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ARLINGTON – The first glimpse of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium came when the camera descended from the clouds toward the futuristic building below.

As the orchestral score thundered, about 1,000 bigwigs, celebrities, fans and friends watched intently as the Cowboys unveiled a computer-generated fly-through of their new $1 billion stadium.

"This represents the best of the best," said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who received a standing ovation from the invitation-only crowd in the ballroom at the Arlington Convention Center.

Tom Fox / DMN

A large model of the new stadium was the centerpiece at the event.

The stage was filled with Cowboys Ring of Honor inductees, but the focus was squarely on the opening of the team's new home in 2009. The stadium is now 20 percent complete.

Former quarterback and current broadcaster Troy Aikman joked with the media as he pointed to a large rendering of the stadium in the lobby.

"I expected better than that," he said.

Actually, he says he wishes he were playing in the Cowboys' new stadium.

"If there were a franchise ... that deserved a state-of-the-art stadium, it's the Cowboys," Aikman said.

And in fall 2009, the team will get its wish.

Fans driving by have been able to see a construction crane and sometimes the massive hole in the ground, but the Cowboys faithful no longer have to use their imaginations.

And Tuesday was the coming-out party.

During the unveiling, which was more stage show than ceremony, the Cowboys cheerleaders formed a kick line and danced on raised platforms. TV personality Bob Costas was the emcee.

Costas spoke nostalgically about the ability of sports to bring together the generations and create lasting memories.

Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, who spearheaded the effort to build the new stadium, was acting like an expectant father Tuesday night, pleased and proud to talk about the debut of his new baby.

"It'll be a wonder of the United States and even the world," he proclaimed.

He said he doesn't mind that the new Cowboys stadium will look dramatically different from the neighboring Ameriquest Field. They're two different sports with separate needs, he said.

"We don't want them to match each other," he said. "We didn't expect them to mirror each other."

The Cowboys have promised a list of largests. They will have the biggest, most expensive NFL stadium, the largest scoreboard in the world and the largest movable glass doors in the end zone.

The number of restrooms in the stadium shouldn't be a worry. Cowboys officials said Tuesday night that they released incorrect numbers showing that the new stadium would have fewer toilets and urinals than Texas Stadium. The new stadium will have 1,600 toilets; Texas Stadium has 900.

County Judge Tom Vandergriff, who introduced big-league sports to Arlington when he brought the Rangers to town, said he's excited about the stadium's potential, calling it a "momentous addition" to the region.

"It's awesome," he said. "... It will be a place that football fans from around the world will want to come see."

Calvin Hill, a Cowboys consultant and former running back for the team, said this is beyond anything he has seen in the NFL.

"This is the next generation," he said. "It's a leap ahead of Houston or anything else. It's exciting to me."

Hill gave all the credit to Jones.

"Texas is full of visionaries with big personalities, and he's one of them," Hill said.

Stadium facts:

• The entire Statue of Liberty and its base could fit in the 2.3 million square feet of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium with the roof closed. American Airlines Center could fit in the new stadium at field level.

• The stadium will be the world's largest column-free room.

• It also will be the largest domed structure in the world.

• The roof is supported by two 35-feet-deep and 15-feet-wide boxed arch trusses. Each truss spans 1,290 feet – nearly a quarter-mile – making the roof the longest clear-span structure in the world. The arches are more than twice the length of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

• Each end zone features a five-leaf clear glass retractable door measuring 120 feet high and 180 feet wide, making it the tallest movable glass wall in the world.