TXI PaveGro Used for Overflow Parking at Cowboys Stadium

Location: Arlington, Texas
Owner: Dallas Cowboys Blue Star Development Company
Achitect / Designer: HKS Sports and Entertainment Group
Landscape Architect: Newman Jackson Bieberstein Inc.
Senior Project Engineer: Graham Associates, Inc
General Contractor: Manhattan Construction Company
PaveGro Installer: ValleyCrest
General Facts: 12,000 cubic yards of PaveGro® used for overflow parking



As America’s team you want the best for your fans. So when the Dallas Cowboys built their new stadium in Arlington, Texas, no details were spared in creating the best possible experience, both inside and out.

Part of their design included the overflow parking areas. These are spaces that get limited use except during home games and special events like rock concerts, national conventions, and college/professional playoff venues. While the designers studied many options from concrete, asphalt and geo-grid systems for grass, they settled on PaveGro® for their overflow parking needs. Some 12,000 cubic yards were installed along the perimeter of all main parking and remote parking lots.

The main component of PaveGro is expanded shale that is manufactured by TXI. Raw shale is mined and fired in a rotary kiln at 2,000° Fahrenheit to produce a material that is lightweight, porous, inert, and extremely durable. When blended with a suitable sandy clay loam and lightly compacted, it produces a structurally sound profile well suited to growing turf and handling temporary vehicular traffic such as overflow parking, fire lane access and event staging areas. The other benefits include:

  • A reduction of the heat island effect
  • Improved filtering of stormwater runoff
  • Aesthetically pleasing and environmentally sensitive 
  • A natural place for tailgating activities
  • Less cost than traditional pavements
  • Easy to install


Depending on soil conditions, a typical PaveGro profile is between six and eight inches. From the ground up, these layers include: a compacted subgrade, a geo-grid membrane, a 2” layer of one inch stone (optional in some soils), a 6” layer of PaveGro, and sod.

Additionally, some of the major turf areas and landscape beds around the stadium had expanded shale incorporated into the clay soils to reduce compaction, and to increase soil porosity and drainage.

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