Jerry Jones Pushes Back On Sunlight Issue Inside AT&T Stadium

Jerry Jones continues to push back against the Cowboys using light-blocking curtains inside AT&T Stadium after multiple issues were addressed on the CBS broadcast this past Sunday.

This is not a new problem by any means. Players, coaches, and fans have been dealing with this issue since the stadium opened.

The stadium is built with windows in the end zone and walls that can be opened along with the retractable roof. The problem is the angle of the sun during most of the football season.

AT&T Stadium runs East to West and the angle the sun takes as it sets creates quite the glare inside the stadium.

Add this instance to a long list of grievances players have had while playing in Dallas. Dez Bryant and Brice Butler complained in 2017 after a game against Kansas City.

"The sun really is that big a deal," Bryant said. "I was going across as I was going up. The ball caught the light and I lost it a little bit. I told coach, 'Hey man there's nothing I can do about that one.' These fans can go to hell today."

Cedrick Wilson also had a famous drop due to the sun in 2021 vs the 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Game.

Jon Machota covers the Cowboys for The Athletic and reported on an exchange with Jones and the media on Sunday after the loss to the Eagles.

“By the way, we know where the sun is going to be when we decide to flip the coin or not," Jones said. "We do know where the damn sun is going to be in our own stadium."

When asked why not try and use the curtains that are installed inside the stadium to block the sunlight, Jones bristled more.

“Well let’s tear the damn stadium down and build another one?" said Jones. "Are you kidding me? Everybody has got the same thing. Every team that comes in here has the same issues. I’m saying, the world knows where the sun is. You get to know that almost a year in advance. Someone asked me about the sun. What about the sun? Where’s the moon?”

The Dallas Morning News interviewed Bryan Trubey, the vice president of HKS, the architectural firm that designed AT&T Stadium in 2016. He stated the sun is not the result of a design flaw.

“That stadium was developed as part of a master plan,” Trubey said. “That master plan will play out some day and the alignment between the stadium and the ballpark is one of the key elements to the entire master plan. So when we were laying out the stadium one thing we wanted to do was make sure the end zones were completely open. It was one of the keys to making sure the stadium did something that no other stadium has ever done before or done since. It transforms from an indoor, 80,000-seat arena to what feels like an outdoor stadium. That’s the reason the end zones are open and the orientation is the way it is because that’s the absolute best alignment to play out the final master plan and in creating the most value in the land around the stadium itself.”