Updated Feb. 8 at 7:32 a.m. with a start date for the project.
After nearly four decades of sporting events and concerts, more than 20,000 people gathered in April 2010 to watch as an implosion leveled Texas Stadium in Irving.
The stadium, which opened in October 1971, was known as the home of the Dallas Cowboys. It was also recognized for its gaping hole at the top of the stadium, a result of abandoned plans for a retractable roof. In the 1980s and 1990s, The Jacksons, Madonna and Willie Nelson performed at the stadium to crowds of 65,000 people.
After the Cowboys moved to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the site of the former Texas Stadium has remained vacant. That’s why reader Don Walther asked Curious Texas: “What is being planned for the former Texas Stadium site in Irving?”
The city of Irving leased the site to the Texas Department of Transportation to be used as a staging area for a construction project, said Philip Sanders, assistant city manager for the city of Irving. The News reported in July that the site will be part of a major construction project called the Diamond Interchange.
The $355 million project started late 2020 and will interconnect Highway 114, State Highway 183 and Loop 12. The diamond interchange will be constructed by TxDOT and is expected to be completed in 2025, according to a news release.
“After it’s complete, what will happen is it will provide much better access to the properties in and around the convergence of those three highways,” Sanders said.
Another piece of infrastructure being added to the site of the former stadium is a 500-foot “Signature Bridge” that will span SH 114. The bridge, slated to be finished by the end of the year, will connect from the site to a new Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Orange Line Station and more developable land.
Sanders said he expects the city to be in a position to develop that land for residential, retail and office space after the projects are complete.
“We do have a vision and a plan, and we’re implementing that plan,” Sanders said. “And one of the major implementation pieces is getting the roadway improvements made, and we’re pretty excited about it.”
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