FSG-Signs Provides Mega-Sized Branding for Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium

Jim Beckett handles new-business developments for Facility Solutions Group Inc. (Austin, TX)

In 2008, the Dallas Cowboys celebrated their first kickoff in front of 80,000+ screaming fans in the new home, Cowboys Stadium. The team, whose organization is affectionately nicknamed “Jerry World” in honor of the Cowboy’s high-profile owner, Jerry Jones, hired Facility Solutions Group Inc. (FSG), Austin, to build immense channel letters for the stadium, which is a true architectural icon. Dan Tessier, our branch manager for FSG-Signs, led the program’s engineering, development, fabrication and installation. Our team was very proud to deliver the electric-sign package for Cowboys Stadium.

Flash forward to July 26, 2013. The Cowboys announce they’ve sold the stadium’s naming rights (terms weren’t disclosed, but such deals usually bring in $10 to $20 million annually over contracts that commonly span 20 years), and it would now be known as AT&T Stadium. The directive came direct from Jones himself: “Gentlemen, we’re going to build great big signs together!” FSG was proud to again carry the ball for a high-profile project for “America’s Team”.

Pregame warm-ups
We knew this project would push the envelope. Less than 24 hours after I spoke with Jeff Stroud, the stadium manager, we began our closed-door planning sessions, which included the same principals involved with the stadium’s original construction: Tessier, the Jones family, stadium architect HKS, Manhattan Construction, the stadium’s general contractor, and Joseph Dowd, principal for Walter P. Moore Engineering.

Our first challenge involved developing a design concept that satisfied both AT&T and the Cowboys. Tessier developed an initial rendition that underscored the sheer number of challenges when working on stadia of such magnitude. Working closely with Dowd proved to be essential in FSG’s approach to dealing with logistics and environmental factors on a job that required peak efficiency to meet the 10-week deadline. All told, Tessier produced more than 200 drawings and documents to prepare the shop for a signmaker’s dream job: 43-ft.-tall letters and 90-ft.-tall logos.

We operate a 50,000-sq.-ft. facility; the job called for 49,310 sq. ft. of building-sign fabrication. So, obviously, space was tight. Also, to meet the deadline, we needed to begin receiving the required materials, extrusions and LEDs within 72 hours. The Gantt chart, which listed beginning and completion dates for each project phase, was quickly at capacity.

Advertisement

First quarter
On day four, we began fabrication. Designing the channel letters included specifying in-plant storage. Every day for eight weeks, we listed every component’s location. As materials arrived, we had to stack letters on top of one another to accommodate our supplies. In most cases, we broke the letters down into sections no larger than 16 x 43 ft.

The Cowboys made an ironclad stipulation: Regardless of outside precipitation, the AT&T brand must be conveyed at all times. Because the signs would sustain significant northern exposure, mitigating bad weather is especially important. Providing climate control evenly over 90-ft.-tall logo sections, which are contoured to match the stadium’s shape, allowed us no more than a 7-in. depth.

Also, providing heat that wouldn’t impact dissimilar materials – 70% aluminum-composite-material (ACM) cladding and 30% acrylic face covers – also posed a challenge.

FSG’s staff educated itself on climate-control technology. We installed approximately two miles of heat-trace wiring (commonly used to produce subfloor, radiant heat in cold-weather homes) on the ACM fascia’s second surface. We also installed an additional series of specially designed, foot-mount heaters, which were strategically placed to circulate and heat the air beneath the acrylic faces, which were cut on a Multi-Cam 3000 CNC router. Through-out the letters, we installed 9-ft. sections of insulation (R-19), which facilitated maintaining 33ºF or higher temperatures. For the flexible-face-material-covered, logo cabinets, we created a vent that uses ambient stadium air from inside to achieve climate control.

To provide ventilation within the letters, we installed 1HP, 16-in.-diameter fan motors within a custom, air-displacement housing at one end of each heating element. Return vents directed back inside the dome created great cross-flow ventilation. The stadium air handlers were redirected to the letter-vent system to control temperature. Months of rushing cool air across LED surfaces enhances the modules’ lifespan and performance.

Second quarter
Engineering large-scale mounting for the 43-ft.-tall, backlit channel letters proved formidable. The stadium’s shape made the challenge clear immediately, when we first surveyed intersecting truss points. Even with advanced equipment, we only found general mounting locations. Engineering later revealed only 1 in. of mounting space across a letter’s 43-ft. lateral distance could be expected.

Advertisement

Therefore, we couldn’t use traditional mounting matchplates, pipe sleeves and slotted bolt points. Working with letters that weighed more than 5,000 lbs., building contours and angles, plus wind shear, combined with the thermal equipment, the life of our letters could become very interesting. Rigid attachment points would collapse the letters, or even the stadium.

