Dallas Cowboys seek $1B AT&T Stadium overhaul with public assistance
Posted by Mnudge@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 306 comments
Jerry will be getting another $250m from taxpayers.
Ill-Rutabaga5125@reddit
Biggest loser team needs some renovations money. Sounds socialist to me.
ZealousidealCrew1867@reddit
Texas citizens will pay for this whether they like it or not. Shame on any government that capitulates to these demands.
arlenroy@reddit
They'll do it too, or he'll head up north, The Frisco Cowboys. I know we as a society are sick of this, but Nashville just built a new stadium, to replace their 20 year old stadium. Teams that play in major markets, or want to, this will be the new normal.
pdxraised92@reddit
The Nashville stadium for the Titans was arguably the worst stadium in the NFL hands down, has significant issues and did not allow for a lot of non-football events from my recollection. The area was also awful around it, new one will have much improved year-round options for non-event days.
Even still, it was an absolutely awful stadium just on its face.
sealclubberfan@reddit
20 years for a new stadium? Sheesh.
UtopianPablo@reddit
Texas Rangers only last 25 years in their last stadium. It's ridiculous.
sealclubberfan@reddit
To be fair, wasn't the huge argument against that stadium was because of how hot it gets outside with the humidity? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's stupid to build a new stadium when the existing one is seemingly just suitable, but the inside a/c is nice of the new one.
naked_avenger@reddit
A summer game at the old ballpark was fucking terrible. I remember we were playing the Yankees once and the crowd cheered when a cloud covered the sun for a bit. Awful experience.
SuccotashOther277@reddit
After 7 it wasn’t so bad, especially if you weren’t in the outfield . Sundays were at 1 though
arlenroy@reddit
We went to a game on father's day, great seats, first row behind the dugout. By 3pm that sun is scorching, its torture, I loved the ascetic of that ballpark, but holy fuck was that rough. I remember seeing Yu Darvish was talking to a guy warming up in the bullpen, he had something taped inside his arm, right above his forearm. It took me a minute to figure out that was an IV port, between innings they were hooking him up to an IV bag. Come to find out that became common place, because the pitchers are standing there just baking the trainers started giving them IV drips between innings. When players are receiving medical care during the game, because of the heat, that's an issue. I don't care for the new stadium, but something had to change.
88cowboy@reddit
Just 92 at 1st pitch.
CapitanShinyPants@reddit
Guess you never made it to Arlington Stadium?
Silverjackal_@reddit
Yeah I’ve attended way more June/july/August games than I ever did before, and I loved the old ballpark more than the new one.
BlazinAzn38@reddit
Old one is an amazing ballpark, new one is a great place to watch a game, unfortunately those are separate things o
Crazy_Ad_91@reddit
I do recall how terrible it could be in certain sections during high heat/sunny/humid games. That was a big gripe for a lot of people. I believe the cost and potential overrun to add a retractable awning over the existing Rangers stadium outweighed the cost to build the new one across the street when all things were taken into consideration. Not justifying anything, it just what I recall from back in the day when it first came to be the Rangers were looking for a new space.
Lurcher99@reddit
They passed on conditioning the old stadium when they did the rebuild. Stupid decisions following stupidity
Skunk_Gunk@reddit
Browns are doing the same thing and the entire state of Ohio is paying for 1/3 of it. Although I think some courts in other parts of the state are pushing back.
halfbrit08@reddit
They're already in Arlington with no public transit. Moving to Frisco wouldn't be much worse.
Dick_Lazer@reddit
As long they keep that bullshit out of Dallas they can move up to Oklahoma for all I care.
remarkable_in_argyle@reddit
This is why tearing down an iconic building for the Mavs is a dumb fucking idea. Arenas, stadiums, and ballparks are almost always temporary now.
MrPlaysWithSquirrels@reddit
Let them. It’s not even in Dallas today.
Skunk_Gunk@reddit
Browns are doing the same thing and the entire state of Ohio is paying for 1/3 of it. Although I think some courts in other parts of the state are pushing back.
harrier1215@reddit
Fuck this all the way off.
OmahaWarrior@reddit
You gotta be kidding me. He is a billionaire for one of the most profitable teams in the world. No public assistance, jerry. Such a pos.
yarmulke@reddit
I’m sure Plano or Frisco would welcome them 🙄
MC_chrome@reddit
Fuck off Jerry. Use your own massive hoards of cash to renovate your stadium
Snobolski@reddit
You had me at “Fuck off Jerry.”
its_kgs_not_lbs@reddit
It really needs to be a t-shirt.
Snobolski@reddit
Make it a stealth slogan somehow. Coming in the stayjum it says one thing, once you get in you do ... something to the shirt and it says Fuck Off Jerry.
its_kgs_not_lbs@reddit
Glow in the dark ink. When the lights dim, the fireworks will start. Lol.
big-dal-tex@reddit
The cowboys are the highest grossing and highest valued sports team in the world. Making Jerry one of the 50 wealthiest people in the United States.
El-Cocinero-Tejano@reddit
And not a clue about football. Not bad for a con man from Arkansas. He’s up there with Danny Faulkner.
monkeyman80@reddit
And don’t forget all the land he has in Frisco/ prosper including the star
3Time4Eater3@reddit
It's not a sports team. They're an advertising and PR firm
HistoryNerd101@reddit
Time to break out the pitchforks
Snobolski@reddit
Populace of Arlington needs to organize a march down I-30 and up the Tollway to Jerry's house.
maverick1127@reddit
You couldn’t pay me to pay to come to the stadium you want us to pay to renovate a place we already paid to build in the first place.
Pay for own remodel.
Hopeful_Expert4176@reddit
But the sun…
gr0uchyMofo@reddit
It already has curtains.
ThePlumThief@reddit
But they're really hard to put up so only sometimes.
