature the glass doors, which are expected to stay open during most games.
That creates 210,000-square-foot plazas that can accommodate standing-room-only fans or could be used for temporary seating. Each end zone also has a three-level party deck inspired by Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Fla.
"There's really no end to the party," Mr. Trubey said about the plazas, which extend beyond the stadium walls.
While the Cowboys aren't playing, Mr. Jones said he wants to see his new stadium attract top-level bowl games and other college match-ups. There has been talk about whether the New Year's Day Cotton Bowl game or the Texas-Oklahoma game during the State Fair of Texas would eventually move to Arlington, but no public commitments have been made.
He said the magnitude of the stadium will give teams big enough paydays that it's worth giving up a home game.
"When a kid is in Louisiana or playing at a school in Minnesota, we want them to be hollering, 'We've got to go play in that stadium,' " Mr. Jones said.
Even in the off-season, the stadium is expected to be a draw. The team plans a football Hall of Fame that will be open 350 days a year and feature a pair of Norman Rockwell works as well as an extensive collection of football memorabilia.
The stadium – which also will offer tours year-round – could even become a destination for schoolchildren on field trips, said Gene Jones, Mr. Jones's wife.
Mr. Jones said this effort in Arlington goes beyond building a new stadium. It's intended to be a monument to one of the world's great sports franchises and had to be done right.
"This is a part of the franchise, the legacy of the Dallas Cowboys," he said. "We don't think we own the Dallas Cowboys. The fans do."
E-mail jmosier@dallasnews.com
Irving Starry about Stadium
City says entertainment district at site could pump up economy
Thursday, June 23, 2005
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – The Texas Stadium site could be transformed into a vibrant
destination that includes a convention center, hotel, apartments, shops
and even waterfront and park space, according to a proposal released
Wednesday.
Some of the scenarios, such as demolishing the stadium except for its
roof and the landmark hole, are whimsical. Other options resemble
Dallas' Mockingbird Station or a riverwalk.
City Council members discussed development options for the stadium site
and nearby land but didn't issue recommendations. They'll study the
matter this summer.
Whatever is built, city officials imagine a high-density place for
people to live, work, visit and play. The project could be a chance for
Irving to pump up its economy.
Council members say they're excited about the possibilities.
"Losing the Cowboys might have just been the best thing to happen to
this city," council member Beth Van Duyne said. The Dallas Cowboys are
expected to leave for an Arlington stadium in 2009.
Next on the agenda: City officials and consultants will shop the plans
to investors and developers to gauge reaction.
It appears the city will continue to work with two other landowners near
the stadium. The three entities – including the University of Dallas and
Southwest Premier Properties – jointly hired consultants and began the
development process.
The area is ripe for development, Irving officials say, as hundreds of
millions of dollars in light-rail and highway improvements are planned
for near the stadium site.
City officials could do the following, based on the options presented by
planners RTKL Associates:
•Create an urban environment that would include retail, restaurant,
entertainment, hotel, business and residential areas. Venues could
include an indoor water park hotel or a casino hotel.
•Develop a mixed-use district that would emphasize residential, business
and community retail uses. The district could be linked to the Trinity
River and the Campion Trails system.
•Build an urban village similar to Dallas' Uptown that includes
residential and commercial developments and features neighborhood pocket
parks.
•Renovate the city-owned stadium to host recreation and entertainment
events at venues including amphitheaters and parks.
•Keep the roof, and the hole, but remove the stadium's interior. The new
structure could be home to businesses and offices and pay homage to the
stadium and team that helped put the city on the map.
•Demolish the stadium, which could cost about $10 million, according to
a Magill Architects study that was also released Wednesday.
The projects would require hundreds of millions of dollars in
investments, said David Leininger, the city's chief financial officer.
The scenarios come as city officials are taking a closer look at a
convention center that could be built on Texas Stadium land. Council
members could hire consultants later this year to study the matter.
Regardless, council members want to capitalize on the land's proximity
to the Trinity River and major highways, including state highways 114
and 183 and Loop 12. Interstate 35E is nearby. Hundreds of thousands of
motorists drive past the stadium each day. In addition, a Dallas Area
Rapid Transit rail line is to run near the area in about five years.
At about 450 acres, the developable land is comparable to the area of
downtown Dallas, Irving officials said.
Losing the Cowboys will hurt the city in the short-term, but developing
the land is a significant opportunity for Irving to improve its tax
base, Mayor Herbert Gears said.
The land has potential, partly because it's the gateway to the city, he
said.
"We'd be silly to just sit on our hands and pout that we're losing the
Cowboys," he said.
The development will spur growth on land near the stadium, most of which
is vacant, and generate interest in Irving and excitement in the
community, says Bob Galecke, University of Dallas' senior vice president
for finance and administration. He also said the development could raise
the profile of the college, which is in Irving.
The project means the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau could help
market the area, bringing new visitors and businesses to the city, said
Maura Allen Gast, the bureau's executive director. The land's access to
the river is particularly appealing, she says.
"There are so many opportunities," she said. "There's a wealth of
opportunity. It's limitless."
