ARLINGTON – For Dallas Cowboys and construction fans, this is paradise.
From the gravel field of the team's future stadium, cranes reach high into the overcast sky. Crews walk across several floors of concrete, several feet above ground.
On Monday, workers took a big step closer to the stadium's debut: They installed the first piece of precast riser, sort of a concrete platform for the seats. It marks the start of work on the stadium's main seating bowl, officials said.
"It's a milestone," said Jack Hill, stadium construction manager. "Overall, the project is in great shape. The spirit of cooperation is intense out here. ... We couldn't ask for a better project at this point."
The stadium is about 25 percent complete, construction officials said. Despite recent rainfall, the project is on time and will open for the 2009 season.
Construction managers gave the media a tour of what is probably North Texas' most-watched construction project. They pointed out the future team locker room and the 50-yard line.
But workers have plenty of work to do before the Cowboys score touchdowns.
For now, the stadium consists of a concrete shell with several floors. Wooden railings line lengthy chunks of the stadium. Lines of steel pop out of tall concrete poles that surround the stadium.
Dirt – not turf – covers the ground. Portable toilets, trucks and construction machines dot the field. A few floors have yet to be built, construction officials said.
There's no retractable roof with the signature hole, and there are no seats. Concrete aisles separate the sections where seats are to be installed.
Several feet above ground, workers walked down those aisles, which jut out into the air. A crane picked up the 40-foot-long precast riser, which then crept slowly toward the workers.
They grabbed the riser, placing it between the aisles. Smoke billowed into the air as the workers welded the riser into place.
While the riser was the star of the show Monday, workers stayed busy on more mundane tasks – plumbing and air conditioning, electrical work and masonry. Cranes hauled beams toward the top of the stadium.
A cacophony of construction noise serenaded the workers – trucks beeped, cement trucks churned, whistles blew, hammers pounded away.
There were no players in uniform in sight Monday. But Cowboys officials are satisfied with the progress, team spokesman Brett Daniels said.
Team owner Jerry Jones, who visits the site every few weeks, is pleased that the project is on schedule, Mr. Daniels said.