MixdNuts@reddit
It’s not his stadium though. It’s owned by the city of Arlington.
Keyboard_Cat_@reddit
Fucking dragons.
DryDistance6858@reddit
Win something first
VampireEmpire__@reddit
Fuck no
Swdannycactus@reddit
Zero dollars should come out of any person pocket other than Jerry, start with winning and then we can talk
Blasphemous_21@reddit
Why do we keep electing council members and mayors who are in favor of this? Seriously? Ya’ll act pissed off now and will forget in three days.
FoxontheRun2023@reddit
Let me guess- the so-called “venue taxes” would be fees added to the cost of a ticket, concessions, parking, etc. Unless they disclose what these are in detail, what am I to think?
omega-foxtrot@reddit
This comes right after Arlington paid off the stadium, in full.
dvader7272@reddit
They’d better hold a vote on this. And it will be delightful to watch it get shot down. Jerry has lost his grip on this city - and as a lifelong Cowboys fan the grift is over for me.
NO WAY
AlarmedSnek@reddit
No
Aztec-@reddit
Public funding private gains lol
I hate sports teams
Bronco_Bomba@reddit
It’s not the teams, it’s the owners. Bunch of crooked ass oligarchs. The teams should be owned by the fans like the Bundesliga.
CapitanShinyPants@reddit
Take a lesson from Green Bay:
The Green Bay Packers have been a publicly owned, nonprofit corporation since 1923. They were first organized as the Green Bay Football Corp., and then reorganized in 1935 as Green Bay Packers, Inc.
There are approximately 5,204,625 shares owned by 538,967 stockholders – none of whom receives any dividend on the initial investment.
The corporation is governed by a board of directors and a seven-member executive committee.
One of the more remarkable business stories in American history, the team is kept viable by its shareholders — its unselfish fans. Even more incredible, the Packers have survived during the current era, permeated by free agency and the NFL salary cap. And, thanks in large part to Brown County's passage of the 2000 Lambeau Field referendum, the club will remain solvent and highly competitive well into the future due to its redeveloped stadium.
Fans have supported the team financially on several occasions, including six stock sales: 1923, 1935, 1950, 1997, 2011, and 2022.
To protect against someone taking control of the team, the articles of incorporation prohibit any person from owning more than 200,000 shares.
kirkkerman@reddit
And that structure is banned for any other team in the NFL...
sarcazm107@reddit
Why?
CertainlyNotAVibe@reddit
it's a big club and they don't want you in it
iCanD0thisAllDay@reddit
Fuck the packers. Dez caught it. I’m just glad they haven’t won any Super Bowls since then.
permalink_save@reddit
This is how corporations should work in general. We should own all this shit not a handful of greedy asses.
Aztec-@reddit
That’d be ideal and I wouldn’t mind that at all
Microwave1213@reddit
It's not just private gains though? The article clearly states that the city of Arlington brings in an additional \~$324 million annually from the stadium being located there
Icy_Machinery736@reddit
Is AT&T unique then? I’ve always heard that stadiums are poor economic investments for cities. Genuine question.
Delicious_Hand527@reddit
AT&T stadium is a very poor investment, for an average city. You can see that there's almost nothing still around it - valuable real estate drives value around it. The buildings that have been constructed (the fan zone thing, the new hotel) are also subsidized by the city.
However, Arlington is not an average city - it's property tax base is really low for it's population, therefore the making it up via sales tax is almost necessary.
ThePhonyOrchestra@reddit
Oh well as long as the article says it!!
Microwave1213@reddit
"these facts don't line up with my preconceived notions so I choose not to believe them!"
willisbar@reddit
These facts*
*Facts claimed by real estate association news website
BeachStrandBiker@reddit
Public funding for a private team that also worked to kill public transit. Fuck these people lol
MC_chrome@reddit
Privatize the gains and socalize the losses....that's the true "American Dream" that no one wants to talk about
Ok-Nose29@reddit
This man is worth 20 billion dollars and wants to borrow from the poor for a 1 billion dollar investment in his most prized possession
Fuck off Jerry this is where shit is supposed to trickle down
Horns8585@reddit
A possession that he profits from....not the taxpayers.
Still_Detail_4285@reddit
The original has been a great investment for Arlington. Everything was paid off early. It was best case for the taxpayers. Now the new baseball stadium is a different story.
ChicagoRay312@reddit
True. Say what you want about Jerry and/or the Cowboys. It’s an incredible stadium and tourist destination. The exact opposite can be said for the new baseball stadium.
Still_Detail_4285@reddit
The new baseball stadium makes me sad. The fact that the ceo of the engineering firm that built all the stadiums was mayor when it got approved is probably just a coincidence.
noncongruent@reddit
AT&T Stadium began construction in 2004, and was built by Manhatten Construction. The CEO at the beginning of construction was Francis Rooney, and he was replaced by Larry Rooney the following year. The Rooney family founded and owns the company. The mayor of Arlington at the time was Robert Cluck, mayor from 2003-2015. Globe Life was built by the same company from 2017-2020, the mayor then was Jeff Williams. I could find no connection between him and Manhatten Construction either.
Still_Detail_4285@reddit
Engineering Company.
noncongruent@reddit
That would be HKS for Globe Life. Jeff Williams wasn't CEO of HKS or anyone else involved in a major way. He was CEO of Graham Associates, they were one of the surveying firms hired for the project. For AT&T Stadium apparently Graham Associates did some minor work, but that preceded Williams running for mayor by more than a decade.
Still_Detail_4285@reddit
HKS is an architectural firm. Jeff Williams is President of Graham Associates, the engineering firm.
noncongruent@reddit
You stated that " the ceo of the engineering firm that built all the stadiums was mayor when it got approved". This was not the case. Graham Associates did not build any of the stadiums. Graham Associates is a minor player doing secondary work. The fact Williams was Mayor during Graham Associates' participation in the Globe Life stadium project isn't significant.
