The 2026 FIFA World Cup forced NFL teams to improve their stadiums by installing grass surfaces and other significant changes to the arena to meet FIFA standards. Now, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has revealed that at least one of those upgrades could become a permanent feature at AT&T Stadium. 

During the training camp presser in Oxnard, Jones hinted that the blackout curtains installed for the FIFA World Cup, along with the tinted glass used to reduce the sun glare through AT&T Stadium’s massive windows, have left a positive impression.

“Thinking about it and doing something about it are two different things,” Jones said to Mike Doocy of  Fox 4 News, per X post of Sam Gannon. “But I'll think about it...But as we look at it, I like some of the effects of the tinting. And so we're giving that a thought.”

Jones has long resisted making changes to address the late-afternoon sunlight that streams through the east-west oriented AT&T Stadium, despite complaints from Cowboys players. 

“It's hard to tell that time of the year, because the sun's not the same,” Jones said in an interview with Mike Doocy of Fox 4 News, per X post of Sam Gannon on August 2. “This time of the year that it is, in the fall. And that is, you get on into sun changes, and the angle of that sun changes from September through year-round.”

The large glass windows behind the end zones cause intense sunglare to shine directly onto the field during late-afternoon games, which has frequently interfered with players’ visibility, particularly for receivers and punt returners facing the west.

Cowboys wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens have previously mentioned missing the ball during late-afternoon games due to the sun glare.

Pickens couldn't see a pass thrown in his way during the Thanksgiving game against the Kansas City Chiefs last season. Lamb was also affected by the glare, missing a throw in the end zone during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 season.

If the franchise decides to make the tinting permanent, it could put an end to the recurring issue that has affected players in crucial moments.

Chiefs' Stadium vision challenges Jerry Jones' artificial turf stance

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to relocate to a new $3 billion domed stadium in Wyandotte County, Kansas, by 2031. The Chiefs' president, Mark Donovan, has said he prefers to retain a natural grass field, contrary to Jones's preference to artifical turf.

"We had designed the building to be able to do either (turf or grass),” Donovan said during the Chiefs' training camp press conference on July 29, according to  Pete Grathoff of The Kansas City Star. “Our preference, and we stated this publicly, is grass."

While Jones remains committed to artificial turf, Donovan's stance could fuel hopes that the Cowboys owner may one day reconsider the playing surface, just as he did with the blackout curtains.

If Jones makes the blackout curtains permanent, should natural grass be the next stadium upgrade? Tell us what you think.

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi