This past Sunday, I was lucky enough to score a press pass to see the Atlanta Falcons take on the Dallas Cowboys in their new, larger than life stadium in Arlington, TX. I was born and raised in Dallas, so I wholeheartedly jumped at the chance to see the news-making Cowboys Stadium for myself.
I quickly realized how gigantic the place was after circling around the place several times following conflicting directions from various security guards. I figured that since it was so big, even the stadium personnel didn’t know where everything was located.
People toss around numbers about the arena, such as the $1.3 billion price tag, the ability to seat a record 100,000+ fans, and of course, the 60-yard long HD television screen that weighs over 600 tons. But no set of information could have prepared me for seeing the different features up close.
For instance, no picture or words can do that TV screen justice. It’s just simply that big. Imagine Matt Ryan, standing at an already tall 6’5”. Now imagine him magnified over the 72 feet that is the height of the television. That’s more than eleven times his actual size. I’d seen pictures of the screen, but it’s even bigger than I could have ever imagined in person.
It’s natural to believe that the screen would fill up the entire stadium, since it seems so big. But actually, the field is still viewable. The sheer number of fans that are able to fit into the stadium is astounding. What’s even crazier is that this game ‘only’ drew just over 80,000 fans, the smallest crowd seen at the stadium so far this season. The endzones feature space for fans with “Party Passes,” which allow standing room for people who want a cheaper option to watch the game. Behind them, you can see the glass doors that are able to open up during good weather.
Luxury booths surround the field itself, and when either team enters the stadium, fans are able to reach out as they pass through the glass entrance. Of course, when the Falcons ran onto the field, the HD screen superimposed “Intruder Alert” over the shot of their entrance. Classy.
So even though the Falcons didn’t win last Sunday, they can say they took part in the opening season of a historical stadium.
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