Still_Detail_4285@reddit
How much did he make?
noncongruent@reddit
No idea, but you can try calling the company website to ask.
ChicagoRay312@reddit
It’s so bad! The old stadium was beautiful. Yes, it needed a roof. But why did they have to go the route of empty shopping mall with a warehouse roof as its replacement? Also, everyone is further from the field because they insisted on having the field level suites or luxury boxes (whatever they want to call them) behind the fences.
El-Cocinero-Tejano@reddit
It’s a horrible stadium for actual fans. When I shopped around for World Cup tickets, I looked at every other stadium besides this one. And I live in DFW. I’d rather go to Mexico, Kansas City, Miami, Atlanta, Cali, hell I would even rather go to Philly! The stadium is huge… ok so it’s the John Holmes of stadiums? Who gives a shit, because the fan experience is total garbage. And now the worst GM in sports history wants more money for it? He’s a clown. The stadium is his big top tent, and the Cowboys are the circus.
ChicagoRay312@reddit
I’m a Cowboy hater but I like the stadium. Now, I won’t sit in anywhere that’s not 200 or below because otherwise I want to stare at the screen the whole time. What do you dislike about it so much (besides that Arlington refuses to allow public transportation)?
Husky_in_TX@reddit
I hate it so much as a lifelong rangers fan.
Emergency_Basket_851@reddit
It doesn't feel right inside
boomgoesthevegemite@reddit
I’ve been to the new stadium several times but haven’t been since 2023 and will never go back. I had a horrible experience with some of the parking attendants and with some other patrons outside. The staff refused to address the problem. Like, I just gave you $40 to park here and $200 for tickets.
Horns8585@reddit
Exactly how has it been a great investment for the taxpayers?
Still_Detail_4285@reddit
Did you read the article? Debt was paid off 10 years early, massive tax revenue coming in now.
Horns8585@reddit
What massive tax revenue is generated by the stadium?
noncongruent@reddit
What most people think of as an "investment" is an expenditure that returns more money than the original cost. Most investments involve owning something, whether it's stock in a company, financial instruments, physical assets, etc. AT&T Stadium has more than paid for itself in increased tax revenues for that city, mainly sales taxes and hotel taxes. Locking the Cowboys into playing there for another three decades will more than pay back the city's contribution toward remodeling the stadium, likely by orders of magnitude. The main problem that some people have with the deal is not that the city will made lots of money on the deal long-term, but rather, that Jerry Jones makes any money at all from the deal. It's unfortunate that people are willing to destroy an opportunity out of spite for one person. A glowing example of that was Fairfield State Park. People didn't want to spend the money to save the park in what would have been a fantastic deal for the state, and now it's gone. We need to stop doing these self-owns.
Horns8585@reddit
It's unfortunate that people are willing to let an opportunist like Jerry Jones line his pockets at the expense of taxpayers. And, I would love to hear your exact definition of "orders of magnitude". You say that AT&T Stadium has more than paid for itself, but the city just paid off the loan and now they are going to have to spend more money on it. again. Any tax revenue that they have made from this "investment" has been used to for paying off the initial loan AND future revenue will be spent on the next loan.
Ok-Nose29@reddit
Would it have been an even better investment if he paid out of his own pocket?
Still_Detail_4285@reddit
No. The city would not have the stadium. It would be in Frisco.
dallassoxfan@reddit
Don’t let facts get in the way of reality. This is Reddit.
Still_Detail_4285@reddit
I was an adult when this all went down. Jerry wanted Dallas. Dallas had a bad mayor that everyone hated. He looked everywhere. The fact that it ended up being a great deal for Arlington is not popular on Reddit. It has still been a great deal for Arlington. Imagine how different downtown Dallas would be if things were different.
texasusa@reddit
I remember that differently. The mayor was Laura Miller. She declined the invitation to use Dallas money to subsidize the stadium.
noncongruent@reddit
That's exactly what happened. Dallas wanted the stadium but didn't want to pay for it, so Jones found a city that would help pay for it. It now brings in over $50M/year in revenues for Arlington. They built it with sales tax money, Dallas used their sales tax money to build DART instead.
dallassoxfan@reddit
This is 100% fact. Jerry wanted to build it at fair park with an entertainment district just like Texas live. Laura miller and city council wouldn’t give any concessions.
high_everyone@reddit
That was not a best case. Jerry screwed Arlington out of years of amortized interest on those loans. Basically it’s a rich people way to wash their cash to get more money. Take out a loan with an interest rate that favors the locals by raising $X in interest over Y years. If they pay off the loan faster (even if there had been a penalty which there wasn’t) probably would have been less than the cost of the amortized value of the loan over time.
If $X ended up being say like $1,000,000 less by paying off the loan faster then Jerry has the money to accelerate that and save money/increase earnings for himself and screwing the city out of the terms of the original loan.
Still_Detail_4285@reddit
They spent what they make a year now. Thats a great deal.
rxinquestion@reddit
Easy fix. We get a tax break with 20% of the profits the stadium brings in perpetuity.
berserk_zebra@reddit
how about $3 bud lights instead of $12 bud lights?
CastleWolfenstein@reddit
Even easier fix.
STOP BUYING STADIUM TICKETS FROM THIS SHITBAG.
Boycott with your wallet
sealclubberfan@reddit
Yeah right like that will ever happen. The least they could do is cut the .5% sales tax increase they had for the stadium originally.
noncongruent@reddit
They did that years ago, when the stadium was paid off. They took that money and used it to build the new Rangers ballpark.
Red_RingRico@reddit
I think you just described taxes with a 20% rate on income 😂 Not that that would ever happen either.
bernietheweasel@reddit
I’d hold out for a cut of the gross
Microwave1213@reddit
I mean if you would read the article you would see that the City of Arlington paid $325 Million during construction, and the city now earns \~$324 million annually from the stadium being located there.
