Cowboys Stadium Tour ~ Dallas, Texas

So we hear it all the time, that “Everything’s bigger in Texas!” But is it really?  I thought is was a silly saying until we toured the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, and we realized that yes indeed, that saying is VERY true.  From the largest display board in the world, to the inside arches that are taller than the St. Louis Arch, the Cowboys Stadium is an architectural marvel.  And one that you can see yourself with a Cowboys Stadium tour.

Now, truth be told, I am NOT a Cowboys fan or even a fan of Football, however, being a BIG fan of all things unique to Texas, I felt this was a necessary trip we needed to take.  To get a behind the scenes tour of the infamous Cowboys Stadium doesn’t happen everyday.

We took a VIP Guided Tour which included a tour of a private suite, the print media press box, the Cotton Bowl office vestibule, and the Dr Pepper Star Bar.  This is all in addition to the areas the self-guided tour takes you to –  the field, the Miller Lite Club, the post-game interview room and both the Cowboys locker room and the Cheerleaders locker room. You really don’t have to be a Dallas Cowboys fan to appreciate a Cowboys Stadium tour.  As you stand in awe of the enormity of it all and hear the amazing statistics, you tend to forget the main purpose of the building (um, football games?).

Here are just a few of the Cowboys Stadium stats that stunned us:

• Cowboys Stadium is the largest enclosed stadium in the NFL.  It is 3.0 million square feet and holds 104 million square feet of air.
• The Statue of Liberty could stand on the star in the middle of the field and the roof could close and never touch her flame,
• Cowboys Stadium has the largest domed roof in the world (660,800 square feet). It only takes 12 minuted to open or shut the retractable dome.
• Each of the arches that support the stadium are larger than the St. Louis Arch.

As we visited each level (there are TEN) of the stadium, we had different views of the display board.  And what we thought was impressive on the field, became more and more so as we went up the levels and got “closer” to it.  The size of a 35 X 45 foot movie screen, the display board has the same resolution as a home flat-panel TV (1,920 x 1,080 HDTV resolution).  But it is the enormity that is so amazing.  Let’s put it into perspective: A Dallas Area Rapid Transit bus is 40 feet long.  The display is the length of four of those buses and 6 1/2 times the bus’ height. Huge.
And while building’s enormity really didn’t impress the kids as much as the adults, they really perked up at the next part of the tour.  My kids’ favorite part was visiting the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader’s locker rooms.  Of course they are extremely well done, with dark woods and leather…top notch for those players!  As part of the tour, they even pull out some pom-poms and uniforms for the kids to try out.  Makes for some really fun photo opps!

Cowboys Stadium also has 24 pieces of unique art work that were hand picked and commissioned by the Jones family (the owners).  And they are truly stunning – not at all what you expect to see at a NFL Football stadium.  Art tours are given twice weekly here as well.

There is so much detail that has been put into the Cowboys Stadium as well – things you would never notice, unless pointed out to you on a tour.  Take, for instance, these football-shaped lights, complete with the laces:

 Again, you don’t have to be a huge Cowboys fan to appreciate and enjoy a Cowboys Stadium tour.  It’s so much more than football – it’s art, it’s architecture, it’s amazing.

While you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area, here are more fun things to try:
Perot Museum of Science & Nature
Klyde Warren Park

Dallas World Aquarium
LEGOLAND Discovery CenterGrapevine Vintage Train
SEA LIFE Aquarium
Fort Worth Zoo
North Texas Factory Tours