Bubble Popped

About a week ago, a huge storm came through Dallas/Fort Worth and tore down the Dallas Cowboys practice facility (a dome-like structure) in Irving. It was not that far from where I work (also in Irving), but luckily I was at home in Arlington since it was over the weekend. Why they were holding a rookie mini-camp in there when this huge storm was rolling through is beyond me, but they were. There were 12 people injured, including one talent scout that was paralyzed from the waist down from his injuries.

Here's a full article:

12 hurt as roof collapses at Dallas Cowboys practice facility

IRVING — A frazzled Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips sat in a chair putting on a pair of dry socks as he tried to explain what he saw.

"I was out on the field. I ran for the door and didn’t make it to the door, and the door fell," he said. "I saw the guys go out the door, and the whole door fell."

Twelve people, including special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, were injured when the Cowboys indoor practice facility collapsed during an intense storm at Saturday’s rookie minicamp. Ten were transported to hospitals; the other two were walk-ins.

DeCamillis suffered broken bones in his lower back.

Dan Reeves, DeCamillis’ father-in-law and a longtime NFL coach, said DeCamillis is going to be OK, but not before having surgery to repair a couple of broken vertebrae. DeCamillis was taken on a stretcher to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

"As far as we know, he has to have some surgery," Reeves said when reached at his Atlanta home Saturday night. "They say he is lucky he is not paralyzed."

Assistant scout Rich Behm was also taken to Parkland with a spinal cord injury.

Seven of the injured were treated at Las Colinas Medical Center in Irving and were expected to be released late last night. Three, including DeCamillis and Behm, were treated at Parkland.

The other two were treated at hospitals in the Baylor Medical system.

One of the injured had been impaled on an object, Irving Mayor Herbert Gears said.

Microburst, not tornado

The storm blew through the area around 3:30 p.m. with wind clocked as high as 64 mph. These winds might have contributed to the roof collapse, according to the National Weather Service. The weather service had not received any reports of tornadic activity, according to meteorologist Greg Patrick.

"This was a unique weather situation," Gears said. "Many teams use these types of structures for practice facilities. It’s something that we will be looking at to make sure that these types of structures aren’t inherently dangerous."

According to AccuWeather.com meteorologists, this damage is the result of a microburst, or winds that suddenly descend from thunderstorms at over 60 mph.

The winds were so intense that a portable toilet outside the structure blew about five feet, effectively blocking one of the exit doors.

What began ominously when the lights above the field started swaying turned into a deep fright when the building’s steel frame began to crumple and eventually crashed down onto the field.

The approximately 70 people inside the structure — including players, coaches, scouts, trainers and journalists — immediately tried to escape as the walls crashed down on them.

Secondary coach Brett Maxie and scout Chris Hall were also injured. According to Phillips, two players had scrapes and bruises, but nothing major.

Some people, such as team scout Henry Sroka, were trapped under a doorframe.

Emergency crews were immediately called to help people trapped underneath the steel frame and the heavy, white canvas-like covers that formed the roof. Players and coaches also helped out.

The tall, tent-like facility was built in 2003. It covers 88,000 square feet and a regulation synthetic-grass field. The peak of the roof is 80 feet.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was attending the Kentucky Derby when the accident happened.

"It could have been a lot worse," Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson said, about an hour afterward.

The Cowboys canceled today’s final rookie minicamp practice. They will have a team meeting instead.

Staff writers Mitch Mitchell and Clarence E. Hill Jr. contributed to this report.
Mac Engel, 817-390-7760