Jerry Jones: Cowboys Still Plan Increased Attendance Amid Rising US COVID Cases

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday the organization will continue to increase attendance at AT&T Stadium despite the recent surge of COVID-19 cases around the United States.

Jones explained on 105.3 The Fan radio how the Cowboys' plans have been effective:

"My plan was to increase our fans as we went through the season, and we followed that plan. We've had almost a third of the attendance in the NFL. I'm proud of that. Our stadium is particularly suited for airiness, openness, air circulation...

"I'm very proud of the fact that we do it safely, we do it smartly. Our fans are really helpful to say the very least. I see a continued aggressive approach to having fans out there. And that's not being insensitive to the fact that we got our Covid and outbreak. Some people will say it is, but not when you're doing it as safe as we are and not when we're having the results we're having. Literally, we have had no one report that they've had gotten any contact with Covid from coming to our football game."

The 78-year-old Los Angeles native added he's "conscious" of the dangers amid the coronavirus pandemic because his age puts him at higher risk of serious symptoms.

Texas leads all U.S. states with over 1.06 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and ranks second with more than 20,000 deaths attributed to the virus, per CNN and Johns Hopkins University.

ESPN noted the Cowboys announced an attendance of 31,700 for their most recent home game, a 24-19 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 8 before their Week 10 bye.

AT&T Stadium typically holds around 80,000 fans for football games, though it's expandable and welcomed over 108,000 spectators for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game.

In September, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on CNBC (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk) he was hopeful attendance would increase throughout the season:

"We want our fans to be able to experience the games. And so that's always been our intent, is to open up for our fans. But public health and safety is No. 1 for us. So if local officials are not comfortable from a medical standpoint, we're always gonna heed that and we're gonna obey that and we're gonna do the appropriate thing."

The NFL has continued to allow teams to make individual decisions based on state and local COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions.

Dallas' next home game is scheduled for Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26) when it welcomes the Washington Football Team.

The Cowboys host two other games during the stretch run: Dec. 20 against the San Francisco 49ers and Dec. 27 against the Philadelphia Eagles.