AT&T Stadium put up black curtains on its west end for Thursday’s World Cup match between Japan and Sweden, covering glare blamed for missed plays in past football games. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has repeatedly rejected similar curtain plans for NFL games, ev
ARLINGTON, Texas — When Thursday’s World Cup match started, the west end of AT&T Stadium looked different. Black curtains covered the stadium’s sliding glass panels on that side, leaving the east end still open to the view.
For Dallas Cowboys fans, it was a rare sight. Curtains have been used at AT&T Stadium for concerts and other events, but Jerry Jones has vehemently rejected putting them up for Cowboys games, despite years of complaints about glare from sunlight streaming into the west end.
FIFA, though, was taking no chances.
The stadium’s east-west layout is unusual for American football venues: it runs end zone to end zone east to west. rather than the more common north-south orientation. Sunlight aimed into the west end has impacted plays during Cowboys games over the years. including at last November’s Thanksgiving Day win over Kansas City. Then, as now, the problem was visibility.
In that November game, Cowboys receiver George Pickens said he didn’t see a pass thrown his way, and shaded his eyes when he looked back toward the sun-drenched west end. After the game, Pickens — in his first season with the Cowboys — said, “the sun was beating in my eyes, so I couldn’t see.”
Fellow receiver CeeDee Lamb had his own memories of missing plays tied to the 2024 season. After the latest incident of glare concerns, Lamb replied, “He already knew it. Welcome to Dallas, bro,” as the issue resurfaced.
Jones has argued against curtain solutions even when the sun is predictable. In 2024, he said, “We do know where the damn sun is going to be in our own stadium.” He then quipped, “Let’s just tear the damn stadium down and build another one. Are you kidding me?”
He has not yet attended any World Cup matches.
Thursday’s match — Japan vs. Sweden — began at 6 p.m. local time. With sunset at 8:40 p.m., the window was wide enough for the sun to stream in, depending on cloud cover. A few hours before kickoff, the stadium still looked under gray skies. About an hour before the game, the sun began peeking through.
Jesse Nunez, who lives in Austin and was visiting the stadium for the first time, noticed the curtains were up when he arrived and said he thought the move made sense. “I think they should do it for the football games, I’ve seen plays where you can see the players actively can’t see,” Nunez said.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw, and both teams advanced to the round of 32.
Dallas has nine World Cup matches — more than any other venue — but this is the only one where the timing made glare a factor for the tournament game.
AT&T Stadium Jerry Jones Cowboys World Cup Japan Sweden curtains glare FIFA Arlington Texas George Pickens CeeDee Lamb east-west alignment