Traveling Our Purdy World

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My husband, Sean (the other Purdy traveler) and I visited the AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, TX for the October 23 2022 Dallas vs. Detroit football game (GO LIONS!!). Have I said we are Detroit Lions fans yet? 🙂 Although we are Detroit Lions fans, we knew visiting “Americas Team” (Dallas) would be an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most – and we knew we had to be one of the lucky few. So we bought our game tickets and booked our flight and hotel. Below is our thorough review of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium:

Behind the Scenes Stadium Tour

To be up front, we did take the ‘Behind the Scenes Stadium Tour’ the day prior to the game during what Dallas Cowboys call it ‘Rally Days’. With this said, we did kind of have the lay of the land prior to arriving for the game. With this said, I would recommend the tour the day prior because you can experience it all while there aren’t that many people around.

Arrival

On game day, we arrived via UBER. UBER is great because you do not have to get a rental car, you don’t have to pay for gas, and you don’t have to deal with crazy traffic and drivers! The downside to using UBER to/from Dallas Cowboys stadium is that the drop off and pick up location is quite a walk from the stadium (about 1 mile). We planned to arrive about 1 hour prior to kickoff, but traffic had other plans for us… We only had about 30 minutes remaining until kick off after sitting in traffic for quite some time, walking all the way to the stadium, and then going through security. With those 30 minutes we had just enough time to get through the busy entrance, get a drink, and then make our way to our seats. We got to our seats just as the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders were starting their pre-game show.

Food

Seating

We thoroughly enjoyed our seats as they were at the end of a section, in the corner, and the top of a row (directly below a suite). If possible try to get a top row because getting up and down the aisles can be troublesome and you can be waiting quite some time. Also, this should be self-explanatory, but, if possible try to get aisle seats. Aisle seats are great because its easy for you to get in and out and usually you can spread out a little into the aisle. With all positives come negatives – having an aisle seat does make you the person who has to get up from your seat every time someone in your row comes or goes. So when choosing your seat, be mindful to think of the pros and cons of each seat selection!

Temperature

Being a stadium with a dome, the game could be exposed to the beautiful weather or closed for the unsettling weather (rain, wind, heat, etc.). The tour guide from the ‘Behind The Scenes Tour’ told us that Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboys, decides the day of the game whether to open the dome or not depending on the weather projections. The tour guide said “Good weather and 70 degree days are the best for the dome to be open as its near the optimal Cowboys inside temperature they like to keep the stadium at”. With all this said, I found the stadium to be warm, especially near the entrance and food. It’s probably due to the unusually warm temperature that day, the food cooking, and the body heat of the other 100,000 crazy fans!

Merchandise

Everyone needs a souvenir to top off a great game and document that you actually came to Dallas (well Arlington). While you can go to the fan shop in the stadium, you can also go to the Walmart by the stadium (approx. 1 mile away) for a large selection of discounted merch. The Walmart has Cowboy jerseys for $50, blankets, t-shirts, key-chains, earrings, flags, etc. Please note that we did have a VERY hard time finding larger sizes (XL and up) so if that is the size you are looking for, don’t count on the Walmart having them in stock.

Stadium Complaints

Our two biggest complaints about the stadium was that the stadium did not have enough directional and informational signage and that the stadium was SO incredibly busy! With a capacity of up to 100,000 visitors, you would think that the stadium would run more efficiently.

Dallas Cowboys Stadium Rating

^{We give the Dallas Cowboys Stadium a 4/5. It is a great American experience in our opinion that everyone should experience. Walking into AT&T Stadium, watching the cheerleaders, hearing/seeing the National Anthem performed by a trumpet player, the size of a football field American flag being brought out, seeing your favorite players on the field (our seats were only a couple hundred feet away) and just watching the game live in person – all great experiences that we will not forget. The one star is taken away because while it was great, it was extremely overwhelming! Being away from people for so many years (due to COVID) being in this environment around thousands of people was a lot to process. We also could have used A LOT more directional signage showing where to go and timelines (during the tour).}