Arlington Mayor Jim Ross speaks during the 20th annual State of the City Address on Oct. 16 at Esports Stadium Arlington. Ross highlighted the city’s achievements and his vision for Arlington’s future during his address.
Photo by Elvis Martinez-Cartagena
The Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce hosted the 20th annual State of the City Address on Thursday at Esports Stadium Arlington.
Mayor Jim Ross served as the keynote speaker and went over topics such as budget updates, business and economic growth and updates on big events the city will host — all to show how Arlington works.
Event updates
The city has multiple events coming up, including nine FIFA World Cup matches, the Grand Prix of Arlington, Lone Star Smokeout and the second annual Arlington Veterans Day Parade.
Arlington will host its Veterans Day Parade this year on Nov. 11 with a sunset parade, Ross said. Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be the grand marshal of the event.
The Arlington High School jazz band performs during the 20th annual State of the City Address on Oct. 16 at Esports Stadium Arlington. As part of the program, the city awarded the 2025 small business of the year recipients.
In less than nine months, Arlington will host nine FIFA World Cup games, more than any other city, including a semifinal game.
“Over 100,000 people per game coming to Arlington with an economic impact upwards of $2 billion for North Texas,” he said.
The INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington will hit the streets of the Entertainment District March 13-15.
An award is handed to the recipient, Miracle League of Arlington, during the 20th annual State of the City Address on Oct. 16 at Esports Stadium Arlington. The award was for the outstanding nonprofit small business of the year.
Photo by Elvis Martinez-Cartagena
Arlington will be bringing back the Lone Star Smokeout event, a multiday festival celebrating country music and barbecue.
“We will make this a marquee event year after year,” Ross said. “Watch this thing grow.”
Business and economic growth
Since 2021, when Ross became mayor of Arlington, the city has had $1.1 billion of private capital investment and either attracted or retained 13 headquarters. Ross said that since 2021 the city has also created more than 27,000 jobs. There has also been a 20% increase in the average wage since that time.
Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce, speaks during the 20th annual State of the City Address on Oct. 16 at Esports Stadium Arlington. The chamber serves more than 1,000 members in the community.
“This growth is with purpose,” he said. “It’s not by accident that we’re growing the way we are growing.”
Over the past year, visitors to the city spent $3.1 billion, and Arlington is now ranked #29 in top meeting destinations in the country, Ross said. After opening the convention center, the number climbed up, even eclipsing Fort Worth.
Companies like Salcomp, an electronic accessory manufacturing company, have moved in to Arlington. E-Space recently broke ground on its new facility, and StatLab has brought manufacturing jobs that build cancer treatment machines.
Ross said these companies coming to Arlington are significant wins for the city.
Pastor Solomon Adair embraces Arlington Mayor Jim Ross during the 20th annual State of the City Address on Oct. 16 at Esports Stadium Arlington. The event featured performances by the Arlington Police Department Honor Guard and American Idol season 22 contestant Odell Bunton Jr.
Photo by Elvis Martinez-Cartagena
Budget updates
The city faced a $26 million budget shortfall, due to six reasons, Ross said.
He said the city anticipated two of the reasons, the first being the end of American Rescue Plan Act money, which was federal government funding for the pandemic, and the second being senior tax rate freezes.
Ross said the city had no way of anticipating the other reasons.
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross walks on stage during the 20th annual State of the City Address on Oct. 16 at Esports Stadium Arlington. Ross highlighted topics on economic growth, tourism, downtown development and investments in public infrastructure.
Conservative valuations from the Tarrant County appraisal district, property tax protests, traveling housing finance corporations and business personal property tax exemptions all played a part in the deficit.
Ways the city has been able to close the gap included financial restructuring and adjusting fees, eliminating vacant positions and increasing the property tax rate, which takes the rate to what it was in 2019, Ross said.
“Still 2 cents below the highest point in Arlington and still doing very well compared to other cities in North Texas,” he said. “That’s what had to be done to close that gap.”
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