personally i'd rather have more cost of keeping it inflated than to have a tragic event happen and have to pay for medical costs. that and it avoids it in the first place.
I bet the Cowboys will seriously think about an air supported structure now. Its tragic that someone was so seriously injured over something that could have been easily prevented by the different structure.
I'd heard that the Bubble was a solid shell of fiberglass and foam designed to defeat the hurricanes that blow throw the area, but basically it's a giant Garbage Bag held up by fans.
Hindsight. Their structural system is just as relevant as a "bubble" system. Each system has their benefits and their drawbacks. A "bubble" system for example has to have air docks, and revolving doors rather than standard doors. It takes a lot of energy to not only inflate it, but keep the air at a tolerable temperature for the occupants. The Metrodome is another example of a "bubble" and it's one of the most boring stadiums i've been too.
He's wrong BTW: The strongest structure is a self supported sphere.... Just thought I would mention that
I just read on MSN that this same company that built the Cowboys structure had three other similar structures they built collapse in the recent past. They just weren't widely publisized because no one was injured in any of them.
As far as cost goes I read the original structure for the cowboys was a bare bones $4 million one before the 2008 roof addition. If memory serves me right the Dolphin bubble cost $8 million when it first went up.
