A piece of the roof at AT&T Stadium ahead of the Dallas Cowboys' clash against the Houston Texans. / Screenshot via Noah Bullard on X
The Dallas Cowboys had planned to open the roof of AT&T Stadium for Monday night’s 34-10 loss to the Houston Texans. However, this plan changed when a piece of metal fell onto the field more than two hours before kickoff as the roof was being opened.
“We can confirm a piece of metal came loose and fell to the field [with some additional small debris] while the roof was in the process of opening,” the Cowboys said in a statement. “There were no injuries. It is being reviewed further, and a decision regarding the ability to re-open the roof safely will be made when possible.”
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Safety Assurances from Jerry Jones
The team noted that high winds earlier in the day contributed to the metal piece coming loose. For safety, the roof stayed closed for the game.
After the game, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones confirmed that the incident would not affect future use of the roof for upcoming home games.
“Certainly, there was no risk at all to anybody on the field playing once we shut the roof and again,” Jones said. “Got a lot of wind gusts in this area this afternoon, and apparently that created some looseness up there. And then when the wind, when we did try to open it up, the wind got in there and exacerbated the looseness.”
High Winds Blamed for Loose Debris
Before kickoff, workers secured another loose piece of metal to prevent any additional issues.
“They wouldn’t have started this game had there been any risk at all,” Jones said. “And not only the NFL wouldn’t, but I wouldn’t if there’s any risk at all. And there was no risk at all when they started the game.”
Jones mentioned that they opened the roof well before fans arrived at the stadium to ensure there were no issues. “We do this early to confirm everything is functioning and to avoid those kinds of risks if there’s any fans or anybody in here.” he explained.
Stadium Roof History and Current Challenges
The stadium roof has not opened for a Cowboys game in the last two years. Last week, the Cowboys tried to open the doors during their home game against the Philadelphia Eagles, but they did not open fully.
AT&T Stadium, which opened in 2009, has a 2-5 record when the roof is open and the retractable end zone doors remain closed. The last time the roof opened was on October 30, 2022, during a 49-29 victory over the Chicago Bears, when both the roof and doors were open.
The Cowboys have now lost their first five home games this season. The last time that happened was in 1989, Jones’ first season as owner and general manager, when the team finished 1-15.
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This report used information from ESPN.
