The Cowboys' new stadium

[MOIDALIZE]

Apparently the ridiculous jumbotron that hangs over the field is low enough that punters can routinely hit it during warm-ups and was hit during the Dallas-Tennessee preseason game last night, requiring a do-over.

Said Jones after his team’s debut in the $1.2 billion stadium: “You don’t need to move it. You gotta be trying to do it. The rule is very clear. You just kick it over.”

Jones implied that having the video board in play provided an “entertainment value” and that both teams would have to deal with it. But the owner repeatedly said that the normal trajectory of an NFL punt would not bring the video board into play. He could move a Mitsubishi Electric sign that hangs off the bottom edge of the board.

Both Trapasso, an undrafted rookie out of Ohio State, and veteran Craig Hentrich hit the video board in warm-ups and marveled at how engineers, architects and ownership failed to anticipate the issue.

“I hit it probably a dozen times in pregame,” Hentrich said. “Probably somewhere around a five-second punt is going to hit it and some of the guys in the league wouldn’t be able to punt here if it’s not raised, they’d just be non-stop hitting it. I don’t know what the people were thinking. I guess they should have tested things out before they put that thing in place. It’ll have to be raised.”

Titans punter reveals flaw in Cowboys Stadium

How do you screw something like this up so bad? The fans are watching the game live, they don’t need a colossal television set to see what’s happening.

[zamboniracer]

That the punters can routinely hit the TV screen is ridiculous. Every time they hit it Jerry Jones should be penalized $1,000.

I’d be interested to know what the other differences between the new stadium and the old one are. Short of gold-plating the toilets, I’m skeptical about how Texas Stadium could be improved upon.

[dalej42]

@zamboniracer

I’d be interested to know what the other differences between the new stadium and the old one are. Short of gold-plating the toilets, I’m skeptical about how Texas Stadium could be improved upon.

Well, parking is $75.00!

[Drain_Bead]

One of my friends last night made the comment that this stadium looks like something the rich Texan from The Simpsons would have built.

Mind you, I don’t see much of a difference between that guy and Jerry Jones…has anyone ever seen them in the same room?

[SCSimmons]

Hey–no making fun of Cowboy Stadium*! 'Cause I’m still paying for it, along with everyone else who lives in this town!

AKA “We Couldn’t Get Anybody To Cough Up What We Were Asking For Naming Rights Stadium”, according to the Ticket’s Dan McDowell. *

**Hey, I’m helping pay for it, so I can make fun of it. You guys have to lay off.

[Enright3]

Admittedly, I’m a Dallas Cowboys fan; I really liked the stadium. It’s incredible. I’m glad I’m not paying for it.
Jerry Jones isn’t motivated to changed the scoreboad.

From: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/cowboys/stories/082309dnspocownotes.2b7f282.html

Jerry Jones said he sees no reason to raise the video board at Cowboys Stadium, even though a punt hit it during Friday’s preseason game against the Tennessee Titans.

and

When asked about the possibility of raising the video board, Jones pointed out that the $1.2 billion stadium was built to league specifications.

and

“How high is high if somebody just wants to sit there and kick straight up?” said Jones, adding that the height of the digital boards shouldn’t be an issue because teams typically don’t punt the ball down the middle of the field.

[fiddlesticks]

Apparently the scoreboard can be raised higher, and will be for a U2 concert coming up, but Jerry apparently believes that 90 feet above field level is the optimal viewing angle. Why? Cause he’s Jerry Jones and you are not.

[Bacon_Salt]

@zamboniracer

I’d be interested to know what the other differences between the new stadium and the old one are. Short of gold-plating the toilets, I’m skeptical about how Texas Stadium could be improved upon.

Well, for one thing, the old one gets freaking hot if the temperature goes above 50 degrees while the new one has air conditioning and a retractable roof.

My stepmom went to the Tennessee game and said that she sat next to a place where one stair step was inexplicably twice as tall as all of the other steps. The whole night people were falling on their faces and spilling shit everywhere.

[LonghornDave]

@fiddlesticks

Apparently the scoreboard can be raised higher, and will be for a U2 concert coming up, but Jerry apparently believes that 90 feet above field level is the optimal viewing angle. Why? Cause he’s Jerry Jones and you are not.

Actually, apparently Jerry Jones asked the league how high it needed to be and they told him 85 feet; he then built it at 90 feet. It seems the league is at fault here not Jerry.

[lieu]

We were up for a Rangers game recently, a stadium next to the Cowboy’s new one, and marveled and how big and beautiful this new one is. All that time, effort and money and Jerry lets something as inconsequential as a video board height detract from its coronation. As a Cowboy’s fan, I don’t believe I’ll ever get over the arrogance of that bastard. Just admit you were wrong and raise the damn thing already.

Zamboniracer, the old Texas Stadium had a field that was astonishingly bent/elevated in the middle to aid in the runoff of precipitation. I suspect this one is much flatter, more natural.

[BlinkingDuck]

So…How’s teacher salaries doing in the great state of texas these days?

D&R.

[garygnu]

@BlinkingDuck

So…How’s teacher salaries doing in the great state of texas these days?

D&R.

Why are you posting on message boards when you could be out feeding the hungry?

[LonghornDave]

@BlinkingDuck

So…How’s teacher salaries doing in the great state of texas these days?

D&R.

They continue to increase; what’s your point? Do you think that teachers would be somehow paid more if the stadium was not built?

By the way, this stadium received, percentage wise, not a huge amount of public funding. The stadium cost $1.2 billion. Jerry Jones paid the vast majority of that at $875 million with the remaining $325 million paid for by bonds sold in Arlington.

[lieu]

Did anyone else hear (mishear?) the TV announcers state that the screen assemblage weighed over a million pounds? That seems awfully high. This site says the sideline screen is 170,000 lbs and the sideline 25,000. If I’m interpreting correctly, that’s each, so all four are 390,000 lbs, give or take.

Regardless, if they can get it out of the way of a 160-something foot U2 concert crane, you’d think it wouldn’t be an issue to move it up 5 or 10 to accomodate the reason for which the stadium exists.

[Zebra]

Can a punter damage the jumbo-tron? Then it will be moved.

[Marine_One]

So what if this happens:

• Dallas is ahead by 3 with seconds left in the game. They punt and hit the jumbotron.

• So they punt again, but the other team blocks the kick and runs it in for a touchdown. Dallas loses.
  Explain that, Jerry.

[davidw]

Then there’s this:

GeekBrief.tv posted this longer video about the giant punt-blocking HDTV hanging over the field, but in the course of their visit they also discovered something special—the worst stadium seats imaginable. One is literally behind a cement column. The other sits up against a cement wall that obstructs all of the stadium except for one red zone. I’m not sure which exact seat this is, but there doesn’t seem to be any indication on Ticketmaster that obstructed view seats are available or that they are any cheaper than the lowest listed price of $75.

[lieu]

@Marine_One

Explain that, Jerry.

Careful, his explanations tend to damper one’s enthusiasm. Did you hear him explain why he wanted this Jumbotron? He saw one in Vegas when he went to two concerts.

For Celine Dion.

And Cher.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

Best part: Dallas own punter, Mat McBriar, has arguably the strongest leg of anyone in the league. He’s going to hit it every single week.

[MOIDALIZE]

@davidw

Then there’s this:

That is offensive.