Cotton Bowl

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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.

In Their Own Story

The Dallas Cowboys played their first twelve seasons at the Cotton Bowl, hosting the Green Bay Packers for the NFL Championship on January 1, 1967. That same day, a college bowl game featuring SMU was played the night before on New Year's Eve, requiring a rapid field transformation between matches. Both events filled the stadium to its 75,504 capacity, though both home teams lost to their visitors. In 1970, the stadium installed AstroTurf, a surface that remained until 1993. The Cowboys played their final two home games at the venue in 1971 before opening Texas Stadium on October 24 of that year. The Cotton Bowl continued to host the Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas, with temporary stands later erected in the 2000s to increase seating for these specific matchups from roughly 68,000 to over 90,000.

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?

• The stadium earned the nickname 'The House That Doak Built' because SMU running back Doak Walker drew massive crowds in the late 1940s, prompting deck expansions.
• 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.
• Artificial turf was installed in the stadium in 1970 but was removed in 1993 specifically to re-install natural grass for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
• 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.