Seems like a pretty good deal for the taxpayers of that city, no?
Horns8585@reddit
The city of Arlington DOES NOT receive $324 million annually from that stadium.
Delicious_Hand527@reddit
Arlington receives like $2m in direct subsidies from the stadium. There are individual buildings in Plano & Dallas that pay more than that in tax revenue every year.
And Arlington really needs the sales tax money (about 1% of sales tax from every sale) because their property tax base is really low for their population.
JustGmeMyFukinSnkpck@reddit
Yeah arlington was the outhouse of the DFW until Jerry showed up.
wholelattapuddin@reddit
I think thats Haltom city. I live here, trust me, the area around the stadium looks worse, we still have no mass transit system, and we get zero real benefits from the events at the stadium because there are no decent hotels, restaurants near the stadium.
JustGmeMyFukinSnkpck@reddit
Bro your city paid 200+Million once and now gets 200+Million annually! How you gonna say “no real benefits”?
Horns8585@reddit
Who pays them $200 million annually?
JustGmeMyFukinSnkpck@reddit
The team generates an estimated $324 million annually for Arlington, according to your city officials— a total that could exceed $9 billion over the life of the proposed extension.
Horns8585@reddit
You need to show us an official document that says that Arlington brings in $324 million annually from that stadium. Because, that is probably the amount of money that the stadium generates annually, that goes in the pocket of Jerry Jones.
JayZ_237@reddit
After interest, the city of Arlington's citizens paid bootlicker towards at&t stadiumconstruction. It was the initial principle that was $325,000,000
The city receives zero direct revenue cut for any stadium events (all that goes to Jerry); & instead relies upon increased tax revenues, via increased tax rates.
That socialized cost stadium is a liquid fucking quarterly cash cow for the hillbilly made good Jones clan. The venue alone has increased the value of the Cowboys by billions, which is also Jones clan private net worth (which they use as collateral for favorable interest rate loans in outside business ventures).
The audacity of more tax handouts is utter insanity. But, billionaire snake oil salesmen are never in short supply of bootlickers.
PerfectlySplendid@reddit
Is it true that the city receives $324m annually in taxes from the sales? If so, you’re really underplaying the benefit the city receives.
JayZ_237@reddit
When is any political & economic driven agenda's claimed financial 'analysis' actually comprised of good faith accuracy? Target audiences are overwhelmingly economically illiterate & easily duped. It's why this almost always works (combined w/local politicians looking at it as a personal gain vehicle).
Their 'analysis' figure includes any & all components of visitor-driven economic impact: tax revenues, job creation, and development in the surrounding entertainment district & general area (which now includes 2 baseball fields, a stadium, six flags & Texas Live!).
It's the manipulative sum of any & every facet of possibility. Anything in the entertainment vicinity... Every new individual job's total comp package. Restaurant. Hotel. Etc.
All of it is "economic impact", which is nowhere near the same definition as actual tax revenue. By exponential differences. And it's barely high school level subject matter.
I am a massive Cowboys fan. I wish they were actually located in the downtown Dallas area. But, billionaires should fund their own cash cow stadiums that are used year round in highly profitable events.
Socialized costs & privatized profits are unacceptable.
Microwave1213@reddit
Yeah all these cities are clamoring for stadiums to be built there just for funzies! Cmon man, you can't be that dumb
Still_Detail_4285@reddit
Every business on earth would be scrambling to make that deal.
eltoddro@reddit
Yup - also; "the Cowboys would cover $750 million of the renovation costs, while Arlington would contribute $273 million over 20 years through existing venue tax revenues"
budrow21@reddit
Unless it was going to be built there anyway
ThePlumThief@reddit
But if he slips under 10 billion in liquid assets the country will explode
Haha08421@reddit
Take would be a better word than borrow here i think.
Czarinavella@reddit
Borrow? Their will be no return on that billion.
StRemedius@reddit
You'd think he would want to spend money on the team itself, but there are a couple of things left in the area that aren't the "Official (Fill In The Blank) of the Dallas Cowboys" that he can strip value from first...
Appropriate-Key-7554@reddit
Borrow?
winkman@reddit
In the years following the build of AT&T stadium, I remember hearing some horror stories about dealing with Arlington and Tarrant County property tax valuations...and they weren't budging, either!
F that!
I wish at the national level, they would outlaw public funds for sports teams.
Berns429@reddit
It’s how the rich do things, pass the cost on while retaining the reward. That and keeping middle/lower class fighting amongst themselves as distraction.
dchirs@reddit
Not borrow - take. This is a handout, not a loan.
Drewness326@reddit
Is he going to turn it so the field is North/ South?
dumpln@reddit
Doesn’t AT&T own it?
Dry_Gene560@reddit
He’ll get it too because, Texas.
Can’t afford schools, but giving welfare to billionaires is always in the budget.
Crazy_Ad_91@reddit
I remember when they took over all those lower income neighborhoods to secure enough land for the project. Never sat right with me.
Select_Insurance2000@reddit
I live in Arlington, south of I-20.
During the pitch to build the stadium, I called the City of Arlington in order to get the exact location, street by street, where it would be built. I got into my car and drove to the area and saw for myself what lands would be used.
The area where the stadium sits was full of blight. There were two abandoned broken down apartment buildings that looked terrible. There was debris and who knows what else inside them. There were several blocks of small, older homes that had signs in each yard supporting building the stadium there. Now, were these homes owned by a single entity that supported selling their land or were there individuals living in those houses that supported it? I do not know the answer to that.
