Dallas Cowboys

Debris falls from AT&T Stadium roof while opening before Cowboys-Texans; no injuries sustained

Ahead of the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans squaring off on Monday Night Football, a large piece of sheet metal fell to the AT&T Stadium playing surface while the retractable roof was being opened during pregame. Stadium officials have since made the decision to close the roof for tonight’s game.

Here is a statement provided by Cowboys PR.

“We can confirm a piece of metal came loose and fell to the field (with some additional small debris) while the roof was in the process of opening. There were no injuries. It is being reviewed further, and a decision regarding the ability to re-open the roof safely will be made when possible. High winds during the day impacted this and the piece falling.”

The roof began opening at approximately 4 p.m. CT when the debris fell. The largest piece of sheet metal landed in the end zone just a few yards away from the ESPN set for its Monday Night Football production. Additional dust and paper also fell from the roof while another piece of sheet metal was lodged in the catwalk at the top of the stadium.

The game between the Cowboys and Texans is still slated to kickoff at 7:15 p.m. barring any additional delay.

The Cowboys have not had an open roof game since Oct. 2022 when they took on the Chicago Bears for a noon kickoff game. Monday night’s contest was slated to be the first one with AT&T Stadium’s roof opened and doors closed since Nov. 2019 in a night game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Nick Harris
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER