Conditions must be just right to retract stadium’s roof
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Listen to Scott Bordow every Monday at 1:25 p.m. on The Fan (1060 AM) with Bob Kemp.
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CONTACT WRITER:
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Cardinals fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo arrived at University of Phoenix Stadium a few hours before Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks and noticed the retractable roof was closed.
“I was like, ‘What the hell?’ ” Ayanbadejo said. “Why is the roof closed today?”
Well, here’s the thing Femi:
The sun was shining.
I know. That sounds crazy.
You close the roof if it’s snowing or raining, if it’s 10 degrees or 100 degrees.
But on a gorgeous, chamber-of-commerce, 69-degree December day, the roof was closed because more than 100 fans complained the sun was in their eyes during the Cardinals’ Nov. 12 game against Dallas.
Now, we could point out that the fans who bought tickets on the east side of the stadium should have been aware the sun, you know, sets in the west.
But far be it for us to chastise Joe Fan.
What we’re concerned about is, if the conditions weren’t perfect for an outdoor game Sunday, when will they be?
“It’s going to be on a game-to-game basis,” Cardinals vice president Michael Bidwill said.
OK, then, let’s break it down.
The roof won’t be open in September or early October because it’s too hot. And it can’t be sunny out in November or December because it’s apparently impossible to find a hat or a pair of sunglasses anywhere in the Valley.
So it has to be a cloudy, mild day with no chance of rain.
“I’d like to see it open,” Ayanbadejo said. “We have an incredible stadium. Let’s ride with the top down.”
The Cardinals aren’t the bad guys here, by the way. They listened to their fans — even if it was a grumpy, pale-skinned minority — and decided that everyone in the stadium should be comfortable.
Can’t blame them for that, even if we wonder what the point of a retractable roof is if it never, uh, retracts.
Plus, the Cardinals aren’t the only ones who won’t let the sun shine in.
Right now, plans are for the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl and the Jan. 8 BCS national championship game to be played indoors.
The reason?
The games will start at night, and heaven forbid fans have to bring a windbreaker. That would be such an inconvenience.
“We base it all on fan comfort,” Fiesta Bowl spokesman Shawn Schoeffler said.
OK, we get that. But we’re not quite so comfortable with the reason the roof was closed for last Saturday’s 5A Division I high school state title game between Mesa Mountain View and Chandler Hamilton.
According to Harold Slemmer, executive director of the Arizona Interscholastic Association, the night sky was just a figment of the imagination at the request of Cox Ch. 7, which televised the game.
“They said the picture is clearer with a closed roof,” Slemmer said. “It really didn’t matter to me.”
Well, it should, darn it.
Football is meant to be played in the elements, in rain and snow and mud and sleet.
Even, and this may be a stretch, in 69-degree weather under a brilliant blue sky.
“If the sun is the real reason it was closed, that’s a shame,” Ayanbadejo said.
As of Wednesday, the Cardinals hadn’t decided whether the roof will be open for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. Let’s see. The forecast calls for a high of 60 under cloudy skies. Perfect. Oh, wait. There’s a 40 percent chance of rain. Well, that’s that. Can’t have fans getting a little wet. They might melt like the Wicked Witch of the West.
FRESH AIR: Cardinals players enter the field to an explosion of fire under the open roof at University of Phoenix Stadium during player introductions before the Oct. 16 game against the Chicago Bears. RALPH FRESO, TRIBUNE
SCOTT BORDOW
STAFF COLUMNIST
—
Listen to Scott Bordow every Monday at 1:25 p.m. on The Fan (1060 AM) with Bob Kemp.
—
CONTACT WRITER:
(480) 898-6598 or sbordow@aztrib.com
Cardinals fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo arrived at University of Phoenix Stadium a few hours before Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks and noticed the retractable roof was closed.
“I was like, ‘What the hell?’ ” Ayanbadejo said. “Why is the roof closed today?”
Well, here’s the thing Femi:
The sun was shining.
I know. That sounds crazy.
You close the roof if it’s snowing or raining, if it’s 10 degrees or 100 degrees.
But on a gorgeous, chamber-of-commerce, 69-degree December day, the roof was closed because more than 100 fans complained the sun was in their eyes during the Cardinals’ Nov. 12 game against Dallas.
Now, we could point out that the fans who bought tickets on the east side of the stadium should have been aware the sun, you know, sets in the west.
But far be it for us to chastise Joe Fan.
What we’re concerned about is, if the conditions weren’t perfect for an outdoor game Sunday, when will they be?
“It’s going to be on a game-to-game basis,” Cardinals vice president Michael Bidwill said.
OK, then, let’s break it down.
The roof won’t be open in September or early October because it’s too hot. And it can’t be sunny out in November or December because it’s apparently impossible to find a hat or a pair of sunglasses anywhere in the Valley.
So it has to be a cloudy, mild day with no chance of rain.
“I’d like to see it open,” Ayanbadejo said. “We have an incredible stadium. Let’s ride with the top down.”
The Cardinals aren’t the bad guys here, by the way. They listened to their fans — even if it was a grumpy, pale-skinned minority — and decided that everyone in the stadium should be comfortable.
Can’t blame them for that, even if we wonder what the point of a retractable roof is if it never, uh, retracts.
Plus, the Cardinals aren’t the only ones who won’t let the sun shine in.
Right now, plans are for the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl and the Jan. 8 BCS national championship game to be played indoors.
The reason?
The games will start at night, and heaven forbid fans have to bring a windbreaker. That would be such an inconvenience.
“We base it all on fan comfort,” Fiesta Bowl spokesman Shawn Schoeffler said.
OK, we get that. But we’re not quite so comfortable with the reason the roof was closed for last Saturday’s 5A Division I high school state title game between Mesa Mountain View and Chandler Hamilton.
According to Harold Slemmer, executive director of the Arizona Interscholastic Association, the night sky was just a figment of the imagination at the request of Cox Ch. 7, which televised the game.
“They said the picture is clearer with a closed roof,” Slemmer said. “It really didn’t matter to me.”
Well, it should, darn it.
Football is meant to be played in the elements, in rain and snow and mud and sleet.
Even, and this may be a stretch, in 69-degree weather under a brilliant blue sky.
“If the sun is the real reason it was closed, that’s a shame,” Ayanbadejo said.
As of Wednesday, the Cardinals hadn’t decided whether the roof will be open for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. Let’s see. The forecast calls for a high of 60 under cloudy skies. Perfect. Oh, wait. There’s a 40 percent chance of rain. Well, that’s that. Can’t have fans getting a little wet. They might melt like the Wicked Witch of the West.
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FRESH AIR: Cardinals players enter the field to an explosion of fire under the open roof at University of Phoenix Stadium during player introductions before the Oct. 16 game against the Chicago Bears. RALPH FRESO, TRIBUNE
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SCOTT BORDOW
STAFF COLUMNIST
