DMN Investigates Blog: Why did the Cowboys practice facility collapse?

[WoodysGirl]

Why did the Cowboys practice facility collapse?

10:15 AM Sun, May 03, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
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If you read far enough into today's Dallas Morning News coverage of the Cowboys practice facility's collapse, you'll see Irving police say their city suffered no other structural damage in Saturday's storm.

So was this building just in the wrong place at the wrong time? It's an odd thought, given that the whole point of the steel-framed, fabric-covered building is to give the team a place to practice in bad weather.

The manufacturers, Summit Structures and Cover-All Building Systems, tout their work in building other sports facilities, including ones for the New England Patriots and Texas A&M. But I can't find any mention on the company Web sites of the Cowboys facility. Why?

Another issue we're looking at: A Summit-built warehouse in Pennsylvania partially collapsed during a 2003 snowstorm, less than two months after opening. A 2007 court order blamed Summit for design flaws.

"We design for snow load and wind load," an executive for the manufacturers told a Canadian newspaper in 2003, as I reported today in The News. "It's not a bubble."

 

[Wood]

64 mile an hour winds don't seem excessive enough to bring a steel beam structure down...I have to suspect there was design flaw here or faulty parts. Jerry just needs to build a legit indoor facility. He could have lost multiple key players that would take years to recover if entire team were inside.

 

[ethiostar]

64 mile and hour winds don't seem excessive enough to bring a steel beam structure down...I have to suspect there was design flaw here or faulty parts. Jerry just needs to build a legit indoor facility

Does the new stadium have anything similar to an indoor facility?

 

[fan62]

First of all it was not built of steel beam construction. It was aluminum, and that helped save lives. But then again if it was steel beam, maybe it wouldn't have come down at all. Soon there will be composite materials available cheap enough to build a structure like this and will be strong enough to handle strong winds, but Jerry needs to build a regular building for indoor practice in today's time.

 

[RoboQB]

64 mile and hour winds don't seem excessive enough to bring a steel beam structure down...I have to suspect there was design flaw here or faulty parts. Jerry just needs to build a legit indoor facility. He could have lost multiple key players that would take years to recover if entire team were inside.

I concur. Here in Southern Maryland, homes are designed to withstand a minimum of 100mph wind speed. I would think anything built in Texas should at least match this criteria.

 

[Cowboys22]

I read that the fabric was just replaced last year. There was also reports that people inside felt rain drops before it collapsed. My gut instinct tells me that the fabric may not have been replaced properly or simply tore which allowed the rain and thus the wind to get inside. Once that strong wind got inside, it was just a matter of time.

 

[Biggems]

I say just turn an old abandoned air craft hanger into the practice facility.

 

[Biggems]

the structure was man-made, which means it is faulty by default.

 

[Jon88]

I say just turn an old abandoned air craft hanger into the practice facility.

We aren't the Bengals.

 

[masomenos]

We aren't the Bengals.

I thought the Bengals practiced in a prison yard?

 

[Jon88]

I thought the Bengals practiced in a prison yard?

I'm not sure. I know their practice field is covered in dirt and ant mounds.

 

[Biggems]

I'm not sure. I know their practice field is covered in dirt and ant mounds.

how is that compared to an aircraft hanger....those things are huge. You can put an entire football field in there, build conference rooms, weight rooms, offices for the coaches, film rooms, and even sleeping quarters for the players and coaches for the weekend.

 

[burmafrd]

If the hanger was built for 747's, maybe. Not all hangers are huge.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

the structure was man-made, which means it is faulty by default.

Don't say that. The thought of the new stadium being "faulty" with that huge video screen above everybody's head is just too scary to fathom.

 

[Fmart322]

Don't say that. The thought of the new stadium being "faulty" with that huge video screen above everybody's head is just too scary to fathom.

When I first saw the new stadium with the giant large screen TV inside I thought that. I'm hoping that with yesterdays events things witl be checked and certified.

 

[tomson75]

Don't say that. The thought of the new stadium being "faulty" with that huge video screen above everybody's head is just too scary to fathom.

There is a HUGE difference in the structural integrity of our new stadium and a pre-fab building. There is no reason to worry about the scoreboard, or any other feature of the stadium. It isn't indestructible, as no building on earth is, but it's going to take something along the lines of a class 4-5 tornado, a severe hurricane, or a severe earthquake to cause much damage.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

There is a HUGE difference in the structural integrity of our new stadium and a pre-fab building. There is no reason to worry about the scoreboard, or any other feature of the stadium. It isn't indestructible, as no building on earth is, but it's going to take something along the lines of a class 4-5 tornado, a severe hurricane, or a severe earthquake to cause much damage.

I hope you're right, tomson.

 

[tomson75]

I hope you're right, tomson.

Pretty sure I am....at least we all hope.

I'm no architect, but I did stay at a ..er..um...but I did an internship with one once, and I studied Industrial Design in college which was the closest thing my school had to architecture. :

You have to be a pretty sharp cookie to become as successful an architect as I imagine the guys that designed the new stadium are. I'd imagine they're right among the best in the business.

The guys that designed the prefab practice facility don't sound like they are though....this isn't the first time one of their buildings has failed recently. Let's hope the Cowboys go with a different design if they choose to put up another indoor facility.

 

[Typhus]

The new Texas Stadium is a testament to state of the art architecture, but the fundamental theme of the structure was taken from ancient Rome design.

Roman, Baroque and Renaissance arches are still standing today as a result of their fundamental stable design.

Roman Coliseum (80 AD), and the Aqueduct of Segovia (between the second half of the 1st Century AD and the early years of the 2nd Century), are two testimonies of their design still standing today as well.

The enormous Arches of Texas Stadium are truly a work of art.

 

[TNCowboy]

Don't say that. The thought of the new stadium being "faulty" with that huge video screen above everybody's head is just too scary to fathom.

That was my first thought when I heard about all this yesterday.