A Billion Here and a Billion There….Pretty Soon You Have Some Real Money!

The storm that began to develop around here after midnight developed into a monster that is currently causing tornados, rain and flooding from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Superior. Our forecast last night was for high winds with severe thunderstorms.  That happened in spades.  We brought in the slides last night to save the slide topper fabric, and we're glad we did.  The wind topped 25 miles per hour overnight, and settled in this morning to a 20 to 35 mph range with gusts to 70!

We had planned to visit the Ft Worth Stockyards today, but most of that activity takes place outdoors, so the wind ended that plan. Plan Two had us going back to Arlington to tour Cowboy Stadium, the most advanced football stadium in the NFL. After all, where better to be on a windy day than inside an enclosed dome?

The title refers to a comment that Everett Dirksen made in the US Senate in the '60's, referring to the country's budget.  It also applies to the stadium and it's construction. At a cost of 1.2 billion, the stadium is probably the most expensive ever built. I may be wrong on that, but it's still an impressive sum to spend on a sporting venue.

The wind was blowing so hard that we had a hard time walking to the ticket office, but after some struggling we made it inside. Through the pro shop (of course) and up a flight of stairs, this is the view we had:

To the left and to the right:

Sorry, but the size of that TV screen is huge!

There is very little perspective distortion in that photo; the screen really is that big!

Down on the field, the enormity of the structure is apparent.  As large as a football field is, it looked like  it was built at 1/2 scale.  The goalposts appear as yellow toothpicks, and is appears that you could toss a sock across the field. Not so, of course, but the scale is deceiving.

A very nice lady offered to take our picture:

The public is encouraged to use the facility as much as possible.  For the price of a self-guided tour, a person is allowed to roam about most of the facility, including the field.  Kids teams come in to practice or to play games, high school players come in and practice field goal kicking by the hour. There are just a few restrictions having to do with the High Roller suites, but the locker rooms are available to visit, as well as the DCC locker room!

Just down from the DCC locker room is the Cowboy locker room.

Each player has his own labeled locker, of course.  The locker units are made from an exotic african wood and cost $9,000 each! We were "encouraged" not to stand, sit or touch!

On our way to the field, we saw a behind-the-scenes collection of replacement turf:

Here's what the High Rollers see.  Just below the field level, they get to feel like they're part of the action for all the money they spend! Each suite requires a long term lease of five or more years.

But, they are close to the "Star" that the Cowboys run through to take the field.

Donna had much the same experience for 14.95….

Back out on the field, we had to take a few "tourist" photos:

One last look around; up at the TV screen from the field,

Outside, the bad weather last night had damaged some of the landscaping.

Literally just across the street is the home of the baseball Texas Rangers.

Returning home, we had to stop for lunch at the Rodeo Goat. Advertising the "Best Burgers in Texas", we just had to try it.

The building is completely uninspiring,

We ordered the Chupacabra burger with Chorizo and Jalapeños, and the Terlingua, with all meat Chili and corn chips. Yum!

Sunset was beautiful tonight, a fitting end to our stay in Ft Worth.