Lost / Demolished Stadiums or Stands

[rantanamo]

NFL

Dallas Cowboys

5x Champion:
1971, 1977, 1992, 1993, 1995



Home of the Dallas Cowboys

I thought I'd take a break from the numerous new venues to show an obsolete venue that will be replaced by the next world's greatest stadium

Texas Stadium is old and ugly. Pure 70's with no attempt to make it any better looking. No glass, no brick, no stucko, no nothing. Just concrete brutalism




The roof is much more extensive than you usually find on roofed stadiums. It may look like an unfinished retractable roof. The truth is(despite many other wild stories and rumors) is that this is exactly what it was. And in 1971 at that. The problem was budget over runs. You'll also find four scoreboards attached to the roof(2 scoreboards, 2 huge video screens)



Inside, Texas Stadium is one of the most efficient yet most luxurious stadiums in the world.



There is a world record of 381 luxury suites(second is FedEx Field at 294) that ring the stadium 4 times. This includes two huge club areas behind each endzone. During the pre-cap era this huge number of suites as well as unique sponsorhips allowed the Cowboys a huge salary advantage allowing the Cowboys to be one of the winningest franchises in NFL history. Today in the cap-era, it makes Jerry Jones the most prosperous owner in the NFL with the world's 4th most valuable sports franchise.






With the late 90s early 2000s crop of modern NFL venue, Texas Stadium began to feel obsolete. Renovation was considered, but a new stadium was decided upon. Next year, the world's most expensive stadium will begin construction in the DFW suburb of Arlington. The development will total $1.5 billion and seat 75,000 normally with an expansion system allowing 100,000 individual seats for large events like the World Cup or Superbowl. The stadium will also feature retractable roof and end walls

[pwright1]

I remember the day Texas Stadium opened. It was the most modern stadium with all the luxury suites. It put the Astrodome to shame. The Cowboys were the elite team back then. Winning records, beautiful stadium, beautiful cheerleaders whom everybody copied. Everybody use to dress up to go see the Cowboys. That horrible Miller Lite sign in the endzone use to display different animations. I wish they would bring that back. The new stadium looks nice but its already ruined being in Arlington. What a shame. Jerry Jones might have lots of money but he still reminds me of someone from a trashy trailer park. Cowboy fans never forget the way he handled the Tom Landry firing. He still gets booed. Nice pics by the way. I love the Cowboys. Always have and always will.

[empersouf]

They stadium looks huge, but it's ugly.

[Morten M]

Originally Posted by rantanamo

There is a world record of 381 luxury suites(second is FedEx Field at 294) that ring the stadium 4 times. This includes two huge club areas behind each endzone.

Is it possible to compare these numbers of luxuary suites? Because there is not "a standard size" suite, for an example could the suites in Feedex be twice as big (I don't know if they are). It would be better if the number was "suite capacity" in number of spectators or the amount of suite square meters.

[rantanamo]

There is a standard minimum size of 400 sq ft, which is often waved for numbers close.

Texas Stadium's 381 suites are considered huge to small, but are among the most expensive in the league. Some going for over $300,000. That is incredible for an 8-12 game season at home and is more than the more expensive NFL And NBA suites. The largest ones seat 40+guests(fire code max) with the minimum at 400 sq ft, seating 8 + 10 guests. The largest and newest(3rd and 4th ring) are 1,155 sq ft





Lambeau Field by comparison(The only other with suite sizes I could find has 166 with a max of 2,300 seats for 13.2 seats per suite. The largest seats 30 at 814 square feet( a decent one room apt). The smallest 388 sq ft at 20

Texas Stadium doesn't have more because they are cramped into a smaller space. They have more because there are 4 complete rings of them, compared to 1 in most outside the US., enough for 2 in some and a rare 3 in places like the Georgia Dome or FedEx

What Texas Stadium does lack are the large atrium areas and club seating that new stadiums enjoy, and is why it will be replaced by Cowboys Park.

[PHXbevo]

actually, this is not the reason that there is a hole in the roof. Any NFL fan/Christian will know why

[TexasBoi]

yes the hole in the roof is there for GOD to look down to watch his favorite team play there home games tehre on Sundays and 1 thursday out of the year

[rantanamo]

LOL. While researching the why, many answers were given. A Cowboys linebacker named D.D. Lewis(not the former horn) came up with the God looking down comment. Some thought it was for audience cover. Some thought it was to create swirling winds(which it did before the top two suite rings were built). Some thought it was part of a shade/cooling system, though the best DFW weather is during football season. The real answer is apparently a four piece retractable roof. 1 panel from each sideline and 1 from each endzone. Would have been very interesting if they pulled it off, and at the same time was the main reason that renovation was pretty much out of the question. The roof would have to be destroyed and rebuilt if seating was expanded.

[rantanamo]

The location of Texas Stadium is actually 1 mile due south of the population center of the metroplex and is much more accessible to the whole metroplex, as would downtown Dallas be because of the freeway and public transit each have. Arlington only has two bad stretches of freeway close to the stadium, and Arlington also has no rail or bus, and the stadium will be located even further south than Ameriquest Field. That will mean a ton of traffic on regular suburban type streets. The AAC is a much more accessible venue than either of the Arlington Stadiums, and already has/definitely will have much more human scale activity around them. If Arlington would just join DART and do something nice with the stadium surroundings, most wouldn't complain, but they have been the most suburban suburb in the metroplex. Voting down anything remotely urban, though voting for two stadiums and a new suburban mall in the last 15 years.

[Roekie]

me liky vely much !!!!

[GNU]

I like it.Looks great!!

Love the interior,but the outside looks kinda cheap

[40Acres]

and for us Texas fans, its like the Roman Collessium, where we play the Christians, and oklahoma play the lions.

f ou

[flagship]

I had no idea they were building a new stadium.

Seems kind of stupid.

The stadium they have now is quite nice, plus it has more than enough luxury boxes to generate big revenue.

At least they are putting the stadium in the suburbs,which is where ALL football stadiums belong.

Still, I wish they just kept this stadium.

[EADGBE]

I've seen one but I can't find it now! This is the closest I can find but the one I saw was an aerial shot and the new stadium construction was much more advanced:



I'll keep looking...

[Aka]

??/02/2002:


??/03/2002:


??/06/2002:


??/07/2002:


??/08/2002:


26/08/2002:



??/10/2002:


??/11/2002:


24/11/2002:


13/02/2003:




Goodbye to old stadium, 22(23 and thereafter)/03/2003:

















The Great One turned into dust:



I guess this is what you want.

[Nils]

@Aka

Thanx. Great collection.

[Arpels]

nice Aka, I dont have even one pic of the old stadium

[Pelha]

Originally Posted by Arpels

nice Aka, I dont have even one pic of the old stadium

[Arpels]

thanks, that one goes directly to mi album to remember the old stadium...

[skaP187]

Yep I like the new stadium a lot, but I still prefer the old one.
Wasn't it that it once had a cap. of 120 000 like Camp Nou or is that a wild west story, Great old stadium, why did it have to go? too big?