So I voted in favor of the stadium based on the information provided. Now what I didn't vote for, was a continued subsidy from the citizens of Arlington, to aid Jerry Jones to maintain his stadium. We paid our part to build the stadium. After that, the burden should be 100% on Jerry Jones. He's profiting off everything from ticket sales, concessions, merch, outrageous parking fees, and stadium naming rights (AT&T). He's fully capable of maintaining his "glory hole."
maladictem@reddit
My aunt and uncle were forced from their home in their 70s to build a damn parking lot for that building. Their neighborhood was nice and they would have stayed for the rest of their lives.
Select_Insurance2000@reddit
We're they offered $ to sell?
noncongruent@reddit
Typically homeowners were offered around fair market value for their homes. Since the homes were fairly old and small that wasn't a whole lot. They may have been offered some additional money for moving expenses and such, but since their neighborhood was old, poor, and small the money people got for their homes there wasn't enough to buy a replacement home anywhere else in the city or area. When someone spends their life paying a mortgage, finally pays it off and retires, then is unexpectedly looking at having to buy a house somewhere else for twice the with a brand new mortgage (and screaming high insurance costs to go with that), not to mention doubled property taxes, the end result was that most of the people forced out were financially ruined.
Select_Insurance2000@reddit
So why did I see so many yards with "Vote Yes for the Stadium?"
We're these all rental homes, owned by a single entity?
noncongruent@reddit
It's likely that at least some of those homes had been purchased by investors for pennies on the dollar and getting market price for them would be profitable. There were likely rental homes in there, as well as bank foreclosed homes, etc, but for sure there were homes owned by families and retirees who ended up being ruined by this. Honestly, the way the law should work is that if someone wants to take your home for a project that developer shall provide a home that meets all of that family's needs, and if necessary subsidies any mortgage payments on the new home such that the family's expenses do not change. That family should be able to just drive to the new home, all their stuff having been professionally moved for them, and not have to spend a nickel extra than normal during the process.
Select_Insurance2000@reddit
Agree. Folks get frightened and don't try to seek legal help to get a just price for their home.
Fair market value almost never equals getting another roof over your head.
permalink_save@reddit
Glad yall got rid of that riffraff, NIMBY amirite?
tristand666@reddit
Arlington will take the fleecing and enjoy it!
El-Cocinero-Tejano@reddit
Unless he’s adding public transportation, he can go pound sand. Tell him we’ll give him 100 million for every Championship game and 1 billion for every Super Bowl victory. He’ll have enough money by Neveruary.
txholdup@reddit
His share of the original stadium was paid for with money from bonds on the exorbitant parking lot fees. So far Jerry has put up NOTHING out of his own wallet. The taxpayers on the other had just keep on giving.
DeepSix220@reddit
And I'm asking for him to sell the team so the Cowboys can be worth watching again. Only assistance Jerry needs is assisted living.
chebadusa@reddit
I wonder if anyone bothered to read the article. Judging by the comments, my guess is “No”. The Cowboys would pay over 70% of the costs, the City of Arlington would own just 234 million, to be divided over a nearly 30 year period…(So $8M a year). Article also specifies that Arlington wouldn’t be looking to create a new tax but rather they would expense by tapping into reverses.
Cowboys bring $324 million per year to the city….That’s $9 billion over the course of the proposed contract. The math makes sense?
AdeptCauliflower9956@reddit
How about Arlington negotiates a piece of the real money and asks for a percentage of the ticket, merch and parking sales and not just the sales tax. Also who came up with these numbers they're asking for Arlington or cowboys? 750 mill seems like plenty of money to make improvements, why another 250 mill? This isn't some poverty franchise, they're literally the most valuable team in the world.
chebadusa@reddit
What leverage does Arlington have to demand a piece of the “real money” lol? The Cowboys being there is a a luxury - they could have their pick of other cities. And please point to a real world example where another city gets “real money” of a sports franchise.
The cowboys bring in $324 million to the city of Arlington in revenue on an annual basis (don’t think that’s just “sales tax”. That’s plenty of “real money”….Let’s also consider the people they employ.
Again, I don’t even think you’ll have any clue over what you’ll are arguing about at this point. It’s basic economics. The arrangement with the Cowboys is literally no different than any other private business…and also no different than any other sports franchise across the US.
superfahd@reddit
Why should the city pay at all. Is the owner poor?
chebadusa@reddit
Because the city is benefiting to the tune of $324 million a year. It’s literally no different than any other tax incentive DFW gives to businesses…It’s a recognized trade off.
superfahd@reddit
so socialism?
how much profit are the owners making?
chebadusa@reddit
The Owners aren’t just making money from stadium revenue…that’s what we’re discussing lol.
You’ll so pissed. Just mad because it involves the Jone’s.
superfahd@reddit
i think that's a pretty valid reason to be pissed. private companies don't need public money to prop them up
fuck them billionaires
chebadusa@reddit
Mind you, TX offers a number of tax incentives to private businesses…
GeekyTexan@reddit
lol. Sure. You think he won't be asking for more money (or an entire new stadium) in less than 30 years?
That's silly. It's 17 years old now, and he's already asking for more.
chebadusa@reddit
They are at the end of their agreement with Arlington and the stadium is 2 decades old. Cowboys have always been at the front of innovation with their facilities…and with both the Mavs and Stars building new complexes - and artists, etc. having more options for events -, it makes more sense that they would want to continue to update.
Ultimately, these are the Cowboys terms to renew their agreement. Up to the council to decide whether to move forward…but considering the number of people the Stadium employs and the revenue it brings in annually, it makes sense financially.
Obvious_Creme_3452@reddit
Jerry you’re in your 80’s. Just spend the money.
glennjamin85@reddit
No welfare for Jerry, sell to someone competent and overhaul the organization, get a championship, then we'll talk
Texas22@reddit
That’s a no for me, dawg. Win something and then we might talk.
kesin@reddit
i mean theyre just gonna blow the stadium up in about 10 years anyways dont see the pont of this lol
thelesliesmooth@reddit
Did he just buy a $70 million yacht for himself?
ghostofculpeper@reddit
The billionaire class is a bunch of leaches and welfare queens.
