NFL Expects Record Crowd for Super Bowl XLV

ARLINGTON, Texas - The NFL is expecting a record crowd for the first Super Bowl at $1.3 billion Cowboys Stadium.

League spokesman Brian McCarthy said Thursday an estimated total of 105,000 will attend the Feb. 6 game in Arlington, Texas.

McCarthy said about 95,000 fans will be in the seats and suites inside the stadium, along with about 5,000 media members and staff. Approximately 5,000 people also paid (Canadian) $200 apiece to be in an area outside the stadium watching on big-screen TVs.

The record of 103,985 was set in the 1980 Super Bowl at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Los Angeles Rams. This time, the Steelers are playing the Green Bay Packers.

A record could exceed the population of Green Bay, which is about 104,000.

Complete Coverage: Super Bowl XLV

Meanwhile, planning for transforming Cowboys Stadium for the Super Bowl kicked off almost as soon as the stadium opened its roof for the first time, reports CBSDFW.com.

"We've been planning for over two years now," said Bill McConnell, the Director of Event Operations for the NFL. "And our teams have been working closely with the cowboys and with the stadium staff. Of course it intensifies as the calender gets closer."

It's a startling sight for Cowboys fans as they enter the stadium and see the field for the first time. The end-zones, normally emblazoned with the silver and blue, are now brightly decked out in the colors of other teams - and not just any teams, but historic championship rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers.