The injuries of seven people caused by ice falling at Cowboys Stadium could have been avoided if stadium designers considered design alternatives, said a UTA professor.

Guillermo Ramirez, civil and environmental engineering assistant professor, said ice accumulation and preventative measures needed to be taken into account.

Dallas Cowboys spokesman Brett Daniels said the Cowboys don’t have a comment on last week’s incident, but stadium officials have asked HKS Architects, the stadium’s original designer, to explore ways of ensuring that ice and snow do not build on the stadium’s roof.

Many stadiums in northern states use barriers and heated roofs to prevent the sliding and formation of ice, features that engineers should have considered before construction, Ramirez said. He also said structural diagnostics don’t exist that deal with ice disposal for the stadium’s design.

The problem is caused by the stadium’s unique shape and design, along with the reality the building wasn’t expected to deal with ice and snow, he said.

“However, they should’ve seen it coming,” he said. “They were not prepared for this is formation, and I’m pretty sure you’ll see the league address it in the coming weeks.”
The stadium was designed by HKS Architects, the same company that designed UTA’s College Park Center.

Walter P. Moore and Associates, Inc., the company responsible for the stadium’s structural and infrastructural design, was asked not to comment on the stadium’s design by the Dallas Cowboys, said the company’s marketing manager Rick Craft.

The roof rises to 292 feet, according L&M Construction Chemicals Inc.’s website, the company that helped develop the stadium.

As the temperatures warmed, huge sheets of ice and snow slid off the dome and crashed to the ground 200 feet below — striking workers, said Pedro Arevalo, Arlington Fire Department spokesman.

Six of the men were treated with minor injuries and one was in stable condition as of 6 p.m. Friday, said Tiara Richard, Arlington Police Department spokeswoman.
Any condition updates would come from the hospital, which hasn’t released any since Tuesday.

The information put out through the Super Bowl Public Safety Joint Information Center was that the six were transported to John Peter Smith Hospital,
“You can bet there will be lawsuits and finger pointing,” Ramirez said. “The ice last week was rare, but it happens, and the stadium should’ve had barriers in place.”