Cowboys' Jerry Jones Says AT&T Stadium's Natural Airflow Will Help Amid Pandemic

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones claimed Wednesday the structure of AT&T Stadium will help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 should fans attend games for the 2020 NFL season. 

In a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, Jones cited the venue's "naturally-built airflow" as one reason he thinks the team can keep fans safe during live events despite the pandemic.

Jones provided more specifics about how AT&T Stadium is different from some of its peers in the NFL:

Jones went on to say, "Our country needs football."

A number of American sports leagues have moved games to one or two neutral venues amid the pandemic, while MLB is staging games without fans at home stadiums.

The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan reported the NFL was adopting a somewhat different approach. Rather than issuing a blanket ban on fans, officials were allowing teams to make their own decisions based on guidelines set forth by state and local governments.

On Wednesday, the Washington Football Team became the most recent franchise to confirm it was closing its stadium to fans.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy indefinitely prohibited the New York Giants and New York Jets from welcoming fans to MetLife Stadium, while the Las Vegas Raiders will play in an empty Allegiant Stadium for their first year in Sin City.

A number of other teams have laid out strategies to limit their overall capacity to allow at least some fans.

Whatever Jones and the Cowboys are planning for AT&T Stadium, they have a little more than one month to sort out the specifics. Dallas' first home came is Sept. 20 against the Atlanta Falcons.