Cowboys Stadium, 2009

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The DALLAS COWBOYS debut the NFL's newest stadium this year – 80,000-seat COWBOYS STADIUM. And before it opens, it already knows what it will host two years from now – Super Bowl XLV in 2011, which NFL owners granted at the 2007 NFL Spring Meeting.

Equipped to seat 80,000 fans during the regular season, Cowboys Stadium is expandable to 100,000 for mega events like the Super Bowl. It features an impressive array of amenities. Among other luxuries, the stadium features a fully-retractable roof that honors the hole in the roof of Texas Stadium, the world's largest LED scoreboard and 120-foot retractable glass doors in each end zone.

The exterior of the stadium bowl will also feature curved glass that will change color depending on the time of day and how the sun is hitting the glass, ranging from silver to bluish-gray.

Most importantly, the new facility will be a source of pride for Cowboys fans and the surrounding communities in Texas.

"Our focus was creating the ultimate fan experience," says Cowboys owner JERRY JONES. "With this stadium, more people will have the experience of what the Cowboys are and what our mystique is all about. The Cowboys have been about Dallas in the sense that it represents the idea of Texas, and it represents a larger-than-life idea. That's the image we want for the stadium."

The Cowboys have certainly done their part to uphold the "Everything is bigger in Texas" ideal with their new stadium. Here is a look at the club's new facility, by the numbers:

1.2 million pounds: Weight of the video scoreboard, which is the largest LED board in the world

90 feet: How high the board hangs above the field

4,920: Number of 52-inch flat-panel TVs needed to equal the board's size

3,658: Linear feet of the video "ribbon" display circling the upper level and Hall of Fame level

270 feet: Distance between the field and the top of the quarter-mile arch that supports the roof

40,000: Number of lights that were installed by more than 300 electricians

3,200 feet: Length of catwalks that surround the stadium's upper concourse

 

NFL 2009 Kickoff Weekend

 

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Ben Roethlisberger

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