NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Seats matter.

The 2011 Super Bowl will be played at the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the NFL will be able to fit thousands more fans into the stadium for its showpiece game.

NFL owners voted Tuesday for the North Texas group, which had Hall of Famer Roger Staubach lobbying on its behalf. The Cowboys’ $1 billion stadium seats up to 100,000 and will open in 2009. It has about 27,000 more seats than the other finalists’ stadiums in Indianapolis or Arizona.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the actual crowd ticketed at the game could reach 120,000, with fans being able to watch video screens at each end zone.

“Everyone has always told me, ‘I wish we could get more fans in the Super Bowl. I wish we could do that,'” he said. “I think the fact we can have 100,000 people in the stadium is important because it includes that many more people in our biggest event in the NFL.”

NFL owners also reviewed recommended standards concerning concussions during their one-day, spring meeting. Medical decisions will override whether a team needs a player to play and also would include whistleblower protection for reporting when a doctor is pressured to clear a player.

“Medical considerations must always have priority over competitive situations,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

The Indianapolis bid featured the Colts’ domed stadium opening in 2008 and was backed by a Top 10 list by David Letterman with a presentation by Colts coach Tony Dungy. Arizona hosts the 2008 Super Bowl on February 3 and hosted the 1996 Super Bowl in Tempe.

Tampa, Fla., hosts in 2009, followed by a return to South Florida in 2010. Texas has hosted the Super Bowl twice — in Houston in 2004 in the Texans’ new stadium and in 1974 at Rice Stadium.

Jones said the vote went to a fourth ballot, when the winner needs only a majority.

“I think every other aspect of our bid candidly was stronger than Dallas’s but for the size of the stadium,” said Fred Glass, president of Indianapolis’ bid committee.