Dallas Cowboys New Stadium is the working title of a new stadium being built in Arlington, Texas for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. It will replace Texas Stadium, which opened in 1971, as the Cowboys’ home. It is scheduled to open before the 2009 NFL season and will accommodate 80,000, with the possibility for expansion to 100,000. New Cowboys Stadium was designed by the Dallas-based architectural firm HKS. Besides the Cowboys, the new stadium will be used by college football teams and other organizations for other sporting and non-sporting events. On March 10, 2008, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, joined by officials and coaches from Texas A&M University and the University of Arkansas, announced that the two schools would renew their rivalry with annual games at the stadium, beginning October 3, 2009. In addition, the AT&T Cotton Bowl will move its annual game to the stadium once it opens.
Originally estimated to cost $650 million, the stadium's current construction cost is in excess of $1 billion, which will make it one of the most expensive sports venues ever built. To aid Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones in paying the construction costs of the new stadium, Arlington voters approved the increase of the city's sales tax by one-half of a percent, the hotel occupancy tax by 2 percent, and car rental tax by 5 percent. The City of Arlington will provide $325 million in funding, and Jones will cover any cost overruns. Also, the NFL will provide the Cowboys with an additional $150 million, as per their policy for giving teams a certain lump sum of money for stadium finance.
Although the stadium has yet to receive a naming rights sponsor, in reference to Jones, many fans have taken to referring to the project as "Jerry World". There is also a petition by some fans to have the stadium named after longtime Cowboys coach Tom Landry.
Two nearly -tall archs will span the length of the stadium dome, anchored to the ground at each end. The new stadium will also comprise features including a retractable roof, protecting from weather conditions, operable glass doors, allowing each end zone to be opened, and a centre-hung video display board. This system was implemented by mechanization consultants, Uni-Systems. These Kinetic Architecture fundamentals will be employed in order to create a quick conversion of the facility to accommodate a variety of events. When the design was officially unveiled on December 12 2006, it showed that the roof would look exactly the same as Texas Stadium's roof, with its trademark hole. However, it would be covered by the retractable roof panel should there be precipitation or if the heat conditions become unbearable.
A Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame is planned for the Hall of Fame level. The drawings also include a site for a large sculpture northeast of the stadium, close to Randol Mill Road.
Excavation work at the stadium site began in May 2006 near Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Until it opens, the Cowboys will continue to play in Texas Stadium.
This stadium will host Super Bowl XLV in 2011, beating out bids from the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
