Wedding reception? Try the new Cowboys stadium

By ANDREA AHLES

aahles@star-telegram.com

From lunch in the locker room to renewing wedding vows on the star at the 50-yard line, the new Dallas Cowboys stadium wants to host more than just football games.

And since January, Gail Grogan, the stadium’s special events director, has been fielding calls from corporations that want to have meetings in the stadium’s club space and even from someone who wanted to have his own flag football game on the field.

"We think of the stadium as a five-star property," Grogan said. "We actually have event space on every single level."

Some of those spaces include clubs on the field level, the large end-zone platforms, plazas outside the stadium and luxury suites. The American Airlines lounge on the silver level has floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and the space can accommodate a seated dinner for up to 430 guests.

Grogan said that so far several hundred events are scheduled at the stadium in the next few years. While many are football games, there are also three wedding receptions, a couple of birthday parties and a nonprofit’s fun-run around the outside of the stadium.

So how much will it cost? The Cowboys are mum about even a minimum cost for a small rental.

Ready for action

Cornerstone Mortgage, which has offices in Dallas and Fort Worth, is one of the first clients that will use the stadium for a meeting.

On June 24, less than three weeks after the stadium opens, Cornerstone will host a VIP tour and lunch for several strategic partners and local real estate agents with whom the mortgage company often deals.

"From a professional standpoint, what a great thing for our strategic partners to say, 'Yeah, I’ve been there. I know it’s brand-new, but I’ve already been there,’ " said Cornerstone Vice President Robin Smith, who organized the lunch, adding that the stadium’s central location between Cornerstone’s two local offices is a plus.

One of the advantages to the stadium compared with the Cowboys’ old home in Irving is the retractable roof.

For example, it allows a convention to use the field for exhibit space regardless of the weather.

"I know there were many things you couldn’t book at Texas Stadium because you needed to have contingency plans for rain," Grogan said. "Now, we can just close the roof."

Grogan said she realizes that that some people or companies will want to have events at the stadium simply because it is new.

The highest end-zone deck has no columns and is higher than the end-zone scoreboards; it would accommodate a reception for 1,000 people and give them a unique, bird’s-eye view.

Lavish options

Amy Phillips, vice president of food and beverage for the Cowboys, said clients can choose from menus that go beyond hot dogs and chicken wings, featuring dishes from all of the NFL cities, as well as barbecue and Tex-Mex.

Four-course dinners are also available, she said.

During the recession, while many companies are downsizing the types of lavish events they would usually have, Grogan said local corporations could have meetings at the stadium and save money because they would not have to travel out of town to a resort.

Plano-based Frito-Lay, a unit of PepsiCo, which has the soft-drink contract at the stadium, has booked the stadium for several events this year, including a fall recruiting dinner and a summer executive leadership meeting.

"It’s not smart to simply throw money into going off to exotic locations," said Susan Fox, a certified meeting professional who works for the research and development function at Frito-Lay. "When you can go to a beautiful venue, a new venue and one that supports you as a corporation by using your products, we want to support them because they are supporting us, and it is such a great venue."

Keep it in mind

Grogan said that most people think that the stadium is only for football games.

But she said she hopes that people will consider it for other events because there is a variety of spaces, ranging from clubs with granite finishes to the open-air plazas outside the stadium.

"You can even rent out a suite for a business meeting for two people," Grogan said. "It’s really a fun venue."

ANDREA AHLES, 817-390-7631

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