Jones Has No Intention Of Raising Cowboys Stadium Video Board

Jones Thinks Video Board Important For Aesthetics Of $1.21B Cowboys Stadium

Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones recently "has been quiet about the issue" of the video board at Cowboys Stadium, but in a recent conversation, he "made a couple of things clear: He has no intention of raising the video board, nor does he think he should have to do it under any circumstances," according to Peter King of SI.com. Jones "thinks it's important for the aesthetics of the $1.21[B] stadium, and for the commitment that Jones himself made to build the place, that the video board stay exactly where it is." Jones: "I spent millions of dollars to do exactly what we're supposed to be doing as owners -- create a fan experience that will keep the fans coming back, because you just can't duplicate this anywhere else. I'm maximizing the stadium experience for fans. And I think I have helped advance the ball for the NFL. Once you accept the concept of this stadium, and you've seen it and really experienced, then I think we won't have this discussion anymore [about raising the video board]." Jones added, "We designed our stadium knowing exactly the right place to put the videoboard, and we knew what the league rules were, about it having to be at least 85 feet above the field. We put it 90. And so of course you would be sensitive to any alterations." King wrote, "I'll predict one thing right now: I don't care if 25 punts hit it this fall. Jones will fight to keep the video board right where it is" (SI.com, 9/7).

MUDDLED SOUND: In Dallas, Jeff Mosier reported reviews of the sound quality at Cowboys Stadium "have been mixed, but loud and frequent criticism by many concertgoers has reverberated." Sound "ricochets off" the glass doors at each end zone and "contributes to a noisy atmosphere." That can be a "plus when the opposing offensive linemen can't hear the quarterback, but annoying for a fan listening to the lyrics of a favorite song." Dallas-based stadium sound engineers and consultants Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams "have been adjusting and tweaking the system for months and listening for the right balance." But "even when the system is fine-tuned, the sound is subject to the skills of the in-house sound engineers and traveling concert crews as well as limitations inherent in hearing clearly in one of the largest indoor spaces on the planet" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/6). Also in Dallas, Mario Tarradell noted Cowboys Stadium is "huge, cavernous and circular -- three acoustic deterrents" -- but the "emphasis of a sporting arena" is sports. Tarradell: "Stadiums are bad places to hear and appreciate music. Period. However, megastars draw massive crowds, which require a colossal venue to accommodate everybody. Let the ticket buyer beware" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/6).

SUPER EFFORT: In Dallas, Kim & Mosier reported tourism officials banking on Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in '11 to "fill hotel rooms across North Texas have committed more than $2[M] in public and other monies to the effort." About $1.5M of that amount "comes from the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau," but participants also "include communities as far-flung as Denton and Frisco, which are each more than 40 miles" from Cowboys Stadium. Those cities and others are "tapping revenues from hotel/motel tax collections" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/6).

STAR ATTRACTION: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Mark Yost writes Cowboys Stadium is "simply mesmerizing." Once inside, "what strikes you most is the open design," and it is "clear that the primary focus of this stadium is luxury." Yost: "I believe that 40 years from now ... Cowboys Stadium will be seen as monumental -- the 21st-century equivalent of the opening of Yankee Stadium in 1923" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/9).