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Dec 17, 2008 6:57 pm US/Central
Fans Divided Over The Demolition Of Texas Stadium
IRVING (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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A general view of the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium on Sept. 28, 2008, in Irving, Texas.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
There are only three days left before the final farewell to Texas Stadium, in Irving. And it seems fans, from near and far, have mixed feelings about the demolition of an icon.
While officials with the City of Irving say they're still 'open to ideas', the current plan is to demolish Texas Stadium sometime in early 2010. The city is also planning to auction off the right to push the implosion button.
Until then, Dallas Cowboys football fans are touring the stadium and reminiscing about the last 27 years.
Nick Bowler flew to North Texas from England for last Sunday's Cowboys game and for the farewell to Texas Stadium game this Saturday night. "I have row two seats. Can you believe that? Row two seats, right on the Cowboys sideline, on the 35 yard line!" Bowler said excitedly.
There is a remote possibility the Cowboys could host a playoff game at Texas Stadium, but the City of Irving is looking further ahead. After the stadium is demolished the city plans to build a large urban transit center. In anticipation, the state has already started to redevelop the Loop 12, Highway 114, Highway 183 interchange and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will build a new rail station in the area.
"While the stadium has been an excellent contribution to our community in many, many, many ways; it's also taken up a very, very large prime piece of real estate that's very attractive," Irving Mayor Herbert Gears said.
According to Gears, the city will make more money, leasing space to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the construction project, than it gets from the stadium now.
The city is also looking for a motion picture company or television network who might be interested in paying to film the demolition.
Fans aren't as excited about the change. "I don't want to see it demolished," fan Amy Tillery said sadly. "I don't want to be here when it goes down, because that'd be too sad."
Apparently some people are looking to get a little piece of history. Irving police and security officials say there've been a number of reports of people trying to steal items from the stadium. To combat the problem Irving police will be out in force at this Saturday's game, just in case zealous fans get out of hand.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
RAW VIDEO: 100-Mile Police Chase
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