‘The Boys’ to introduce ‘pod’ seating idea

Article posted by Coliseum, September 3^rd, 2020

Image: AT&T Stadium

Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) American football franchise has confirmed it will introduce a ‘pod’ seating concept in AT&T Stadium as part of its initiative to ensure fans can attend games during the 2020 season.

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the NFL as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960.

AT&T Stadium is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

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The Cowboys have published a Safe Stadium Policy after owner Jerry Jones recently said the organization is still firm on welcoming fans back to the AT&T stadium fold, stating the NFL can act as an example for COVID-19 response.

The State of Texas currently stipulates that sports venues can only admit a maximum of 50 percent of their capacity, and with AT&T Stadium regularly recording attendances in excess of 100,000 this represents a significant number of supporters.

The Cowboys said it began a comprehensive review of AT&T Stadium, team operations, and every aspect of the fan experience several months ago. Throughout this process, the Cowboys have worked in sync with the NFL, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the State of Texas, local public safety and public health officials.

As part of this preparation drive, AT&T Stadium has received GBAC STARTM accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), which acknowledge best-in-class proactive practices in cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention.

The Safe Stadium Policy includes numerous aspects, such as guidelines on stadium capacity. The Cowboys said capacity at AT&T Stadium will be “limited” to start the 2020 season, in keeping with guidelines from the CDC, the State, local public safety and public health authorities. Fans are required to practice social distancing inside and outside of AT&T Stadium, including parking lots, ingress points and seating.

With 15 dedicated ingress and points, apart from the three million square feet of club, concourse and corridor space, the Cowboys believe fans will have ample space to practice social distancing. Weather permitting, AT&T Stadium’s unique retractable roof and end zone door design allows maximum inflow of fresh air throughout the building, along with the capability of circulating 840,000 cubic feet per minute (CFM) of fresh air through its mechanical system.

When it comes to seating, the Cowboys said tickets will be distributed in seat blocks or ‘pods’ to maintain distance between groups who are not known to one another. Fans are required to maintain pod integrity by only transferring tickets to family or friends within their trusted group. Each ticket holder should have their own mobile ticket on their device.

Beginning this season, AT&T Stadium is going digital in tickets and it will be available through fans’ mobile devices. In order to provide a contactless experience for fans, there will no longer be physical tickets. All food, beverage, parking and retail will also become a cashless experience.

Supporters will enjoy frictionless entry to the venue’s parking lots and will go through a frictionless security scan using 60 socially distanced metal detectors to enter AT&T Stadium.

The Cowboys remarked, “We will take every step possible to ensure ingress and egress at each of AT&T Stadium’s 15 entries is smooth, swift, and safe.”

Congruous with NFL and local public safety and health policy, all fans will be required to wear a face cover when moving from their personal or public transportation to AT&T Stadium, including while in the stadium’s parking lots. In addition, all fans and stadium employees will be required to wear a mask at all times, except when they are actively eating or drinking or if under 10 years of age.

As part of the stadium cleaning provision, over 300 additional hand sanitization stations located throughout AT&T Stadium will be made available for spectators.

Charlotte Jones, Dallas Cowboys Chief Brand Officer, noted, “Bringing football back will require the ultimate team effort, and we are so proud of the hard work our frontline professionals have put in at the stadium and across our organization to ensure our fans, players, and employees have a safe and rewarding experience.”

“The Dallas Cowboys value health and safety as our first priority, and we will continue to work closely with local public safety and public health professionals, the CDC and the NFL to ensure that our unrivaled fan experience at AT&T Stadium is the safest and best it can possibly be. There will be many changes this year, and we are deeply grateful for the understanding and support from our dedicated fans.”

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