FSG’s solution? We successfully created letters that virtually “float on the roof”. We designed and engineered cable-isolator mounting plates for all 116 mounting locations.

We wound ½-in.-diameter, stainless-steel cable eight times, then plate-clamped the wires together 180º apart. Different diameters and spacings yield flexibility and different strengths to accommodate the letters’ stress points. We MIG-welded components together with a Miller Electric Mfg. Millermatic system.

Third quarter
Our 56, wide-load trucks carried the letters 200 miles from Arlington to Austin. Every day for a month, two trucks headed to a fenced area two blocks from their final destination. Acquiring 30-plus trailers for letter storage was vital for the installation mobilization.

A successful installation requires efficient equipment usage, as well as materials and power, and carefully aligning letters. Installing 5,000-lb. letters with a 450-ft. reach from a crane creates a certain amount of anxiety. Knowing that mounting points couldn’t be drilled beforehand forced us to create a new installation method.

Fourth quarter
The job required heavy equipment. We rented a 600-ton, mobile crane, and a partnering helicopter assisted with an aerial rig to get components into place. Our first day of installation involved the signs’ structural supports. To simultaneously witness a 250,000-lb. crane, 14 semi-truck loads of crane parts, and a helicopter lifting steel onto the roof is breathtaking.

Advertisement

The crane was an absolute beast. It routinely retrieved 385 linear ft. of sign components that were set 300 ft. back from the stadium, and transported the entire length of its 285-ft.-long jib, with outriggers stretched the equipment’s span. To cross the final few feet, the parts were transported onto the chopper’s aerial rig. They moved 20 loads of 6-in.-diameter, steel tube every hour. We needed 20 men to work a full day to assemble the monster.

Aligning the letters on a curved roof with moving mount points was challenging. We purchased a high-end, aerial-cinematography drone with an onboard GoPro professional camera to ensure accurate work. Drilling mount points on one letter plate, and marking general locations on the rest, gave us a solid starting point.

Adam Armentor, FSG’s project manager, set up drone operations, and our field manager, Mike Stephens, flew up with each letter. Mike’s flight goggles were able to give us live action, and he relayed information to the roof-installation crew to help them properly align the letters.

To prepare for this job, our crew had to be trained to repel, perform repelling rescues, have rigging certification, be qualified as journeyman signmakers, and complete a 10-hour, OSHA safety course. They also needed an ironworker’s dedication and resourcefulness. Fortunately, FSG boasts several employees who meet these criteria. We deployed them from our Fort Worth, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio branches to assist on the job.

Rebranding the stadium, where one of the most popular NFL franchises plays, created several mountains to climb. A signshop of any size can’t succeed without using its knowledge and resources to transform challenges into solutions. It required the hard work and collaboration with the Cowboys organization, AT&T and our many partners to carry the job across the goal line to victory.
 

EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS
Acrylic: Optix® clear, ¾-in.-thick acrylic, from Plaskolite (Columbus, OH), (800) 848-9124 or www.plaskolite.com  
Components: Alumalite™ aluminum-composite material, from Laminators Inc. (Hatfield, PA), (877) 663-4277 or www.laminatorsinc.com
Installation: 200-ton crane, from Davis Motor Crane Service (Irving, TX), (972) 438-1122 or www.daviscrane.com; Aerial lifting rig, from DSLR Pros (Oakland Park, FL), (323) 664-4961 or www.dslrpros.com; sign extrusions, from SignComp (Grand Rapids, MI), (877) 784-0405 or www.signcomp.com, and Excellart Sign Products LLC (Olathe, KS), (800) 627-9044 or www.excellart.com; cable isolators, from Isolation Dynamics (West Babylon, NY), (888) 476-5286 or www.isolator.com
Lighting: Tetra LED modules, from GE Lighting (Cleveland), (888) 694-3533 of www.gelighting.com; transformers, from GE Lighting and Acme Electric (Menomonee Falls, MI), (800) 799-3779 or www.acmetransformers.com
Router: MultiCam 3000 CNC router, from MultiCam (Dallas), (972) 929-4070 or www.multicam.com
Temperature control: Heat-tracing wire, from Heavenly Heat Inc. (Vaughan, ON, Canada), (877) 523-5667 or www.heavenly-heating.ca; ventilation fans, from Twin City Fan & Blower (Minneapolis), (763) 551-7600 or www.tcf.com
Vinyl: Coolflex® flexible-face material, from Cooley Group (Pawtucket, RI), (401) 724-9000 or www.cooleygroup.com
Welding: Millermatic MIG welder, from Miller Elec. Mfg. Co. (Appleton, WI), (920) 734-9821 or www.millerwelds.com