ARLINGTON, Texas — Yes, everything is bigger in Texas. If you don’t buy it, stand in Irving and look at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium. No, not Texas Stadium. Look at their brand spankin’ new, gargantuan $1.4 billion Cowboys Stadium.
You can see it from Irving, 17 miles away.
Get closer and the world’s largest domed stadium doesn’t look so much like a stadium as it does a spaceship George Lucas couldn’t create. Its massive white exterior glimmers in the bright Texas sun, and the girder running around the structure just underneath the dome could make it pass for a flying saucer.
Then again, not many UFOs have been known to house 100,000 people. Cowboys Stadium’s regular capacity is 80,000 but portable seating can boost the capacity 20 percent for special events such as the 2011 Super Bowl or temporary housing for the entire city of Waco.
Everything is bigger in Cowboys Stadium. The Statue of Liberty could stand upright on the 50-yard-line and her torch wouldn’t touch the roof 300 feet off the ground. If the quarter-mile-long arches that hold up the stadium were placed on their end, they would fall just 25 feet short of the Empire State Building.
Cowboys Stadium has nine levels. They include three levels of luxury suites, some going for $5 million over a 20-year period. That’s $25,000 a game. In addition, there’s a row of “party rooms” at field level where you can drink your Chardonnay before taking your seat in the first two rows.
“Holy smokes!” said Dan Beebe, commissioner of the Big 12, which conducted a tour Tuesday and will hold its conference championship here the next two years.
If Beebe gasps now, wait until quarterbacks Todd Rees-ing or Sam Bradford or Colt McCoy see their images on the largest HD video screen ever created. It’s 160 feet wide by 72 feet high, about half the length of the football field.
A Cowboys practice was being telecast. Wade Phillips was the size of a seven-story building. The video screen consists of 30 million bulbs and weighs 1.2 million pounds, more than a Boeing 747.
According to tour guide Barry Browning: “When they raised it to the roof, it sunk the stadium in the ground 2 feet.”
The mastermind of this project is Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. He not only has his own private suite on the 50 yard line, if he wants to mix with the “little people,” he can go up a few rows into his own private viewing area, sort of like a Roman emperor watching his gladiators.
He won’t be the only wealthy man watching Cowboys games. At $8 for a 16-ounce beer, no fan can be poor. A dentist named James Addison owns six suites.
However, the Taj Mahal of all suites is the $5 million number. The 1,000-square-foot space has 42 padded, theater-type seats, two bathrooms, two bars, a computer area and a pantry. Two or three bartenders, depending on the crowd, will serve drinks and dish out catered meals.
The only Big 12 team that ventured over from media days in Irving was Colorado. The Buffaloes last played in the Big 12 title game in 2005.
“I wanted the players to see it,” coach Dan Hawkins said. “It’s always good to visualize.”
He got their attention. It’s a good bet the Buffs have all- new incentive to win the Big 12 North.
“I want to get back here,” senior tight end Riar Geer said. “I want to play here.”
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
Versatile venue
A look at some of the sports events besides the Dallas Cowboys’ home games at the new Cowboys Stadium:
Sept. 5: Oklahoma vs. BYU, football
Oct. 3: Texas A&M vs. Arkansas, football
Nov. 28: Baylor vs. Texas Tech, football
Dec. 5: Big 12 championship game, football
Dec. 19: Texas vs. North Texas, men’s basketball
Jan. 2: Cotton Bowl
Feb. 14: NBA All-Star Game
