"Football" has Officially Started at Cowboys Stadium Where Mexico Beats Haiti 4-0 and Costa Rica Beats Guadeloupe 5-1. Football? ARLINGTON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sound a little strange? The first football games at Cowboys Stadium were not American football, but the world's football, soccer. Mexico beat Haiti 4-0 and Costa Rica beat Guadeloupe 5-1 in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinal matches held at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Sunday, July 19th. These matches were the first sporting events held at Cowboys Stadium, and the first showcase of how the stadium and its interchangeable turf system will work for much more than just Dallas Cowboys football games. 82,252 fans attended the games — the third largest for a Gold Cup game in the U.S. and the largest soccer crowd ever in Texas. The new Cowboys Stadium is not only going to be one of the greatest stadiums ever built for American football, but thanks to the innovative turf system, it will be one of the best stadiums for soccer as well. Hellas Construction of Austin installed the removable turf system at Cowboys Stadium, the first three-field conversion turf system in the United States. The "roll-up" turf system can easily transform the playing surface, depending upon the scheduled event — from football, to soccer, to concerts or other events. "We have a lot of different types of events already scheduled, so having the flexibility to change the field is very important to us," said Jack Hill, General Manager of Cowboys Stadium. "It is a one-of-a-kind, and adds another first to not only the largest stadium in the nation, but the most unique." "The technology is quite unique," said Reed J. Seaton, President and CEO of Hellas Construction. "It allows the stadium to convert from pro football to college football to soccer or lacrosse in a relatively short period of time, so they can host any kind of sporting event and give the uniqueness of the kind of synthetic turf they want to play on." It is critical to quickly transform the field into various event configurations. The patented SoftTop(TM) Removable System from Sportfield(TM), the same company that manufactured the turf at the old Dallas Cowboys' stadium, Texas Stadium, is made of interchangeable panels that make up three different fields. The field can be converted within 24 hours, and when not used, the panels are rolled-up and stored below the stadium. The SoftTop(TM) system is composed of Matrix(TM) turf, a monofilament spinneret yarn made up of different sizes and colors. This configuration creates the best traction and stability possible. It even helps to provide excellent light deflection under the stadium lights. The field has gone through extensive testing to guarantee its durability. So even with its flexibility, the system is built to last. Find more information on the SoftTop(TM) Removable System at http://www.dallascowboysturf.com. On the site you will see three different fields available at the new stadium, as well as video and sound bites from Hellas and Dallas Cowboys leadership.
