Dallas Cowboys from WFAA Sports
Cowboys open new stadium in Arlington 
11:06 AM CDT on Thursday, May 28, 2009
ARLINGTON - Dallas Cowboys legends were among 1,500 special guests who were on hand for the official opening of the team's third stadium.
From the Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium and Texas Stadium to Cowboys Stadium, each time the Dallas Cowboys open a new stadium it becomes the premiere facility in the NFL.
It was that way when Texas Stadium opened in 1971 and it is that way with the new $1.3 billion Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
"It's like going from the Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium," said former running back Walt Garrison, who played on the team that opened Texas Stadium. "It's unbelievable… it's probably the best stadium in the NFL."
Said Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, "It's bigger and more beautiful than I could have imagined."
The opening came amid fanfare and fireworks with the "ribbon cutting" the opening of the glass retractable doors on the west side of the stadium.
They're the tallest glass doors of their kind in the world measuring 120 feet high and 180 feet wide. The five 38-foot panels take about 18 minutes to open or close.
The Cowboys greats, like Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin, were watching with everyone else.
"I'm thankful to be here to share this moment," Irvin said. "This is incredible."
Most of the stadium was still off limits because of construction.
The first major event at the stadium will be a George Strait-headlined concert June 6. The Cowboys will play their first preseason game in the stadium Aug. 21.
The stadium, though, isn't quite enough to get former players to take the field one more time.
"God no," Garrison said. "Well yeah if I was 22 or 23 years old."
"No, no it'd be ugly if I played again," said Super Bowl XXX MVP Larry Brown. "I'm excited for these guys. I'm more excited as a fan to come in and enjoy the game."
The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.
E-mail: achimbel@wfaa.com
