Rabid sports fans, the media, and even casual sports enthusiasts have all been talking about the scoreboard inside the new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys ever since an incident that took place this past preseason. It’s the biggest high definition video monitor in the world, and it sits atop the brand new Cowboys Stadium football field.
It’s only been a few weeks since a major blunder that occurred during the Cowboys’ first ever game at Cowboys Stadium. While it was an exhibition game that carried little meaning, this event could easily have occurred during a meaningful game, prompting fans and the media to criticize the placement of the unit. A punt by the Titans’ kicker went high enough to hit the video unit, which obviously disrupted play.
Fortunately, the NFL is not only taking the blame for poor planning, but has vowed to fix the issue as quickly as it possibly can.
This report essentially states that Ray Anderson, who heads up operations for the league, admitted that the league should have done some more research into the ideal height for this video screen, as it could clearly be an issue during the season.
Anderson stated that the league was way off in its research during a meeting in New York on September 3rd. They were sloppy, he says, and threw up a guess without really testing the limits. They felt that 85 feet would be ample, and opted for 90 to play it safe, but they were clearly wrong in their research. Anderson also acknowledged that the league must do something about this problem.
On the Cowboys’ side of things, Jerry Jones has offered his cooperation with respect to the issue, willing to adjust the height of the unit as needed. Additionally, he’s agreed to move an advertisement that hangs from the bottom of the unit.
This video unit has a reported value of $40 million, and spans over 60 yards in length, as it extends from the 20 yard line, all the way to the other one. The height of this board is 73 feet.
When all is said and done, the fact that a game could be disrupted prompts a necessary adjustment to the board’s height. How soon this may occur still remains to be seen.
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