Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t seem fazed by a recent ESPN.com story about the controversial tours at the team’s practice facility. In fact, Jones relished the publicity.
ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler recently reported about the tours at the Cowboys practice facility while players and coaches are going about their day. Some former players told Kahler that the tours have become a distraction as people will peer through see-through glass windows during meetings or while players are trying to work out. Some would even bang on the glass to try to get players’ attention.
“You’re on your way to eat lunch and you’re running into tours,” former Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse said in the story. “You’re on your way to meetings, you’re running into tours. We’re here for football, it’s our job to come in and be able to focus whether we’re in the weight room, or our coach is teaching us something in the meeting room, where you have 30 to 35 people walking by, looking through the glass while you’re in meetings.”
The tours initially made headlines in March when former Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz told “The Pat McAfee Show” that the team facility was “like a zoo.”
“You’re walking by the tour guide, and they’re pulling [the fans] to the side, and you hear them say, ‘Oh that’s CeeDee Lamb, that’s CeeDee!’” Kearse explained. “Like Dalton said, it’s kind of like you’re in a zoo and kids are going to see a lion. That’s not a reason why we didn’t get over that hump. But I just don’t think that really equates to winning. That has nothing to do with us winning the game.”
According to ESPN, the Cowboys sell about 500,000 tour tickets yearly, which generates nearly $10 million in annual revenue.
The 82-year-old Cowboys owner told ESPN’s Kahler that no one within the Cowboys organization has ever complained to him about the tours.
“Not one time, but the most important thing is it wouldn’t make any difference. Period. Because overall, they’re swimming against the stream,” said Jones.
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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said story will help sell more tour tickets
The Cowboys have received backlash following the story, especially since the Cowboys are on a 29-year-long Super Bowl drought and have started out 3-3 this season.
Despite the negativity, Jones has embraced the story. He told 105.3 The Fan that he wasn’t upset about what was written and that it will help sell more tour tickets.
“Not in the very least and I’m not trying to be cute here. When that writer was interviewing me to write that article, I really told her, I said, ‘I’m so happy you’re writing this article because it will increase our tours significantly, more people will come to the tour,’” Jones told the sports radio station.
The Cowboys have done these tours for decades, originally at Valley Ranch before moving to The Star. Jones said that when they started expanding tours, the Cowboys went from the sixth-winningest team to the fourth in the NFL.
“I’ve always been such a significant pusher for more fan accessibility, more fan visibility. Our players have helmets on, unlike some sports,” Jones noted. “And so, it’s great for the fans to get in and see all the nuances.”
Jones closed out by saying that it’s “ridiculous” to think that these tours would disrupt players on game day.
“That’s actually foolish to think that some kind of tourists would impact the players,” said Jones.
As the Cowboys deal with the tour fallout, Dallas is getting ready to face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football.
