Texas Stadium has always been more than Irving's most famous feature, more than the home of sports heroes, more than the centerpiece of football fans' Sundays.
Thanks to its famous design, the stadium has been the very heart of an epic lore that for decades has woven together religion and football. Now its end is beginning.
"You say to anybody, 'What stadium am I talking about when I say there's a hole in the roof so God can look down on his team,' and even people halfway around the world say, 'Texas Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys play,' " said lifelong fan Bruce Keehner.
The Cowboys play Philadelphia tonight in the first regular-season home game of Texas Stadium's final year. And not even the promise of a behemoth replacement stadium in Arlington, state-of-the-art as it may be, can distract the Cowboys faithful.
"I'm sure the new stadium is great, but it doesn't get any better than something that's been there forever," said Cathy Hill, Mr. Keehner's sister and another lifelong fan.
Team officials already have seen a 15 percent increase in the number of fans who have toured the stadium in July and August, compared with the same period last year.
"We expect that increase to move up dramatically over the months of November and December," said Rich Dalrymple, the team's director of public relations.
Meanwhile, folks such as Lee Taylor – who has never been to a home game – are scrambling to get tickets as it dawns on them that this is their last chance. Mr. Taylor, who lives in Raleigh, N.C., has already secured seats at the Oct. 5 game against Cincinnati.
"Every now and then I kind of look at the tickets and say, 'Wow, I'm actually going,' " he said.
It's the kind of sojourn that envelops many fans in awe – so much so that they sometimes struggle to find a worthy way to express the experience.
"Being a fan all my life, to actually not just go watch a game, but be where Emmitt and Troy played, it was just great," Shreveport banker B.J. Robison said. "There's not a whole lot of words to describe it."
More than 55,000 people each year flock to the stadium for tours. Of all the access granted – locker rooms, sidelines, suites – there's one thing that really draws them in: the big blue star on the 50-yard-line directly below that famous hole in the roof.
"It felt like coming home," Mr. Keehner said of his first time to stand on the star. "It felt like a real centering experience. It felt like the epicenter of my universe."
To some, the stadium brings back memories of Tom Landry, Roger the Dodger and Crazy Ray. To others, it's the place where family outings cemented lifelong bonds.
"It was one of those great father-son deals, being able to watch him watch Dallas for the first time," Mr. Robison said of a 2003 game he attended with his father. "It was just great."
Texas Stadium – which opened in 1971 – is also a reminder that the sports industry is moving on.
"It's sad, but it's probably run its course," said Wayne Colodny of San Antonio, a Richardson High graduate who hasn't been to a game in decades but never misses the team on TV.
"I'll miss her, but I understand the process," he said. "It'll create some buzz next year. Not that the Cowboys need any buzz."
Still, news of Irving's plans to demolish the structure (the city's making way for redevelopment around a coming DART light-rail line) can be heartbreaking.
"That's going to be sad," Ms. Hill said. "That just doesn't seem right."
Maybe that's because a unique design, a successful franchise and an ambitious name combined to solidify the structure's place in Cowboys history – and fans' hearts – decades ago.
"Its name is Texas Stadium," Mr. Keehner said. "For people who are born in Texas and have pride in Texas, Texas Stadium has what feels like my name right on it. I can't help but feel some pride over that."
The Dallas Cowboys have issued new rules for games this year in advance of Monday's first home game of the last season at Texas Stadium in Irving. They include:
■ Tailgating has not been banned at Texas Stadium, but fans will be required to do so in designated tailgate parking areas that will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The tailgating areas are on the perimeters of the interior and exterior of the lot and are identified by a blue line at the edge of the parking row.
■ Fans must have a hanging parking coupon in their vehicles to tailgate. Stadium management will monitor the number of spaces taken leading up to kickoff.
■ For Monday's game only, Texas Stadium parking lots will open at 3:30 p.m. for the 7:30 kickoff between the Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. The stadium gates will open at 4:30 p.m., but the corral at Gate 8 will open at 4.
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