Cautious_Fix_2793@reddit
You’ve got to be kidding me. 🙄
Impossible-Try-9161@reddit
This über rich bastard needs *my* money to overhaul *his* cash cow?
Tell him to go to f off. Where's he going to go?
TheOGoat@reddit
AT&T stadium generates 55million in Tax revenue annually. They’re not using our money. Our problem today’s still is government spending.
sealclubberfan@reddit
Good thing the stadium isn't in Dallas. Let those Arlington nerds deal with the cost of supporting billionaire owners.
Homey-Airport-Int@reddit
Arlington paid off their share of AT&T stadium over a decade early.
Birdious@reddit
The half cent sales tax for stadium debt is still in place because its now being used to pay the debt for globe life field lol. Doesn't matter if you pay things off earlier if you kepep incurring more debt and expenses to replace what you paid off.
AgentBlue14@reddit
Hello, it's 1968 and I have a toll-free Dallas North Tollway to sell you for the year 2000
sealclubberfan@reddit
I wonder if they are going to increase taxes at all for this new deal also
krollAY@reddit
Which apparently encouraged the billionaires to ask for more money
ThePlumThief@reddit
It's been a solid strategy since '08
Homey-Airport-Int@reddit
Yes that's how business works. Billionaires raise money all the time rather than self funding, why wouldn't you?
Dick_Lazer@reddit
I don't care to give welfare to billionaires personally, but keep looking out for the greedy bloodsuckers I guess.
bingbong2715@reddit
The point is they shouldn’t be able to do that
boxofdem0ns@reddit
don't feed the bots.
Dick_Lazer@reddit
Did they reverse all the tax increases on things like sales tax when the stadium was paid off, or are Arlington tax payers still paying those higher rates?
noncongruent@reddit
Arlington, like just about every city in Texas, has long since set local sales taxes at the 2% maximum allowed under Texas state law. Cities have the right to choose how to spend that sales tax revenue, for instance DART member cities have chosen to spend half of it on DART. Fort Worth spends half of theirs on Trinity Metro, and Arlington has been spending half of theirs on their venue district, things like the Cowboy's stadium and the Ranger's stadium. I know of no city in recent history, or at all, that has reduced their local sales tax rate.
sealclubberfan@reddit
I'll give you 2 guesses, but you'll only need one. Bunch of suckers ha
sealclubberfan@reddit
What does that have to do with the topic at hand exactly?
texrygo@reddit
Not OP but Arlington actually seems to do well at this and benefits as a city. It’s why they can always pay off the stadiums early.
ptrang1987@reddit
Nah, this dude donated $1.1 mill to Trump in 2020. He could kick rocks
disgruntledvet@reddit
Ought to be seeking a fucking super bowl win...or even appearance. The last time the cowboys won a super bowl the year nineteen-Troy Aikman....
SameDimension1204@reddit
Arlington will reduce services to it’s citizens to pay for Jerry to stay. What a bunch of idiots. They should tell Jerry to take a hike
LAJimm9@reddit
NO PUBLIC ASSISTANCE. Cowboys can afford it.
Czarinavella@reddit
The cowboy's need to sit down with all that money spent on them. They pulled that stunt while in Dallas, and they barely broke in the new monstrosity that reminds me of a dystopian hellscape, and they want more of tax payers money. Spend your own money.
Detonius@reddit
It’s wild the world we live in.
Slipping-in-oil@reddit
Yeah F this guy.
X-Jim@reddit
They want to rotate it 90 degrees
PaulDallas72@reddit
Its called extortion; we pay the ransom or Jerry picks up his toy and moves to a new town w/o a team that will gladly pay (e.g. San Antonio). Then our local pols all get the blame for "Dallas loosing the Cowboys."
Dont fret the pols will pay, they will always pay.
Ruggerx24@reddit
Fuck off Jerry. Your parking lot fees can pay for this overhaul you cheap Bastard!
If we approve this, we can put DART out that way, then. Deal?
FormulaKimi@reddit
No money for these losers, at least win something before asking for money
Own_yourmind@reddit
They’re going to use “our” money whether we let them or not.
therealbongjovi@reddit
Does this involve a train going there?
Biiiishweneedanswers@reddit
They just built that damn thing, seems like.
Right_Letterhead_120@reddit
That’s a no from me, dog.
Lundruf@reddit
Fuck that and fuck him
CSIorangesalad@reddit
No I don’t want to pay for this
FW_nudist@reddit
Add the stipulation that when the current AT&T naming rights expire, the stadium becomes Arlington, TX. Stadium.
OkSubstance8759@reddit
Na im ok.
mediceman33@reddit
Time and time again, Billionaires literally laughing in the public’s face.
Pekkerwud@reddit
I would like a billion dollars, too, please.
Golf101inc@reddit
IF you had won any playoff game of consequence or a SB within the past 2 decades the fans might feel differently…
kennethBelcher@reddit
Vote Cowboy Blue!
Sturdily5092@reddit
The public pays for upgrading the stadium and Billy Bob pockets the profits
Hopeful_Expert4176@reddit
Romo is on bord …he won a lot at that stadium 🤣
j450n_@reddit
Have they tried drinking fewer lattes?
StRemedius@reddit
Now, now, everybody. There's a way Jerry can get his money AND make all of us happy. I suggest a raffle: "Kick Jerry Jones In His Single Testicle" at $1 per ticket should get a few billion in revenues, shouldn't it?
SaintedRomaine@reddit
He’ll get it. Gotta keep the circuses running. Hopefully the bread doesn’t run out.
DookieMcDookface@reddit
Meh. Arlington’s problem.
