FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Before the 2011 Super Bowl is played in the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium between the two major cities, the NFC champion will spend the week preparing for the game in Dallas and the AFC team in Fort Worth.

The North Texas Super Bowl host committee said Thursday that the unprecedented early designation of hosts cities for the conference champions — 709 days before the game it is preparing for — is another indication of what it views as a regional event, not just one big game.

"The football game is the catalyst, the catalyst to inspire this region to work together in ways it really never has," said Bill Lively, president of the host committee. "This will be a remarkable journey for all of us."

Along with the usual glut of events and parties the week leading up to the game, Lively said there would be an entire year of activities — a buildup to the Feb. 6, 2011, game in Arlington that would begin March 2010 in Fort Worth. He didn't reveal specific plans, but said the events would encompass a four-county area.

"It is important to all of us that this really galvanizes North Texas," said Troy Aikman, the Cowboys' three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback. "If we can come out of this and everybody felt like they got a piece of the pie and it was good for the region, then that, in my opinion, will have been a success."

And likely lead to more Super Bowls in the area.

"We believe we are setting a standard in North Texas that will be the standard for the league after Super Bowl XLV is finished," Lively said. "This is going to be a whole new kind of experience for the NFL."

Lively heads up the largest-ever host committee, involving about 250 people and led by two-time Super Bowl champion Roger Staubach. Aikman is on the committee. The committee will plan about 60 events leading up to the game in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties.

"The great thing is they've got such an early jump on the whole situation," former Cowboys fullback and FOX network analyst Daryl Johnston said. "Everybody understands the opportunity that is here."

Johnston is among many former Cowboys involved, and was joined Thursday by Cliff Harris, Rayfield Wright and Russell Maryland. All played on multiple Super Bowl teams.

The 2011 Super Bowl will be played in the $1.1 billion stadium featuring a retractable roof and access for more than 90,000 fans. The yet-unnamed stadium opens this spring with a concert headlined by George Strait and replaces Texas Stadium, the Cowboys' home for 37 years through last season.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he could have played in Texas Stadium forever, but knows the stadium with the hole in the roof would have never drawn a Super Bowl to the region.

Aside from the Cowboys possibly becoming the first host team ever to play in a Super Bowl, Jones already has a winning feeling about the 2011 game.

"It's a great chance to for us to come out of here with a win, no matter what happens on that field, with the exception of the Cowboys being there," Jones said.

"That feels good. That fires me up to be able to work toward something like that and not have to say at the end of this, all of this is well and good, but if we don't win that game, it takes a lot of air out of it," he said. "That's not the case."

Again, unless the Cowboys are playing that day.