Bullet point summary by AI
- Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is adding curtains to AT&T Stadium to block the sun, but only because FIFA demanded them for the 2026 World Cup.
- Large shades will cover the stadium’s windows for a single June soccer match, directly ignoring years of complaints from blinded NFL players.
- This temporary concession exposes Jones’ stubbornness. Keeping the curtains permanently would fix the blinding glare that actively hurts his team.
It really took FIFA and it’s World Cup venue preparations to get Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to put up curtains on the AT&T Stadium windows.
According to reporting by The Athletic’s Amos Morale II and Adam Crafton, there will be large curtains draped to cover the infamous windows at either end of the stadium. The same east- and west-facing windows many NFL players complain let in too much direct sunlight during late-afternoon games, blinding them.
CeeDee Lamb on not catching the potential touchdown pass from Cooper rush in the sun:
“I couldn’t see.”
Are you in favor of curtains in AT&T stadium?
“1000 percent.”#DallasCowboys #cowboys #NFL pic.twitter.com/0i5y6Dvslq— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) November 11, 2024
AT&T Stadium will host more games than any other venue at the 2026 World Cup which will be held across North America from June 11 to July 19. However, the curtains will only be used for a single match: Japan vs. Sweden on June 25, which has a 6:00 p.m. CT kickoff. So, it makes more sense now how Jones acquiesced to FIFA’s preference.
FIFA’s demand should prompt permanent AT&T Stadium curtains
While the curtains at AT&T Stadium will be a short-lived concession, this little episode is the hard truth Jones just doesn’t want to hear. The facility was literally falling apart in 2024, but the 83-year-old just wants to act like everything is normal.
“Of all the things that we need to improve, [curtains are] way down the list of improvement. That stadium was built to feel like you’re outdoors,” he told reporters just days before a portion of the roof tumbled onto the sideline during warmups. “It’s the largest air-conditioned space in the world. My biggest thought when we were building it was … make it look like it was outdoors.”
If you wanted a stadium that feels like you’re outdoors, then you should’ve just rebuilt the old Texas Stadium, Jerry! What was the point of enclosing the field if you just wanted to simulate natural elements? Your own receivers and kicker have been blinded by evening sunlight, costing valuable points in the franchise’s 30-year-long (and counting) pursuit of a return to Super Bowl glory.
AT&T Stadium has hosted a large number of international soccer matches over the years, most notably some of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s biggest bouts with Mexico, among other tournaments like the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Nations League and CONMEBOL’s Copa America. The sunlight issue has been present for some of those games, which, on top of NFL complaints, probably prompted FIFA to require shades lest they suffer the same controversy on their biggest stage.
If there are zero issues with the curtains—which there won’t be—Jones needs to take a hint and just figure out a way to either tint or subtly shade his beloved football cathedral windows for the NFL season. Players will thank him for it, and it’d be shocking if the television networks find it makes their product worse (it won’t).
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