Mnudge@reddit (OP)
Just wait.
The Adelsons will be coming for your tax dollars soon enough and they won’t be nearly as good a neighbor as Jerry has been to Arlington
They are robber barrons cut from the old school cloth of graft and corruption.
DookieMcDookface@reddit
The Adelsons can get fucked and move the team to Vegas for all I care.
Tchaik748@reddit
FUCK the Adelsons and all billionaires.
Abrushing@reddit
Where is the money from those $30 nachos going?
Witty_Committee726@reddit
This will happen because football.
noncongruent@reddit
According to google's AI, revenues from the stadium have fully repaid the city for the original construction costs, and since then has netted an average $55M/year in additional revenues since the original construction bonds were paid off. If that's the case, then the $273M that the city is being asked to pay for renovations would be paid off in five years, and with the Cowboys locked in to play there for another 29 years that ought to be a big net positive for city revenues.
CapitanShinyPants@reddit
Do you really think they're going to use that stadium for another 29 years?
noncongruent@reddit
Why not? It's a well-built stadium with state of the art features. If they sign a contract to stay 29 more years then as long as the system of contract law exists they'll continue playing there. That stadium sells out every Cowboys game and has since the very first game, and it also sells out all sorts of other events. As an indoor venue it's pretty much the best in this part of the country by a large margin. Hate Jones and that city all you want, but it's not going to change the reality that that stadium is a money-maker for that city.
It's sad that Laura Miller botched getting the Cowboys to move to Dallas. The thinking was that Dallas shouldn't be subsidizing a fancy new stadium for a billionaire, so that was a choice. Dallas also decided to spend half its sales tax on DART, whereas Arlington used it to build the new Cowboys stadium as well as build out their venue district. These were all choices, they weren't accidents. The Cowboys could have been playing in Dallas the last 17 years.
AlliedR2@reddit
How about you pay for your toys yourself. Its not like we get any discount when we go to the games. You tear into our wallets like a starving hyena.
ComprehensiveShip720@reddit
WHAT? How old is that stadium? 2009? So it’s not even 20 years old. FFS.
SpencerVerde@reddit
These are the welfare queens — billionaires who have plenty of money, pay less in taxes proportionate to their income, and always expect a government handout — not the single mom who works a low-paying job.
Tchaik748@reddit
And definitely not the immigrants working their asses off to stay here.
Kineth@reddit
Get to a fucking conference championship game first and maybe we'll talk.
Careless-Ad-6328@reddit
But we can't fund our libraries or public transit...
Throwaway0242000@reddit
Why people mad at Jerry? They should be mad at the idiots that vote for terrible government
RepulsiveInterview44@reddit
Jerry Jones’ net worth is 19.7 BILLION dollars. He can fuck ALLLLLLLLLL the way off with this.
local_goon@reddit
What a joke these billionaires oligarchs have made of all of us. Greed is disgusting
Invest_bro@reddit
This shit is crazy
mikeymigg@reddit
Once the citizens workout I1 billion dollars for a remodel and what do we get exchange another 5- 10 years of the Dallas cowboys stinking it up ! For real fuck you and fuck off jerry
Suitable_Bike_9484@reddit
here’s some quick bullet points:
_carnivorous_@reddit
"it's going to create so many jobs"
CapitanShinyPants@reddit
"No new taxes” framing is misleading: Officials say taxes aren’t increasing, but they’re extending existing taxes that could have expired or been redirected elsewhere."
What's next, you gonna tell me they were lying about the toll roads getting paid off too?
311voltures@reddit
Fuck the Cowboys organization, welfare queens!
deebo7741@reddit
Oh yeah, he needs the money /s
weightofzero@reddit
Glad I don’t live in Arlington or have to attend those city council meetings.
hockenduke@reddit
Dude fuck professional sports. All of them. Except the Stars. Go Stars.
Houstonontheroad@reddit
Nice to see a billionaire who still believes in welfare
hastinapur@reddit
Yeah, have the public fund billionaires dream. I have no doubt it will happen
cuberandgamer@reddit
Don't ever let Arlington tell you they can't afford public transportation
Hour-Detail4510@reddit
Is he putting in curtains?
DaveMcElfatrick@reddit
lol fuck off
TheClownIsReady@reddit
CURTAINS, you insufferable senile fool…
baileyx96@reddit
Only if part of that 1B funds a dart line to the front door lol
djslice@reddit
NO!!!!
AvailableReporter484@reddit
Privatizing the profits, socializing the losses: the ol’ fuck you poor dumb hicks special lmfao
coldchylln@reddit
The guy that lobbies against public transit options in a successful effort to pad his pockets with parking revenue is begging for public money to spend to on the venue. … People can’t vote with a level head to keep public schools funded or retain a decent school board so it’ll be a shame to see this get the votes.
tylerupandgager@reddit
Sure, just win a championship first and we'll cut a check.
durtyprofessor@reddit
Oh, fuck that.
Optimal_Ad_4846@reddit
Nope. We don’t need to subsidize your business Jerry.
bennydigital@reddit
driving out there suuuuuucks
TupperLake19@reddit
It’s Jerry world, right? Then he can pay to pretty it up - it’s called maintenance. A$$hat
musicd65@reddit
Fuck you crypt keeper twat
No-Celebration3097@reddit
Lmao, of course. The real welfare queens
BranSolo7460@reddit
They're going to make the people pay for it just like they made the people pay for the new stadium.
Living in Arlington is like a non-stop extortion.
EricPetro@reddit
I am so sick of pouring money into billionaires play things. Fuckin scavengers.
hhhtv@reddit
Make the billionaires pay for their own stadiums
Teh_Crusader@reddit
Oh FUCK OFF
DosCabezasDingo@reddit
I was commenting a month ago I was waiting for this kind of news to be coming up soon now that it’s paid off.
