Cowboys Stadium: The Big, Metal Football

Official Review by Aaron Novinger, Stadium Journey Correspondent

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As you can see from the pictures, Cowboys Stadium looks like a giant, metal football. Its size extends beyond enormous, and it offers the community feeling of a small town or a very large theme park. All during my first trip there, the atmosphere before and after the game was very festival-like.

Being such a new facility, the grounds outside the stadium were clean and the lawns and parking lots were well-maintained. Inside, my shoes never stuck to anybody’s spilled drink, any trace of litter was promptly picked up, and the courtesy of the staff was second to none. Everybody—both fans and employees—just seemed generally happy to be there.

For this game, we sat high up in the 400-level seats. The view gave me a great perspective of the entire field, while the giant videoboard complemented that with instant replays. Often, the replays would split into quadrants to give four different angles of the last play. Neither the view of the videoboard nor the field was obstructed by the fans sitting in front of me—or shall I say, below me.

Each row of seating is leveled so that even when a person sitting below you stands up, they do not completely block your viewing the game. When going to the snackbar or the restroom, the squeeze past people’s knees was more favorable than most stadiums I have visited. While others did this, I (5’ 11”) never had to turn my hips sideways; instead, the most I had to do was scoot my slouching self up a bit to let them by.

To get to our seats, we took the winding walkway. After several parking lot beers, this did wind me a bit. After the game, we found the escalators. Finding the escalators at Cowboys Stadium means finding some of the colorful murals the Jones family commissioned various renowned, contemporary artists to paint. These massive blasts of red, blue, and yellow beautifully contrasted the neutral grays and blues of the building itself. They also spark creative conversation on an otherwise mundane ride down an escalator.

Before leaving the stadium, I sat in different sections on different levels just to get a bearing of where I would want to sit for my next visit. Obviously, any of the sections lower than the 400-level provided a better field view. I was disappointed to find out that you have to look up at the videoboard from some of the closer 100 and 200-level seats. What did impress me were the views from the Party Pass areas and the end zone seats. The Party Pass plazas looked to have great angles to view the whole field. The end zone seating felt much closer to the field than other end zone seats I have sat in at other stadiums.

Food & Beverage   5/5

There is definitely a variety of food at Cowboys Stadium. Some unique items include a Kobe Burger, a Chipotle Chicken Sandwich, and Sweet Potato Fries. I chose the old standby plate of nachos, which were pretty basic with cheese, chili, and jalapeños. The prices of food and beer are pretty much the same high prices you would find at any other stadium. Unique items like the Kobe Burger ($13) are pretty expensive, though.

Atmosphere   5/5

The videoboard and space between rows make watching the game a comfortable experience. Also, all of the employees were extremely friendly and very helpful.

Neighborhood   4/5

The Holiday Inn where I stayed was immaculate and seemed to be new and very up-to-date. The only issue I had with it was that it is located on the other side of the highway as the Stadium, which is true of many of the other nearby hotels. They do offer a shuttle service; however, the construction at the time created delays because there were several detours.

If you can make it into Dallas from Arlington and you want a good burger, try Twisted Root at 2615 Commerce St. They have limited hours and you will see a line outside, but the food and fun atmosphere are well worth the wait.

Fans   5/5

Everybody seemed generally polite and positively passionate about the Cowboys. Other than some light-hearted trash-talking between fans, most people just minded their own business and enjoyed the game and their surroundings.

Access   4/5

Parking was painful and very expensive. We had trouble finding our appropriate parking lot that corresponded with our seating section. Because of that, we ended up circling the stadium before finally finding the correct entrance. Generally, parking is $60, but our section cost us $75.

Bathrooms were very accessible and clean. They even had porta-potties set up in the parking lots.

Return on Investment   5/5

The atmosphere and the aesthetics of Cowboys Stadium were very impressive and well worth taking in. A day there can get rather expensive between parking, food, and ticket prices. Tailgating is delegated to reserved areas, but there are several large strips of lawn in which you can throw around a football or just sit and relax before the game.

Extras   5/5

Bonus points for the retractable roof, the knowledge and friendliness of staff, the art, and the windows on both sides of the end zones, which let in a nice amount of natural light.

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