Chief makes tough call at Super Bowl. Arlington Fire Department's Don Crowson says it was his decision to close temporary seating at Cowboys Stadium.

One of the logisitical problems at the Super Bowl yesterday had to do with 400 people who had tickets but did not get to see the game live and another 850 who were moved to different seats. It was an issue of safety and it has become a bit of a controversy in Arlington, Texas.

In an article posted at 11:01 AM by DallasNews.com’s Tom Benning, city officials seemed to be saying the seat issue was not their call. A spokeswoman said they had not been asked to inspect the area closed off:

Asked who made the final decision to close the four sections, (Eric) Grubman (NFL’s executive vice president of business ventures) said the Arlington fire and police departments were responsible for certifying the temporary structures.

“They made the decision as to what the certification was, and from there it was very easy: those seats were not going to be in play,” he said.

But last night, Arlington police spokeswoman Tiara Richard said the city’s fire marshal “played no role” in deciding that the unfinished seats would not be used because the NFL never asked the city to inspect those seats.

“That was all the NFL’s call,” she said. “The fire marshal had no participation in the seats that were not completed. The fire marshal only inspected the seats that were completed.”

But later in the day Arlington Fire Chief Don Crowson says the responsibility for closing down the section was his and that the NFL and Cowboy officials did not give him a hard time. Here is what WFAA-TV wrote:

Chief Don Crowson blamed a temporary stairwell that was not ready for use and he did not feel comfortable allowing fans to sit in those areas.

Chief Crowson said there was no way to get people out of their seat in case of an emergency. That is why he claimed he closed those sections down.

Preliminary reports also point to a contractor who did not finish the work on time, even though the crew was close to finishing the job on time.

“My job is to inspect and make sure jobs are safe,” said Chief Crowson. “The assembly of the stands is up to the owner.