The Arizona Cardinals built a beautiful new stadium in 2006 with a retractable roof, and the roof wasn’t with precipitation in mind. You may have heard that it doesn’t rain much in the Phoenix area.
But on Sunday, the Cardinals and Chicago Bears got a surprise.
The roof was open and that’s usually not a danger for Cardinals home games, as long as it isn’t too hot. But it started raining during the second quarter. Not only that but there was some hail too.
That was unexpected because it was a beautiful day out when the game kicked off. The Cardinals started closing the roof, but the CBS broadcast said that process takes 10 minutes. So the teams played through one of the more unexpected weather disruptions of this or many other NFL seasons. The roof finished closing late in the second quarter.
FootballZebras.com said it was the first time a retractable roof has been closed during NFL game play. The site said that decision can only be made by the game referee along with football operations.
No big deal, it just started to hail In Glendale during the Cardinals vs Bears game.
Remember the Cardinals have a retractable roof and now are closing it. pic.twitter.com/l7YU1vvirV
— 🌵 Mr. Az (@MrAzSports) November 3, 2024
The Bears should have been OK with it. It’s not unusual to have bad weather in Chicago. They probably just never expected to be dodging raindrops and hail in Arizona.