Ok_Education9679@reddit
FJJ!
MathW@reddit
It's really bizarre to me that the "Dallas Cowboys" seek renovations to their stadium -- except if you ask them to pay for them with their own money. What they mean is -- we're fine spending taxpayer funds to renovate our stadium, but they aren't important enough to spend our own.
Cabbage_Corp_@reddit
Fuck off. Pay for it your self asshole! I’ve never understood tax payers paying for stadiums. We pay for you to make money? And we see zero benefit and just get worse traffic? At least give us cheaper entry or something
Eber-@reddit
These folks are always looking for handouts aren’t they?
TX712@reddit
Wouldn't it be great if the citizens of Arlington could say, "no"?
Less_Ant_6633@reddit
And he will probably get it because texas is run by some of the most corrupt, backwards politicians on the planet.
Danilo-11@reddit
Yes, we always have tax dollars to subsidize billionaires stadiums but never have money to fix anything for the working class
LadySandry@reddit
NO. Capital letters N effing O. Pay for your own stuff with your vault of money.
ohwhataday10@reddit
lol. The people will give Jerry what he wants! Amazing.
Hypestyles@reddit
geez. sad. oh well. Arlington residents, it's up to you.
Pecan_Artist@reddit
I have neber seen Alpha males protest this. Where are ya'll??? Too busy wearing another man's jersey on your back while cheering up and down?
CapitanShinyPants@reddit
Sports drag.
Cedosg@reddit
didn't they just build this stadium not long ago?
CapitanShinyPants@reddit
2009, so it's almost 17 years old; which is old when you think about it like a conseravtive.
zer0gravity-@reddit
For rangers yes
medisamurai@reddit
it would be a steal if dallas could have had this. its basically 1/4 of the upgrade at about 14 million a year for the city.
it would be worth 14 million to dallas per year to have that hear.
not saying i like this type of thing or jerry(resigned from cowboy fandom in 2016) but the cowboys are the one franchise that actually does attract people to the stadium and has massive events that no other place in Dallas has.
theyre estimating 324 mil in revenue per year, so its a win for arlington.
CapitanShinyPants@reddit
Cool, someone remind me to check on the financial reports in a year.
United-Beyond-955@reddit
As a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan this is why the world knows billionaires are evil monsters. They’re always trying to steal money from the poor to make themselves richer. And none of them are self made. Major corporations and billionaires the biggest recipients of government free money welfare in human history. Jerry Jones got all his money from oil from his father and Teamsters. Another billionaire fraud like ALL of them are. Now he wants more government free money welfare. Anyone can be a billionaire with free money government welfare.
TotoItsAMotorRace@reddit
Just be glad the vote is today not after the draft.
If it was next week he may have gone and actually traded up to 3.
elliottbtx@reddit
Please include curtains in the budget to block the sun for late afternoon games!
ModeatelyIndependant@reddit
Needs to be a vote on a bond package to pay for this shit.
DonkeeJote@reddit
Good, fuck Arlington, this is what they wanted.
JonwardSnowden@reddit
"Those stupid taxpayer fucks in Arlington will give us anything we ask for" is a strategy that hasn't failed any sports team owner yet
CapitanShinyPants@reddit
So glad Dallas didn't foot the bill for this one.
kangaroolifestyle@reddit
With public assistance? Fuck that.
If they can’t afford it, they can’t afford it…and better start saving their own pennies. I’m so sick of corporations sticking their hands in my pocket every chance they can get.
Sorry guys, I want a new addition to my house, guess my neighbors better pay up.
Things rich fucks with their endless hoards of cash and security details parked up in their driveways can fuck right off.
PondersOverYonder@reddit
This will happen. Unfortunately. Capitalism is awesome... for billionaires.
FragrantSort6474@reddit
Sure, if he hires a gm
gggrandma321@reddit
We need to organize at the local level to get this to be a ballot initiative so that we can do voter outreach to strike it down. Kansas City did something similar with the Chiefs stadium - the voters shot that shit down
Lowcalcalzonezone69@reddit
Billionaires have all the money in the world until it’s time to spend it for anything that isn’t for exclusive personal use. Jerry and his whole clan can kick rocks
Prestigious-Arm-8874@reddit
Lmao bro has a $500 million dollar yacht what . He can use his own trust money to pay.
bigyittiezz@reddit
Love working my ass off at work every day so we can give even more handouts to billionaires
Leader_Bud@reddit
Oh fuck off.
rdallas77@reddit
😭😭😭 he isn’t even willing to bring down curtains for games but will do it for concerts. He can kindly fuck off
PumpkinCarvingisFun@reddit
Fuck off with this shit.
Lurcher99@reddit
Do like Atlanta did and get the concession prices down. Love a beer for $6 and a hot dog for $2.
belalrone@reddit
We should not exist to make billionaires more billionairy. Purposely made up a word because fuck it.
BeRealzzz@reddit
No. Not even a question. Just no.
djjolly037@reddit
1 billion dollars for fucking curtains to keep the sun out of players eyes?…those are some fancy ass curtains
Joeshi@reddit
I'm so glad I don't live in Arlington.
nace71@reddit
I'll volunteer a few hours to help them pack up.
Wholenchilada@reddit
Fuck you, Jerry! 🖕🏻
3Time4Eater3@reddit
Gotta stop allowing them to use Dallas as their team home name.
zughzz@reddit
Controversial opinion bulldoze the thing and make it a park or something. We do not need a stadium in arlington when we have zero public transportation.
Top-Offer-4056@reddit
Fuck that! Where’s Luigi when you need him
kaizenkaos@reddit
Football is dead as all these pockets are empty.
DrewskiBrewski@reddit
Oh go fuck yourself Jerry
No_Grand7184@reddit
Work on getting a competitive team together first. The cowboys are just embarrassing now