Texas-sized venue

If King Kong was the Eighth Wonder of the World, the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX surely is the Ninth.

The Cowboys new home is the largest domed stadium in the world, measuring a whopping 2.3 million square feet. To get a sense of just how big this place is, consider this: its volume of 104 million cubic feet is large enough to fit the entire Empire State Building sideways (minus the antenna).

The new $1.3-billion football palace, designed by Dallas architects HKS Inc., is capable of holding 111,000 fans, far more than any other venue in the NFL.

This marvel of engineering includes a retractable roof, a retractable glass front entrance, and, most amazing of all, a seven-story-high, 11,520-square-foot, high-definition video screen that hangs directly over the middle of the playing field and stretches from 20-yard-line to 20-yard-line. The mammoth HD TV screen runs parallel to several tiers of luxury boxes in the stadium, but Cowboy loyalists in the end zone seats aren't neglected. Two more giant HD screens are attached to either end of the video monster.

The Cowboy's new digs are so spacious each deck has its own set of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.

Construction was completed on the stadium in May. The Cowboys played their home opener against the New York Giants on Sunday night. Before the national anthem was played at the world's largest domed field, the world's largest American flag was unfurled over the entire playing field. We didn't catch a glimpse of the concession stands, but we imagine the world's largest chili-dogs are being consumed there.

The eye-popping 160 x 72 ft. TV screen already has resulted in a hasty rule change by the NFL. Because the screen superstructure is hanging low enough over the field to make it a tempting target for punters (the big TV received its maiden deflection during an exhibition game), the lords of the NFL have ruled that any kicked ball that hits the structure will require a ''do-over.''

There will be no do-over of the home opener at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. We'd tell you the score, but Jerry Jones just switched off the big TV set.