The NFL Dallas Cowboys have been at the forefront of the League for more than forty years. They have consistently been a force on the field and are considered to be the most valuable sports franchise in North America. The Cowboys joined the league as an expansion team in 1960 and called the Cotton Bowl home for the following decade. Since 1971 the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have called Texas Stadium, a purpose built stadium, in Irving, Texas, home. All that will change in 2009 when Cowboys football moves to a new stadium in the city of Arlington, Texas. The city of Arlington founded in 1875, was named after General Robert E. Lee's Arlington House, Arlington County, Virginia. In 1876 the railroad arrived and in 1884 the city was incorporated. Thriving as a result of cotton gins and farming, by 1910 Arlington was a city that boasted water, electricity natural gas, a telephone system and a public school system. Prior to World War II the population of Arlington was over four thousand. Post World War II the city underwent a major boom starting in 1954 with the arrival of a General Motors assembly plant. From 1950 through to 1990 the automotive and aerospace development lead to a major population growth in Arlington
Arlington, Texas, located in Tarrant County within the metropolitan area of Dallas-Fort Worth has a population today of over 350,000 and is the seventh largest city in Dallas.
Besides the automotive and aerospace industry, Arlington became home to the Six Flags Over Texas Theme Park in 1961, the oldest park of the Six Flags amusement parks and theme parks chain. Arlington is also home to three post-secondary institutions: the University of Texas at Arlington (the third largest institution of the University of Texas System), the Southeast Campus of Tarrant County College and Arlington Baptist College. Arlington is a sports oriented city. In 1972 the Washington Senators baseball team relocated to Arlington where they play as the Texas Rangers. And, of course, 2009 will mark the Dallas Cowboys move to Arlington and the opening of the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium. As well, like the rest of Texas, Friday night high school football in Arlington is an obsession with five high schools in the city keeping the fans entertained on Friday nights. The future home of the Cowboys in Arlington was cemented in November 2004 when city residents voted to approve a tax increase to fund the $325 million public funding portion of the stadium project. In 2005, the final site for the stadium in Arlington was chosen and in 2006 excavation at the site began. The original cost of the stadium was estimated at $650 million. Today the estimated cost is in excess of $1 billion potentially making it one of the most expensive sports venues ever to be built. The city of Arlington has been prosperous over the year's thanks in large part to its automotive and aerospace industry. The city will no doubt continue to prosper and will no doubt be forever changed in 2009 with the arrival of, arguably its most famous occupants to date, the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and all the team's future football card players. Arlington, Texas can now claim a piece of Dallas Cowboys history.
