ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

The collapse of the Dallas Cowboys' indoor practice bubble during the weekend sent a chilling reminder around the football world about facilities safety. 

ESPN.com's Amy K. Nelson wrote an interesting piece about how the tragedy in Irving, Texas, is serving as a lesson to other pro and college teams with similar facilities. Nelson mentions Iowa, which has a indoor practice bubble for its football program. Every Big Ten team has an indoor facility, but to my knowledge, Iowa is the only one with a true "bubble."

In 1998, a balloon facility at the University of Iowa incurred severe weather damage, and the hole in the material proved too big to be repaired quickly. Damian Simcox, the director of athletic facilities at Iowa, said the dome was replaced after that initial damage, and since then, small tears have been fixed more easily.

Iowa's bubble also was damaged in an ice storm in 1990, forcing the team to leave early for the Rose Bowl.

Fortunately, Iowa is implementing a plan to renovate its football facilities, including the bubble. The Gazette's Marc Morehouse wrote about the bubble back in September, noting that the facility isn't just an eyesore, but an aging structure.

The life span of "The Bubble," which houses a 120-yard field and features a "Prestige XT" artificial surface, is coming to an end. Built in 1985, "The Bubble" turns 23 this year [2008]. Barta estimated its life expectancy at 15 to 30 years.

"At some point, we're going to have to replace it," Barta said. "When you're doing that in a strategic planning mode, you have to decide is it still the best location? Do we put another soft structure over it? Do we put a permanent structure over it?

"When we do that, my guess is, we haven't made the final decision, but my guess is we'll put permanent structure over the top of it."

After what happened this weekend at Valley Ranch, a permanent structure in Iowa City can't arrive a moment too soon.