Tornado Hits Cowboys Practice Bubble

[TTP77]

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/05/02/tornado-hits-cowboys-practice-facility/

No one killed but one hurt. No information on who it was yet.

[titanup23]

NBC just said 4 Cowboys staff members were hit but all players and coaches were not injured and counted for.

[Yvette]

The roof is a large air-supported canopy with aluminum frames covering a regulation 100-yard football field.

Makes me wonder what ours is made of?

[Jones31]

Probably the same.

[shadowboxin']

5 seriously injured, 1 critically injured, but it could have been a lot worse. ST coach was one of the wounded along with 2 staff members. The video crew film the practices from a catwalk-type structure at the top of the facility, a few of them are amongst the injured.

http://i42.tinypic.com/2nvyu4h.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/2gtq82q.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/2vikn4j.jpg

[TitansGiantsBears]

So much for those Cowboy fans who swear they cheer for "God's team".

[315]

Wow... I wonder why they didnt get the heck out of that place?

[shadowboxin']

They didn't have much warning. The walls and lights started shaking just seconds before it collapsed. And the practice bubble's purpose was for use when inclement weather prevents outdoor practice, nobody thought it would ever collapse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB4ye1nqgFc&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8j9o8aiyLE&feature=player_embedded

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa090502_lj_cowboys.11e43627.html

[TitansFan23]

When a tornado hits, anything will collapse.

[315]

They didn't have much warning. The walls and lights started shaking just seconds before it collapsed. And the practice bubble's purpose was for use when inclement weather prevents outdoor practice, nobody thought it would ever collapse.


I can believe that they didnt think it would collapse... but how can one not have any warning these days?

I am glad the whole team wasnt in there.

[ZachLV27]

When a tornado hits, anything will collapse.

It wasn't a tornado. It was just a severe thunderstorm. That facility is for when they have bad weather like this, so nobody thought anything of it. They just went inside for practice.

There will be an investigation and it will probably come out that the weather played a big part in the collapse, but there was also most likely a structural problem that lent to the problem.

[RohitTheNair]

Hope everyone will be alright and im glad it wasnt worse....Now that being said..

Blame it on Pacman.

[Jones31]

God hates the Cowboys.

[Bobcat]

After building the eighth wonder of the world - new Cowboy Stadium - they'll probably need every penny they can scratch together for a new bubble. :D

Seriously though, glad no one was killed. Falling aluminum supports don't sound like something I'd enjoy being hit by...

[315]

It wasn't a tornado. It was just a severe thunderstorm. That facility is for when they have bad weather like this, so nobody thought anything of it. They just went inside for practice.

There will be an investigation and it will probably come out that the weather played a big part in the collapse, but there was also most likely a structural problem that lent to the problem.

Even so, I dont think the bubbles are designed to protect from any kind of severe weather... just inclimate weather such as rain, lightning, etc... They are not storm shelters.

[TitansFan23]

It wasn't a tornado. It was just a severe thunderstorm. That facility is for when they have bad weather like this, so nobody thought anything of it. They just went inside for practice.

There will be an investigation and it will probably come out that the weather played a big part in the collapse, but there was also most likely a structural problem that lent to the problem.

I was just going off what I heard reported at the time, which was a Tornado hitting the complex.

I was watching the Derby when it first broke; they said Tornado.

That being said, I agree with 315. It's a practice bubble, not a fortified bunker or storm shelter, and I wouldn't feel too comfortable in there in any type of severe storm.

It looks like a glorified tent.

[shadowboxin']

FWIW, the Metroplex wasn't even under Tornado watch at the time, just a severe thunderstorm warning (and I don't recall anything about a high wind advisory either). Like Zach said, they probably just went inside and thought nothing of it. From inside the bubble there were no tell-tale signs of weather that severe until it was too late.

[Jones31]

I saw a watch box out before I left work @ 4:30, glanced at the radar on the way out, was that north of the plex or what?

[shadowboxin']

4:30 was after it happened right? If there was a watch at the time I think it would have been in the Ft. Worth area. I know they had one for the whole DFW out from about 5-on, but that was for the second line of the two waves we got. Hell maybe there was one, but I'm 75% sure there wasn't. I was watching the weather there for a good 10 minutes trying to see whether I had enough time to get some yard work done.

[ZachLV27]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/050209dnmetcowboyshp.1232041e.html

"Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis suffered broken vertebrae in his back, according to his father-in-law, one-time NFL coach Dan Reeves. "

The injuries are a bit more serious than first thought. Other then DeCamillis two men are in serious condition. Neither have life threatening injuries but one of them was impaled by an object.

[TitansGiantsBears]

I hope everyone is ok.

[TTP77]

Update on one of the players...


