After the Dallas Cowboys leave Irving for Arlington, Texas Stadium won't last much longer.

Irving city officials announced Thursday their plans to build an expansive urban district, complete with a DART rail station, hotels, civic buildings, residences and a park above State Highway 114 on the current stadium site.

The project, expected to be complete by 2022, will be worth an estimated $2 billion. The first phase is scheduled to be completed by 2012, three years after the Cowboys leave the city.

"You'll forget about the fact that Texas Stadium was ever there," said David Leininger, the city's finance and development initiatives director.

The city chose to enter into exclusive negotiations with Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises to redevelop the site.

Leininger said Forest City is one of the top redevelopment firms in the nation and was chosen because its vision was closely aligned with those of the city and the University of Dallas, a major landowner near the stadium.

Leininger compared plans for the project to Dallas' Uptown district, which houses office buildings, apartments and retail outlets.

"This is not a suburban development at all," he said.

Forest City is expected to be a major player in the finished development and will probably operate some of the facilities, he said.

"From the start, this project has truly represented a significant crossroads in Irving's future," Mayor Herbert Gears said in a statement. "We have 380 acres for intense urban development, and we are going to capitalize on that."

The City Council is expected to vote later on the specific contracts that will finalize the deal with Forest City.

Staff writer Ty A. Allison contributed to this report.