Cowboys' new stadium to get over 20,000 square feet of video screen

If there were ever any doubts that they do things bigger in Texas, let them be dispelled here and now: the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium -- whose plans were unveiled at a star-studded event in Arlington last night -- is nothing less than a marvel of modern engineering. Not only will it be the biggest domed stadium in the world upon its completion in 2009, it will also hold the title of world's largest column-free room, and house what officials are dubbing the biggest center-hung video board on the planet. Clearly not content with having just one ginormous screen, however, the Cowboys opted for a four-display setup, with the endzone-facing panels measuring in at 48 feet by 27 feet and the sideline-facing monoliths dwarfing all those which came before it at an incredible 180 feet wide by 50 feet high. That translates to exactly 9,000 square feet of video real estate per display, with a 2,241-inch diagonal. To put these monsters in perspective, the scoreboard at Dolphin Stadium and "Godzillatron" at Royal-Memorial Stadium only rock 6,850 square foot and 7,370 square foot areas, respectively; even the mighty HDTV recently installed at the Tokyo Racetrack can only boast a square footage of about 8,066. Some fans are already complaining about skyrocketing ticket prices to pay for the billion-dollar stadium (only $325 million of that will be publicly financed), but when you're talking about Texas, where football is king, it seems completely appropriate that "America's Team" should have a suitable castle to hold court in.

Read- Official site
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[Thanks, Brian]

[Grant Hodgeon @ Dec 13th 2006 10:29AM]

If ever I had a reason to visit America now, this is it! Wow.

[rob @ Dec 13th 2006 10:32AM]

Is Daktronics manufacturing this screen, like the one in Miami?

[tstreesapx @ Dec 13th 2006 10:52AM]

This just in: Cable Snaps! Dallas in Market for a Football Team!

[Joseph Cooleth @ Dec 13th 2006 10:54AM]

I think it's a bit ridiculous. Why go to the game, where they are actually playing the game live, to watch it on a video screen? Don't get me wrong, just as I wanna see the Dolphin Stadium one, I'd love to check this bad boy out. I just think that massive display will distract rather than enhance the live game experience.

[Evan @ Dec 13th 2006 11:04AM]

"Why go to the game, where they are actually playing the game live, to watch it on a video screen?"

They're going to show football on that screen? I expect it'll be displaying ads 99% of the time.

[r @ Dec 13th 2006 11:26AM]

replays and different angles.

[Pete D @ Dec 13th 2006 10:54AM]

How awesome would this be for XBox 360 or even better some good old HDPorn...

[Joseph Cooleth @ Dec 13th 2006 11:24AM]

You're right. But really, that display would distract, no matter what is on it.

I guess I'm referring to the only NFL game I've been to back a few years ago in Miami. They showed most of the game on the video displays. I thought it was strange.

[GJP303 @ Dec 13th 2006 4:50PM]

Yeah, in most basketball games i go to, they just show like espn or fox sports net which has the game on it, and at commercials they do some random stuff.

[Chocolate Starfish @ Dec 13th 2006 11:06AM]

The Green Bay Packers are, and always will be, America's team.

[z3rr0 @ Dec 13th 2006 11:48AM]

LOL.

[joey @ Dec 13th 2006 4:44PM]

your joking right?....

[Mr. B @ Dec 13th 2006 11:11AM]

To be honest I'm kinda bummed the Louisiana Superdome is gonna lose its records... that's a pretty ambitious screen though.

[Dignan17 @ Dec 13th 2006 11:12AM]

Thank you for putting "America's Team" in quotes. I hate how pompous that phrase is. No team is "America's Team."

[Dae @ Dec 13th 2006 11:20AM]

Dallas? i hope its full of Dead pixels. :)

[Dae @ Dec 13th 2006 11:22AM]

"tstreesapx @ Dec 13th 2006 10:52AM
This just in: Cable Snaps! Dallas in Market for a Football Team!"



Wow thats funny. i can see that happending

[jswilson64 @ Dec 13th 2006 11:32AM]

I think Jerry Jones was suffering from Screenis Envy...

[joey @ Dec 13th 2006 4:45PM]

haha i just peed m pants

[TVGenius @ Dec 13th 2006 11:32AM]

Looks like they ripped off a fair chunk of the design from the Cardinals' new stadium. And I'm assuming that at least part of that real estate will actually be used to show, maybe, THE SCORE?

[Ammon Harris @ Dec 13th 2006 11:34AM]

I'm glad they're building this so the next time I drive 20 hours to watch my NY Giants whoop up on the Cowgirls, I'll actually be able to see the screen. Their current screen is a disgrace although ticket prices are currently awesome and the food is really good too with no lines. GO GIANTS!!

[Shermie @ Dec 13th 2006 11:39AM]

Won't the kicker hit it, or during a hail mary pass? Otherwise it would be too high to watch, and to move it up and down would also be distracting.

[Colin @ Dec 13th 2006 11:39AM]

"Only" 325 million??? Is my sarcasm detector just not working?

[len @ Dec 13th 2006 11:44AM]

I'm sure that thing is going to fall and kill a lot of innocent people. I expect nothing less from the state that first gave Bush elected office.

(Yeah, I went there.)

My other joke is That's great and all, but will it have surround sound?

Hmm, with a 2,241" diagonal, and with arches that are 1,290 feet across, the seats are beyond the optimal viewing distance.

