Does the Cowboys' AT&T Stadium really use more electricity than Liberia, an African nation of 4.1 million people?
Yes and no, according to research reported in the Wall Street Journal.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made that comparison recently in an effort to focus more attention on the energy needs of her West African nation:
"Cowboys Stadium near Dallas, Texas, uses more electricity than the total installed capacity of my country."
In the two weeks since, the statement has spread across social media as fact. The thinkers at Bernstein Research decided to find out whether it's true.
They found that during moments of peak demand – in other words, game days – AT&T Stadium can consume up to 10 megawatts of electricity. Liberia can produce less than a third of that into its national grid.
However, the Bernstein energy analyst Bob Brackett points out that AT&T Stadium uses that much power only on the 10 days a year (eight regular season and two preseason games) the Cowboys play at home.
"Liberia consumes an order of magnitude more electricity than Dallas Stadium overall," Brackett told the Journal. "But considering 32 teams in the NFL, professional football (not to mention professional sports) beats Liberia."
Basically, AT&T Stadium uses more juice than Liberia only for a few hours on NFL game days.
Of course, no one's told the analyst about all the college and high school football games played at AT&T Stadium, not to mention concerts, international soccer matches, NCAA basketball tournament games, motocross events, etc.
But hey, as long as it's Jerry Jones who gets stuck with the electric bill, who's counting?
Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire
