The Dallas Cowboys reiterated today that the team would not limit the number of standing-room-only Party Passes at their new stadium after fans became unruly Sunday when they were refused entry.
An Arlington fire department official said earlier today that the Cowboys had agreed to limit the number of party passes issued for the end zone decks to 15,000, but a Cowboys spokesman said that limit was already in place.
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The Cowboys sold 30,000 Party Passes to Sunday’s home opener, which set the NFL regular season attendance record. A large number of fans with Party Passes were unaware the tickets didn’t guarantee them access to the stadium.
The number of people who can stand on the six end zone decks is 15,000, city and Cowboys officials said. Don Crowson, an Arlington assistant fire chief, said that is based on current configurations for those areas. If bars, concession stands and other structures are added or removed, that number could change.
Crowson said standing room only capacity could also be added in clubs or other parts of the stadium outside of the decks.
Team spokesman Brett Daniels said Sunday was a special event because it was the Cowboys’ first regular season game at the new $1.15 billion stadium. The attendance for that game against the New York Giants, which the Cowboys lost, was 105,121. City officials said they don’t expect the Cowboys to have crowds that size at every game.
Daniels said earlier this week that about 7,500 Party Passes had been sold for Monday night’s game against the Carolina Panthers. The new stadium holds about 75,000 fans in the suites and seating bowl. It was the large end zone decks and plazas that allowed the Cowboys to set that attendance record.
Fans who purchased Party Passes were sent e-mails saying they could stand on decks inside the stadium only if space were available. If the decks reached capacity, people with Party Passes would have to remain outside in the 7 acres of plazas.
Many fans with Party Passes said they were unaware of the restrictions and pressed against the end zone gates and demanded to be allowed inside. Public safety and Cowboys officials decided to take down the barriers and allow the crowd to move freely between the plazas and decks for safety reasons.
Originally posted 2009-09-25 09:02:50.
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