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 spectators will attend the Feb. 6 game in the suburban Dallas-Fort Worth area stadium.
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 $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.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
