AT&T Stadium suite owners are allowed to fill every seat in their box with no social distancingGETTY IMAGES
Cowboys fans likely will have a "much different experience" than they are used to when they return to AT&T Stadium on Sunday for their home opener against the Falcons, according to David Moore of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Fans will be "seated in pods within sections," and that "fluctuates the attendance total." Suite owners are allowed to "fill every seat in their box with no social distancing." But they "can’t have standing room like they normally would," and there will be "no standing room tickets in the stadium, either." Legends President of Global Planning Bill Rhoda said, "The fans we’ve talked to, they want to come back. But they want to come back to an environment that’s safe where they’re not going to get the virus. Is the building safe, and who am I sitting next to?” Moore notes Texas currently allows outdoor stadiums to "admit up to 50% of its total capacity for sporting events." Crowd estimates for Sunday's game are "in the range of 22,000 to 25,000." Meanwhile, teams of disinfection specialists "will be apparent throughout the stadium." There will be officials "enforcing that people wear masks in the stadium except when eating or drinking." The Cowboys "rarely have the doors and/or roof open for September games," but "that will change." The doors "will almost certainly be open," and there is a "chance the roof will be as well" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/16).
JONES FINE WITH PROTEST: In Ft. Worth, Clarence Hill Jr. writes Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones' "world didn’t crumble" when DT Dontari Poe knelt during the national anthem on Sunday, becoming the first Cowboys player to do so. Jones said that he "liked how the Cowboys handled the anthem" and Poe’s protest. Jones on his radio show said, “I thought our players showed respect to Poe’s decision. ... I thought our team was very real and genuine in the way we approached it.” Hill Jr. notes Jones had "previously prohibited Cowboys from doing anything that could be perceived to be disrespectful to the flag" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/16).
