AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field Spectator Injury Claims: How Texas Handles Them

Between AT&T Stadium in Arlington and Globe Life Field next door, the Dallas-Fort Worth area hosts tens of millions of spectators a year across NFL, MLB, concerts, and events. A spectator injury claim at one of these venues runs into a question ordinary Texas premises cases don’t raise: how much of the risk did the fan accept just by buying the ticket?

The “Baseball Rule” and How Texas Approaches It

Some states have a formal “baseball rule” — a doctrine limiting a ballpark’s duty to providing screened seating in the most dangerous areas, on the theory that fans elsewhere accept the ordinary risk of a foul ball. Texas does not have a statute codifying that rule. Instead, Texas courts have generally evaluated spectator injuries under ordinary premises liability and comparative responsibility principles, which means the question is whether the venue acted reasonably given the known risks of the event — not whether a fan automatically assumed every risk by attending. The distinction matters: a foul ball in an unscreened section is a very different case from a structural failure of a railing or a slip on an unmaintained concourse.

Tickets Usually Contain a Liability Waiver

The fine print on a ticket or the terms accepted at purchase typically includes a release of liability for ordinary risks of the event. Under Texas law, that kind of release can be enforceable for the risks it actually names, but it generally can’t excuse a venue’s own gross negligence, and courts scrutinize whether the language was conspicuous enough and specific enough to cover the injury at issue. A release covering “risks inherent in attending a football game” is a weak shield against a claim about a collapsed handrail or an unlit stairwell.

Who Actually Controls the Space

These venues involve layered control: the stadium owner, the team, event promoters, concessionaires, and security contractors can each be responsible for different areas. An injury in a parking lot, at a concession stand, in a suite, or on a concourse may point to a different responsible party. Identifying who controlled the specific location — and whether that party had notice of the hazard — is usually the core factual work in the case, more than the injury itself.

Proportionate Responsibility Applies

Texas’s proportionate responsibility system (Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33) means a spectator’s own conduct — leaning over a railing, ignoring posted warnings, being distracted — reduces recovery by their percentage of fault, and bars recovery entirely if the spectator is found more than 50 percent responsible. In a stadium case, the venue will almost always argue the fan contributed to the injury, so a claim has to be built with that defense in mind from the start.

The Bottom Line

A spectator injury at AT&T Stadium or Globe Life Field isn’t automatically barred by the ticket, and Texas doesn’t apply a blanket “you assumed the risk” rule. But these are contested cases: the venue will point to the release and to the fan’s own conduct, and the outcome turns on whether the hazard was an ordinary risk of the event or something the venue should have prevented.

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Awesome Attorneys does not represent that any outcome described is typical or guaranteed. Consult a licensed Texas attorney about your specific situation.

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