AT&T Stadium

The story of AT&T Stadium is short but spectacular. It was conceived as a monument to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones's ambition to build the most dazzling sports venue in North America, and since opening it has hosted top-tier sport and entertainment.

Construction and opening

The project was funded by a mix of Arlington city bonds ($325 million), an NFL loan ($150 million) and the owner, who covered cost overruns. The arena was completed and opened to the public on 27 May 2009. With a total cost of about $1.3 billion, it was the most expensive stadium in the world at the time.

Major events

The stadium hosted Super Bowl XLV in 2011, regularly stages college football through the Cotton Bowl Classic, and has held WrestleMania events, boxing championships and major concerts. In 2026 it will be one of the venues for the FIFA World Cup, where it is scheduled to host nine matches.

The atmosphere at AT&T Stadium is pure American spectacle — a blend of elite sport, light show and colossal scale that astonishes even seasoned fans.

Cowboys gameday

On NFL game days the grounds around the stadium turn into a sea of Dallas Cowboys blue and silver. Thousands of fans gather for traditional "tailgate" parties in the parking lots, grilling and cheering long before kickoff. Inside, the venue seats 80,000 and for the biggest games capacity expands toward 100,000.

The video board spectacle

Suspended above the field hangs a colossal center-hung video board roughly 175 feet wide — the largest HD screen in the world when it was installed. It carries replays, statistics and entertainment in such detail that many spectators watch the action more on the screen than on the field itself. The board has become an iconic symbol of the entire stadium.

Visiting AT&T Stadium is straightforward if you plan your transport in advance. The stadium sits in Arlington, which has no rail transit of its own, so most visitors arrive by car.

How to get there

• By car: The stadium is reached via interstates I-30 and I-20; extensive parking lots surround the arena, so reserve a spot in advance and allow for delays leaving after events.
• Public transport / shuttle: Arlington has no metro or train; on event days shuttle buses run, and ride-share services from Dallas and Fort Worth are the easiest car-free option.

Tours and tickets

On non-game days the stadium offers guided tours that take visitors through the locker rooms, the playing field and the luxury suites. Tickets for Dallas Cowboys games and for concerts are sold online and tend to sell out quickly for major events, so it is wise to buy them well ahead of time.