Thursday, September 17, 2009

NFL Agrees to Lower Cowboys' Video Screen

By Ryan Lacioca

The subject of much NFL chatter these days has revolved around the new video unit inside the brand new Cowboys Stadium. This is the largest high definition video unit in existence, and is one of many luxuries present in the new stadium. There was an event that took place a few weeks ago that leads many to believe there was poor planning with respect to this unit.

When the Cowboys played their home debut during a preseason game against the Titans, a ball was kicked by Tennessee's punter, and it ended up hitting the video screen, which is located in the middle of the field. The screen is 90 feet above ground, and the fact that a kick hit this screen during the first game has led many to believe that the height needs to be increased.

A recent report now indicates that the league's officials have acknowledged the fact that the NFL is to blame for this incident.

Ray Anderson, currently the NFL's VP of Operations, held a conference recently and took the blame for this mistake. He acknowledged the fact that this unit is lower than it should be and can't remain this way.

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 screen is no joke. With a 180 foot length and a 73 foot height, it bests the screen at Yankee Stadium, and any other in the world. The value of this screen is a whopping $40 million.

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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