David Buehler, the kicker/special teams player the Cowboys drafted in the fifth round, was standing on the sideline when the team's indoor facility began to collapse. He bolted out a side door and was sprinting across a practice field when a pole crashed down on him.

Buehler, dazed by a blow to his head, wriggled out from under the pole and crawled approximately 15 yards through pools of water before turning around and looking at the wreckage.

"My initial thought was, how many people are dead in this?" Buehler said tonight. "I thought I was the lucky one."

Buehler thinks he actually suffered the worst injuries among the players, although he wasn't severely hurt. He needed three stitches to close a gash on his right knee. He also has a concussion, sore neck, skin ripped off his ear and a cut on his forehead. Yet he feels very fortunate, a feeling he said was shared by his teammates.

"Guys were in shock," Buehler said, "and very thankful."

http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/05/david-buehler-my-initial-thought-was-how.html

They are all really lucky. Thank goodness there weren't more serious injuries. They are now calling it a microburst instead of a tornado.

[Yvette]

Now I'm wondering how many teams might rethink the structure of their practice bubbles?

I just have to say it -- too bad JJ wasn't there to get whacked on the head like Buehler. It might have knocked some sense into him.

[don28]

...I just have to say it -- too bad JJ wasn't there to get whacked on the head like Buehler. It might have knocked some sense into him.

Or it could have made him one step closer to Al Davis. :lol

[Yvette]

Now THATS a scary thought!

[TTP77]

The Cowboys issued a release moments ago updating the status of three people that were taken to the hospital after their indoor practice facility collapsed.

Rich Behm, a scouting assistant, sustained a fracture to the thoracic spine that caused a severing of his spinal cord and permanent paralysis from the waist down. He underwent surgery Saturday night and remains at Parkland Hospital in stable condition.

That's really sad news. :(

[TitansGiantsBears]

That's really sad news. :(

That really is sad news. I hate that for him.

[Yvette]

I feel terrible for all three of them. One won't walk again and the other two are going to be in pain for the rest of their lives.

I really hope all teams rethink their bubbles :sad

[gnarl]

i was in dallas during this storm. it was freaking insane.

on I 35, cars were pretty much pulling over on the highway it was so freakin bad.

[Yvette]

Makes me wonder what ours is made of?


Probably the same.
I just ran across something about our bubble:

The difference between the Cowboys facility and the Titans is that the Titans facility is completely supported by air and does not rely on metal support beams to hold the structure in place.

To enter the Titans’ Bubble, one must walk through a carousel-style door (like you would see in an office building or bank) so as not to let air out of the structure. There are no doors or windows and the lights do not hang from the ceiling, but rather sit on the ground and project light upwards against the white walls to illuminate the structure. The trucks used to bring in practice equipment or perform repair work enter through a garage door that opens and must close before another parallel garage door will open onto the field.

http://www.examiner.com/x-772-Nashville-Pro-Sports-Examiner~y2009m5d5-Is-the-Titans-indoor-practice-facility-safe

That makes me feel better :)

[Serge]

I just ran across something about our bubble:

The difference between the Cowboys facility and the Titans is that the Titans facility is completely supported by air and does not rely on metal support beams to hold the structure in place.

To enter the Titans’ Bubble, one must walk through a carousel-style door (like you would see in an office building or bank) so as not to let air out of the structure. There are no doors or windows and the lights do not hang from the ceiling, but rather sit on the ground and project light upwards against the white walls to illuminate the structure. The trucks used to bring in practice equipment or perform repair work enter through a garage door that opens and must close before another parallel garage door will open onto the field.

http://www.examiner.com/x-772-Nashville-Pro-Sports-Examiner~y2009m5d5-Is-the-Titans-indoor-practice-facility-safe

That makes me feel better :)

You would still think that their structure should have been built strong enough to withstand those types of winds. We get pretty strong microbursts, tornadoes, and straightline winds from the panhandle all the way down south of the Metroplex area. I find it hard to believe that no one took that into account especially with it being spring.

[Yvette]

I find it hard to believe that no one took that into account especially with it being spring.
Official: Cowboys aware of problems (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4250287&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines)


The Dallas Cowboys knew when they hired Summit Structures LLC to build their now-ruined practice facility that a similar fabric structure built by the company for the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority had collapsed in a storm, according to a port official. .... .....

Iannarelli said he had several other conversations with Mays, the Cowboys director of football operations, over the next three years. He said he also sent Mays a copy of a Philadelphia judge's decision in December 2006 stating that the warehouse's collapse was due to design flaws.

I wonder if JJ is worried about a lawsuit?

[Jones31]

He should be.

[Titanico]

Jerry Jones can send the dogs to the ones who designed and were responsible of the bubble's construction.