Super Bowl 2011 / Cowboys Stadium

Texas wins first basketball game at Cowboys Stadium

Damion James scored 25 and Dex Pittman added 23 as Texas won the first-ever basketball game at Cowboys Stadium.

What did you think of the experience? I thought it was a little sterile.

Even though the crowd was large and loud, the building is so big that it lacked the energy and intimacy of a smaller arena.

The Frank Erwin Center on the UT campus seats 16,755 for basketball. Saturday's attendance was over 38,000, and everything still seemed dwarfed by the building.

Of course, the fact that Arlington is basically a neutral site didn't help.

But that video board ... nothing like it. (This photo is NOT the big board. But even this little scoreboard hanging beneath the big one was impressive.)

-- Kathy Vetter

Arlington's name given prominence on the hardwood

Hey Bob Costas, it's not "the Palace in Dallas."

It's in Arlington. And not even some dude from New York could confuse the geography at Saturday's NCAA basketball game.

Stadium puts on its best for basketball

Time for basketball at Cowboys Stadium. No. 2 Texas vs. No. 10 Carolina. Crowd of 38,052.

Not a bad place for a basketball game.

Jerry checks out the floor

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones checks out the raised hardwood floor before Saturday's UT-UNC game at the stadium.

Cowboys Stadium gets a makeover for basketball

Workers started renovating Cowboys Stadium for basketball on Monday and, on Wednesday, they laid down the floor over a raised frame.

No. 2 Texas will take on No. 10 North Carolina in the stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday.

It's the first basketball game in Jerry Jones' palace, and it has repercussions far beyond what happens on the court.

The NBA All-Star Game will be staged in the stadium in February, and Saturday's game will function as a run-through of sorts.

Representatives of the NBA, in fact, will be at the game to watch how things go. Our Ray Buck describes the changeover in this video.

-- Kathy Vetter

Minority-, women-owned businesses get more than $257 million in contracts

As part of the Fair Share Agreement between the city and the Dallas Cowboys, more than $257 million in contracts on the $1.2 billion stadium went to minority and women-owned businesses.

The report was part of the Arlington City Council meeting on Tuesday.

-- Susan Schrock

Arlington council limits pedicabs around stadium

The Arlington City Council has amended the transportation ordinance to outline permitting regulations for pedicabs in the entertainment district.

The city will now limit the number of pedicabs operating around Cowboys Stadium to 40 on event days and has designated where and when pedicabs can operate.

Deputy City Manager Trey Yelverton said he does not believe the new cap significantly differs from the number of pedicabs already operating around the stadium.

-- Susan Schrock

Thousands of women join Super service project

Our Traci Shurley reports that some 3,000 women from the Junior League and The Links will join with 20,000 North Texas children to carry out the SLANT 45 projects throughout Tarrant, Dallas, Collin and Denton counties next year.

Here's a video of Daryl Johnston's announcement, complete with a little Cowboys story.

Big party set at American Airlines Center

Former Cowboys great Daryl Johnston just announced that a huge party for third- through fifth-graders will be held in January 2011 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Celebrities and major music acts will be part of the fun.

The event is the culmination of SLANT 45, a service learning program for children, associated with Super Bowl XLV.

Also Monday, Johnston announced that various local chapters of the Junior League as well as local chapters of  The Links would be key volunteer organizations helping a company called Big Thought with the massive SLANT 45 program.

SLANT 45 -- or Service Learning Adventures in North Texas -- is billed as the largest project of its kind in National Football League history. An estimated 20,000 students will log 45,000 community service hours throughout 2010, as the region prepares for the Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium in February 2011.

Johnston is the chairman of the Super Bowl Host Committee's SLANT 45 Action Team. Former first lady Laura Bush is the honorary chairwoman; she and former President Bush were at Cowboys Stadium for the program's kickoff earlier this year.

Here's info on how to get involved.

-- Kathy Vetter

Homeowners may get a chance to make a buck on events

A Phoenix-based company, sportseventsrentals.com, is offering homeowners near Cowboys Stadium a chance to rent out their homes during events such as Super Bowl XLV.

From Susan Schrock's story in today's Star-Telegram:

Company co-founder Todd Brenneman describes his 8-month-old site as a sort of Craigslist where property owners living near stadiums worldwide can post photos and information about their homes in hopes of landing lucrative, short-term rental deals with sports fans who either can’t find or don’t want to book hotel rooms.

The Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau, which wants the guests in the city's hotels, doesn't like the idea at all.