Extreme heat, America’s Sweethearts and … giant curtains? What awaits the Socceroos in Dallas

San Francisco: It’s the home of the world’s most valuable sports franchise, a cavernous 80,000-seat mega-stadium usually reserved for the Dallas Cowboys and nicknamed “Jerry’s World” after its larger-than-life owner.

But this World Cup, AT&T Stadium, renamed Dallas Stadium for the tournament, is also gaining attention for putting up a giant set of curtains.

The venue is hosting nine matches this tournament, including two round of 32 clashes: Norway versus the Ivory Coast on July 1 (AEST) and Australia against Egypt on July 4.

And when the Socceroos arrive in Texas two days before the match they will get a true southern welcome: extreme heat, with forecasts in the high 30s (although the stadium itself has a retractable roof and is climate controlled), and talk of hydration and half-time break performances by America’s Sweethearts, the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

AT&T Stadium, which is actually in Arlington about 30 minutes drive from Dallas, will be familiar to some in the Socceroos squad, Australia having played a friendly against Mexico there under Graham Arnold in 2023 featuring the likes of Connor Metcalfe, Jackson Irvine and goalkeeper Mat Ryan.

“It was a bit of a weird one because I remember for some reason they had a DJ playing during our game,” Metcalfe recalled when asked about the clash ahead of the Egypt match. “I actually don’t know why, but every time Maty Ryan got the ball, they would just start playing a song, which I thought was a bit weird.

“It’s an amazing stadium. The facilities are incredible. It’s pretty awesome.”

Opening in 2009, at what was then a cost of $US1.2 billion ($1.75 billion), which is closer to $US2 billion in today’s money, the regular capacity of AT&T Stadium might not be that of the MCG or even Sydney’s Accor Stadium, but the footprint of the venue is at least a third larger than both.

The whole venue is “Texas-sized” and it’s one of those places that people like to let you know about. They boast how the Statue of Liberty would fit inside the venue, including pedestal and torch, how it houses an impressive art collection and suggest you can see it from space.

The stadium’s striking design includes a large wall of windows along the western end of the field, which have notoriously caused the playing surface to be flooded with bright, glary light depending on the time of the day.

It has been a contentious issue for the Cowboys, with players blaming the sunlight streaming in during the late afternoon for causing them to make big mistakes in key moments in American football matches.

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