ARLINGTON — The performers at Cowboys Stadium paid homage to headliner "King" George Strait, but the $1.15 billion palace was as much royalty as Saturday's stars.

One of the nation's largest, and arguably most luxurious, stadiums drew 60,188 fans from throughout Texas and beyond. Many showed up hours before the first guitar chord was strummed for a chance to be one of the earliest inside the glass and steel giant.

Dwight Wheeler of Grand Prairie said the stadium and star power were equal draws.

"You've got the best in Texas for the best place in Texas," he said about the combination of Strait and the stadium. Strait paid homage to the stadium two songs into his set.

"This is pretty damn incredible, isn't it?" he asked. "I'm so honored to be here, I can't even tell you how much. I mean, I can say I've done a lot of things in my career and had a lot of fun. This is right up there at the top of anything I've ever done."

One who wouldn't disagree was Cowboys owner and country music fan Jerry Jones, who strolled into the stadium with a big cigar and an even bigger smile after a decade of planning for the day.

He held court from an owner's suite — larger than many apartments — filled with flat-screen TVs, VIPs and etched glass pictures of Cowboys superstars, including Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman.

"This has been an incredible night. It is everything we dreamed and more," Jones said. "After almost 10 years of working toward this day, it has been a joy to see the reaction of everyone coming through the doors. … The crowd has just been electric, and we are all feeding off that energy."

Former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson flew in from Florida to watch the concert from Jones' suite, along with U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Footage of Jones and Johnson chatting was projected on the nearly 60-yards-long video boards.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was in the stadium and sending updates via Twitter, and state Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, was also watching the show.

Most in the crowd were ordinary people hoping to be part of history. The stadium is only the third in Cowboys history and the second built for the team.

Richard Nevala of Benbrook was sipping a beer in the concourse just after the doors opened and admiring the stadium. He said he knew it was going to be big, but he didn't realize it was so plush.

"Number one, it's classy," he said, standing outside one of the main concourse clubs.

The club is reminiscent of the Ghost Bar at The W Hotel or perhaps a high-end interior décor showroom. The color pattern is black, white, silver and the occasional blast of blue, and it has fancy pendant lighting and floating panels hanging from the ceiling. Nevala said he unsuccessfully tried to slip an employee some money to get inside one of the clubs, where fans were snacking on a variety of Kobe beef dishes.

Verna Fathree of Fort Stockton in West Texas said she was excited to see the stadium and Strait, but she was also a little uncomfortable.

"There's too many people," she said.

The stadium had a crowd many times the size of Fort Stockton's entire population.

The stadium's debut left many fans in awe, but flaws were also exposed.

As the night wore on, there were long lines and shortages at the concession and T-shirt stands. At one souvenir stand, the line was at least 50 feet long, and some fans said the wait was as long as an hour.

On the main concourse level, some fans said the food service lines were too long and too slow.

Brandon Wilson of Justin said he waited nearly an hour for two hot dogs and fries.

And the complaints continued when some reached the front of the line and got their food.

"They have hamburger but don't have buns," Amanda Ricks of Arlington said. "Eight dollars for warm beer."

By the time Strait went on, some of the stands were out of food.

Some stands also ran out of straws, and trash and recycling bins were starting to overflow.

"I realize it's new and they've gotta get the kinks out, but this is a mess," said Jim Boyer of Granbury. "Help us, Jerry!"

In the west end zone upper deck, the floor was unfinished concrete and areas had the look of a construction site that had been quickly cleaned up. Workers had been laboring around the clock to prepare for Saturday's show, but much was left undone.

Some bars hadn't opened, and temporary stands were set up instead. On the third floor, silver insulation greeted concertgoers as they stepped off an elevator.

The rough edges were only minor distractions for many.

Arlington resident Steve Staude said he had been taking pictures of the stadium from outside for years. He finally made it inside Saturday.

"I got on Ticketmaster and got a $38.50 ticket the day they went on sale," Staude said, standing in one of the plazas. "I would have paid more just to come in and see this."

Fans cheered enthusiastically for the performers, especially when Strait came on the stage to a fiddle playing "Deep in the Heart of Texas."

Earlier in the night, some fans even found space to two-step in some of the concourses.

Country legend Reba McEntire was also on the bill and received ovations comparable to Strait's.

The retractable roof was closed and the stadium air-conditioned because of the heat outside. But during the second half of Strait's set, the performer told the audience he wanted the roof open, and the person who had the "key" was Jones.

That started a chant of "Jerry, open the roof," and the roof did open for the end of the show. Operators closed the roof again about 11:30 p.m.

Even though Arlington voters approved $325 million in sales taxes to help pay for the stadium, Strait a couple of times referred to being in Dallas, and at the end of the night said, "Thank you, Dallas!"

For some suite holders, this was the first time they had seen their space at the stadium.

Waiters in starched white shirts and polished dress shoes darted in and out of a bejeweled crowd enjoying a spectacular view.

Norma Chapman of Waco was wowed by the massive video board and its clarity.

"I could see the pores in … [opening act Lee Ann Womack's] skin on that big screen," she said.

Like many fans, Chapman said she was watching the screen more than the stage, but that didn't detract from the experience. "It's like being right on the front row."

In one suite, Josh McWilliams, a 30-year-old from Texarkana, nursed a beer and gazed out at the huge video boards — a high-definition display about the length of three semi-trailer trucks. From where he stood, the screen looked almost close enough to touch.

"This just blows me away," he said. "The view from this suite is incredible."

When country star Blake Shelton took the stage, his face filled the mammoth screen.

"We're the luckiest people in America," Shelton said. The crowd roared.

McWilliams, in the high suite, grinned.

"You know, he's right," he said. "I can't wait to see the Cowboys play in here."

Staff writers Todd Archer, Scott Farwell, Deborah Fleck, Brandon Formby, Mark Norris, Theodore Kim, Jason Sickles, Joy Tipping and Katherine Leal Unmuth contributed to this report.