Cowboys coach says AT&T Stadium is blinding World Cup fans with information
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For the past 17 seasons, the Dallas Cowboys have played their home games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The venue, best known for its giant video board hanging above the 50-yard line, has been renamed Dallas Stadium as it hosts more World Cup games.
The end zones, yard markers and artificial turf are no longer inside the retractable roof stadium during football games. But one change caught the attention of Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer: blinds were installed to block the infamous sunlight from flooding the natural grass field.
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Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer watches before a game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 26, 2025. (Photos by Ron Chenoy/Imagn)
“I’m a big guy… actually a World Cup guy. I watch a lot of games. It’s been fun for me. I’ve been out of The Star watching watch parties and things people had. It feels like they had blinders… shadows,” Schottenheimer told reporters during a press conference earlier this week.
“So it’s as good as it gets when we play our games. The grass and the shadows, it’s nothing spectacular. They’re going to lose the experience.”
Sunlight shines through the windows of AT&T Stadium during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants in Arlington, Texas, on Oct. 10, 2021. (Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Glaring natural light has been an ongoing problem since the Cowboys moved into their billion-dollar home in 2009.
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During a 2017 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Cowboys receivers Dez Bryant and Brice Butler both blamed the sun’s glare for missed catches. A few years later, in a 2021 playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, wideout Cedrick Wilson never seemed to be able to see a pass thrown his way. The following year, Michael Gallup failed to haul in what would have been a touchdown — and possibly because of a flashback.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith throws a pass during the NFL game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Nov. 5, 2017. (Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire)
Schottenheimer also leaned on the topic early in his first season as the Cowboys’ head coach, jokingly calling the sunshine streaming through AT&T Stadium “beautiful.”
“Well, I’ve been here for a while, and I’ve heard about it,” Schottenheimer said in October 2025 via the Associated Press.
“Well, look, if you guys could see the process and the plan we have to figure it out. We have satellite images. We have images of the sun, when it sets. There is a big plan and a process. But I think if you look at the history of what happened it really didn’t affect many situations. We plan for it. The opponents plan for it. But in the end we realize that there is something very good. It’s great when the sun comes out there.”
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AT&T Stadium hosted its first World Cup match on June 14, when the Netherlands and Japan played to a 1-1 draw. The NFL site, better known as “Jerry World” in a nod to longtime Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, hosted its second game of the tournament on Wednesday, with England beating Croatia 4-2.
The curtains were open for both those games. They are expected to return on June 22, when Lionel Messi and World Cup champions Argentina face Austria.
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