DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709140223

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RALJON, MD.                       LENGTH:  118 lines

COOKE HAS ``BEST VIEW OF THE HOUSE'' THE REDSKINS OPEN NEW STADIUM TODAY WITH LOVING THOUGHTS OF THEIR LATE OWNER.

It's time for the Washington Redskins and their fans to enjoy the final fruits of Jack Kent Cooke's labor.

At 9 this morning, the parking lots at the new Jack Kent Cooke Stadium will open for the first time. An hour later, the stadium's eight gates will rise, and as many as 80,000 fans will flood the tri-level edifice with its luxury suites, club seats, jumbo scoreboards, microbreweries, Redskins hall of fame and heated, Bermuda grass field. At 1, the Redskins will play the Arizona Cardinals, and a new era of Washington football will begin.

The only thing missing will be Cooke, the often-arrogant, always-flamboyant team owner who died from a heart attack six months ago at age 84.

``He's going to get to see it, he's just going to get to see it from the nice box upstairs,'' Redskins tight end Jamie Asher said. ``He'll have the best view of the house.''

The man who began as an encyclopedia salesman in Toronto and amassed a fortune of nearly $800 million, was rejected by the District of Columbia, Alexandria, Va., and Laurel, Md., before finally convincing the impoverished Prince George's County city of Landover to do business with him on the largest outdoor stadium in the NFL.

Ultimately, Cooke agreed to put up $180 million, in exchange for $70 million from Maryland for infrastructure improvements. It was a shrewd business deal - charging the highest prices in the NFL, and benefitting from luxury-box revenue dilapidated RFK Stadium couldn't provide, the Cooke family figures to recoup its investment within a decade.

Meanwhile, the Redskins and their fans have a state-of-the-art stadium at their disposal. There are more than 23,000 more seats in the new stadium, which is located five miles east of RFK Stadium.

``It's like moving to a new house,'' veteran cornerback Darrell Green said. ``But keeping your old furniture.''

Other players, who got their first look at the facility on Thursday, were awe-struck and grateful.

``Mr. Cooke is no longer here, but you think of him every time you look at his stadium,'' running back Brian Mitchell said. ``I don't know about the rest of the team, but I'm going to feel like I have to go out onto the field and do something for him.''

``It's going to be exciting,'' quarterback Gus Frerotte added. ``I imagine it'll be packed, and I'm betting the fans test the bleachers early to see if they bounce like the ones at RFK.''

With the possible exception of the bouncing bleachers, which made RFK Stadium seem ready to crumble at any moment, designers of Jack Kent Cooke Stadium took pains to create an atmosphere as daunting as before. The seats are actually closer to the field than at RFK, which was originally built as a baseball stadium.

``When teams came to RFK, they knew they had to have the game of their life or they were going to lose,'' Mitchell said. ``RFK Stadium was a great place. Well, we're going to make some memories here, too.

``It's like when you live in a two-bedroom house, then move into a four-bedroom house; it's still your house. And it'll feel like home once I field that opening kickoff - and return it for a touchdown.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot

The only thing missing today will be Jack Kent Cooke, the

often-arrogant, always-flamboyant team owner who died from a heart

attack six months ago at age 84.

Photo

LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot

An unidentified person takes a look at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium which

opens today when Redskins host the Phoenix Cardinals.

Map

VP

Graphic

AT A GLANCE

Name: Jack Kent Cooke Stadium.

Cost: Stadium only, $180 million.

Total cost: $250 million.

Location: Raljon, Md., a newly created town adjacent to Landover.

The late Jack Kent Cooke created the address by combining the first

names of his two sons, the late Ralph Kent Cooke and John Kent

Cooke, currently the team president.

Capacity: 80,116, making it the largest outdoor stadium in the

NFL and only 196 seats less than the Pontiac Silverdome.

Construction time: 17 1/2 months, breaking the previous stadium

construction record of 22 months, held by Miami's Pro Player

Stadium.

Stadium designer: HOK of Kansas City, also known for design of

Camden Yards in Baltimore and Harbor Park in Norfolk.

Parking spaces: 23,000. Parking sections and parking passes are

color-coded, as are the roads leading into the stadium. Follow the

color of your parking pass to proper lot. General parking is in the

red lots. Follow the M for shuttle buses to Metro stations.

Fact: There were 4,400 tons of steel used in construction, or 8.8

million pounds.

Fact II: There were 650,000 cinderblocks used. If you lined those

up end-to-end, they would stretch 164 miles.

Fact III: The stadium houses 2,527 plumbing fixtures, enough to

outfit 361 houses.

Fact IV: If you lined up all the rebar (the steel that goes into

the concrete to reinforce it), it would stretch from Raljon to

Miami, Fla.

Directions: From Hampton Roads, take I-64 West to Richmond,

connect to I-95 North. In Northern Virginia, connect to 495/I-95

North to exit 15B. At Summerfield Road, turn right. Follow signs

into stadium.

Or take 495/I-95 North to exit 11B (Pennsylvania Avenue/Route 4

west), turn right on Forestville Road, which becomes Ritchie Road.

Continue north on Ritchie, across Central Avenue/Route 214, to

Summerfield Boulevard to stadium.

Today's schedule:

Parking lots open at 9 a.m. for fans to tailgate.

Stadium gates open at 10 a.m.

Pregame ceremonies begin at 12:30 p.m.

Kickoff, Redskins vs. Arizona Cardinals, is at 1 p.m.

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