[mike @ Dec 13th 2006 11:50AM]

We've had season tickets to the Longhorn games for about 18 years now. Nothing in those 18 years has been quite as annoying as the "Gozillatron," not even the Taco Bell bell.

[NHAnimator @ Dec 13th 2006 12:03PM]

Heaven forbid the Cowboys spends their money on TALENT!

[Phil @ Dec 13th 2006 12:20PM]

Their record and first place status in the NFC East seems to indicate otherwise.

[ThomasamohT @ Dec 13th 2006 12:17PM]

Hey check out the stadium here:

http://stadium.dallascowboys.com/

[Matthew G Smith @ Dec 13th 2006 1:48PM]

Sorry dude..but 1st place by only a game over both the sucky Giants and my craptastic Eagles is not that much of an accomplishment..teams from the NFC may make the playoffs with 8-8 records and thats terrible. Our conference is awful.

[Chris @ Dec 13th 2006 1:49PM]

Silly Texans... don't they know that if you were to divide Alaska into two states, Texas would still be the third largest? Oh - I guess they do. Hence the size envy that motivated Texas to build such a large screen. It's okay boys... size doesn't matter (or so your wife tells you.)

[chaosismynature @ Dec 13th 2006 2:22PM]

Biggest domed stadium in the world? Finally, a stadium that can house Terrel Owen's ego!!

[Bill Clark @ Dec 13th 2006 2:34PM]

yeah it is all the hype here in Dallas (even if the damn thing isn't (but neither is Texas Stadium)

one fun fact: they forced people to sell them their homes and property to build this, i think the offer was FMV + expenses + $20,000 one lady held out and got over a MILLION! way to go... but WTF is up with people losing their right to own something?

as to the $300 Million the tax payers of the city of Arlington will pay... you know those never make up the cost.. sure the owners will make Billions (what is the super bowl 2011/12 going to bring them alone?)

[Blake @ Dec 13th 2006 4:41PM]

Those precious houses that everone has been whining about were actually a trailer park in an area that will now have a billion dollars poured into it. boo hoo. we should keep all the ghetto's around and not try to improve anything. shut up. arlington is getting a hell of a stadium for $300 million. I live in dallas and am still bitter we don't have it here in dallas. i would of been more than happy to pony up some extra taxes to have fair park redeveloped.

[FrankTheCrank @ Dec 13th 2006 3:29PM]

How bout' them Cowboys?!?!

(snicker, snicker)

[ScottC @ Dec 13th 2006 3:29PM]

1) How are they gonna cool that thing suspended in the air like that? If I remember correctly, the Godzillatron needed several good sized AC units to keep it going.

2) The Cowboys should change their name. Arlington isn't anywhere near Dallas (thanks again Jerry). In fact Ft. Worth should also be able to lay claim to them.

[Mike @ Dec 13th 2006 4:17PM]

Why should the Cowboys change their name now? You obviously didn't have a problem with it all these years that they have been in Irving. So, by your logic, let's change the name of all the teams that aren't where they advertise. New Jersey Giants or Jets jersey, anyone? Maryland Redskins?

[Brian B. @ Dec 13th 2006 6:15PM]

@ScottC: It's not Jerry Jones' fault the Cowboys aren't in Dallas. They were in Irving before he bought the team and he wanted to build this stadium in the Fair Park area but Mayor Laura Miller screwed that up.

[Jeremy @ Dec 13th 2006 3:32PM]

Wierd Al must be proud, as "Frank's 2000 Inch TV" has become a reality.

[Miguel @ Dec 13th 2006 4:13PM]

Excellent, now if only they could put together a winning franchise to cover the cost...

On another note: a strong punt out of the red zone has a high potentional of hitting this monstrosity. It only hangs 110 feet above the field. HKS and the Dallas Cowboys: proudly bringing you stadium design snaffus...

[Jeremy @ Dec 13th 2006 4:14PM]

Arlington is the largest city in the country without public transportation...yet, somehow, money is found for a stadium.

[michael @ Dec 13th 2006 5:14PM]

that's awesome. I just hope that the weight of the video screens don't make the whole structure collapse. That would be bad of course.

By the way, I'm a Texans fan!

[Vizell @ Dec 13th 2006 11:57PM]

@ScottC: Since when is 20 miles nowhere near Dallas? It's called the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area for a reason. That's about how far most people around here have to drive to get to work.

[shane @ Dec 14th 2006 10:38AM]

um.

1st, they're leaving irving, not arlington.
2nd, what did they borrow from arizona? the cardinals stadiums is a metal monstrosity. this is glass and limestone. the endzones will actually have seats. the field won't be removable. etc.

that said, it's a bit over the top, but so was texas stadium when it was first built.

tex schraam and the cowboys were the first to introduce the buttload of suites that now reside in every major stadium, and were the first to introduce the "seat license" to help finance the stadium.

texas stadium was state-of-the-art when it was built. it's fitting that this one be as well.

[Murc @ Dec 14th 2006 11:44PM]

IMPRESSIVE

and is that the real official price.... a billion bucks....dats a lotto money!

oh...and...
GOOOO VIKINGS!

[Rob Paek @ Jun 27th 2007 2:24PM]

uhhhh, has anyone said anything about how awesome it would be to see the cheerleaders on this humongoid screen?

[Y2KPony @ Sep 13th 2007 9:46AM]

Let's hope "America's Team" goes with "America's Display" and buys the video screen Daktronics (in South Dakota). Jerry Jones would look pretty stupid buying a Mitsubishi display. They're not even that good for TV's any more...