The Stadium of Tomorrow

Check out the cutting-edge features that might just make tomorrow’s stadiums worth the outrageous price of admission with our animated fly through

By Patrick J. Sauer

Posted on Jul 16, 2008 7:24 PM EDT

For $100 a ticket, fans shouldn't suffer vanilla architecture. When the 2009 NFL season kicks off, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will have spent more than a billion dollars on a stadium that covers 30 total acres, seats 80,000, and features a 660,800-square-foot single-span roof structure, the world's longest. The design, by architectural firm HKS, is an icon of big-stadium ambition. The roof can open in a mere 12 minutes. The luxury suites put well-heeled oilmen directly on the field, a first for NFL stadiums. And 180-by-50-foot center-hung HD scoreboards will show replays from multiple angles. Graham Murdoch

Now that fans can enjoy high-def sports action from their living rooms, stadium owners need to offer more to potential patrons than $8 beer. What can you expect from the stadium of the future? Comfortable seats close to the action, interactive screens that provide real-time game stats, sustainable design, and architecture that directs the roar of the home crowd onto the field.

Check out our animated fly through, below, then launch the gallery for the six top innovations in the stadium of the future.