Cowboys Could Cut Number Of Standing-Room-Only Tickets

Cowboys Could Reduce Number Of Party Passes From 30,000 To About 10,000 Per Game

Cowboys and city of Arlington officials are "discussing the possibility of reducing the number of standing-room-only tickets by two-thirds after crowds became unruly Sunday night when they weren't allowed into the stadium," according to a front-page story by Jeff Mosier of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Arlington Assistant Fire Chief Don Crowson said that negotiations yesterday "would have the Cowboys limit sales to about 10,000 Party Passes at future games, though there could be a few exceptions." Cowboys officials said that they "sold 30,000 of the $29 tickets to Sunday's game" against the Giants. They said that they are "willing to talk with the city about changes but have not agreed to anything." Cowboys and public safety officials prior to Sunday's game "decided to stop trying to control the flow of fans into the end zone decks when the crowds became angry." Many people with standing-room-only tickets "quickly became hostile and threw plastic bottles and pounded on glass doors." Crowson said that a committee of police and fire officials and Cowboys staff "decided to remove the gates between the decks and plazas to allow fans to move freely and reduce the chances of confrontation." Cowboys Dir of Corporate Communications Brett Daniels said that things went "more smoothly once fans could move freely between the deck and plaza." Crowson noted that many fans "didn't realize that their tickets did not guarantee them space inside the stadium walls." The Party Passes "only assured them access to the 7 acres of plazas just outside the end zone doors." Daniels said that he "doesn't believe the team oversold the Party Passes." He noted that "about 7,500 have been sold" for next Monday night's game against the Panthers. The stadium's certificate of occupancy sets the maximum capacity at nearly 112,000, but Crowson said that "could be a misleading number" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/22).

PARTY PLANNING: Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said that he asked Cowboys officials yesterday to "limit Party Pass sales to 10,000 per game, or roughly 5,000 people for each end zone" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/22). Sunday's announced attendance was 105,121, and a DALLAS MORNING NEWS editorial states 6,000 more people "could squeeze in without tripping the fire alarm, but our wise counsel is to not push it." The "last thing anyone else wants is for too many people without chairs to boil out of control." The stadium event staff "did an admirable job containing the throng, but let that attendance record stand until a playoff game, or even the coming Super Bowl." It takes "only one unfortunate incident to dampen the next party far more than any last-second defeat" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/22). DALLAS MORNING NEWS readers offer their opinions about the $29 Party Passes and their experiences at Sunday's game (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/22).

JONES PLEASED WITH OUTCOME: Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones addressed the Party Pass issue this morning on KRLD-FM, saying he generally was "very pleased" with the results of the standing-room-only section. Jones: "I know that certainly some of those fans with those Party Passes were frustrated, but we had a large number of them that were excited and right into it just as it was designed to do." He added, "Now, I can fill in those end zones. We have the seats … and I can put approximately 100,000 people in the normal seating. That's an option if we want to go that route, but the stadium was designed to do the Party Pass" (KRLD-FM, 9/22).

New Meadowlands Stadium Projected To Seat 82,500, Fewer Than New Cowboys Stadium

GIANT EXPECTATIONS: In N.Y., Filip Bondy writes it is "doubtful the new Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford will ever match the spectacular debut" of the new Cowboys Stadium, as Meadowlands Stadium "simply doesn't appear as ambitious in scale." Cowboys Stadium can fit 112,000 fans, while Meadowlands Stadium is "projected to seat 82,500." But "most importantly, Jones' stadium has a retractable roof." The Meadowlands Stadium has its "share of architectural striving," as the outside "figures to be impressive, probably more attractive than Cowboys Stadium." But "will there be the crazy party atmosphere of Cowboys Stadium?" Stadiums "reflect the whims and character traits of ownership." Jones is a "little bit wacky," while Jets Owner Woody Johnson and Giants Owner the Mara family are "conservative by nature" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/22).