Cotton Bowl

The historic Fair Park venue where the Dallas Cowboys played their first twelve seasons before moving to Texas Stadium.

The Cotton Bowl, an outdoor stadium situated in Fair Park, Dallas, Texas, opened in 1930 as Fair Park Stadium. It served as the home of the Dallas Cowboys from their formation in 1960 until October 24, 1971, when the team moved to Texas Stadium. During this twelve-season tenure, the venue hosted both NFL contests and the annual Cotton Bowl Classic college football game. The stadium earned the nickname 'The House That Doak Built' due to the massive crowds drawn by SMU running back Doak Walker in the late 1940s, a legacy of popularity that preceded the Cowboys' arrival.

Quick Facts

Nickname: The House That Doak Built
Former names: Fair Park Stadium (1930–1936)
Owner: City of Dallas
Address: 1300 Robert Cullum Blvd.
Location: Dallas, Texas, United States
Groundbreaking: 1930
Opened: 26 October 1930
Renovated: 1936, 1968, 1993, 2008, 2024–2025

Lore & Background

Before the Cowboys arrived, the Cotton Bowl was already a legendary fixture in American sports. Constructed for $328,000 with an initial capacity of 45,507, it gained national fame as 'The House That Doak Built' after SMU's Doak Walker filled the stands in the late 1940s. In 1968, chair-backs were installed, reducing capacity to 72,032. The stadium hosted its first professional football team, the Dallas Texans (NFL), in 1952, though that franchise lasted only one season. By the time the Cowboys began play in 1960, the venue had already hosted the Cotton Bowl Classic since 1937 and served as a major college gridiron battleground.

Reader's Guide

Located at Fair Park in Dallas, the Cotton Bowl is an open-air facility where the playing field sits approximately 450 feet above sea level. The surface was artificial turf from 1970 until 1993, when natural grass was re-installed for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. For the Red River Rivalry in the 2000s, temporary stands were added to accommodate up to 90,000 fans. A major renovation began in April 2007 with a $57 million fund, expanding capacity to 92,100 and replacing all seats, though this occurred after the Cowboys had long departed.

Did You Know?

In January 1967, the Cotton Bowl hosted both the NFL Championship game and a college bowl game on consecutive days (New Year's Eve and New Year's Day), requiring a quick turnaround to transform the field.
The Dallas Texans (NFL) played four games at the Cotton Bowl in 1952 before going bankrupt and finishing the season as a traveling team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania.