Arlington to consider $273 million in payments to keep Cowboys

Arlington officials are planning to spend up to $273 million to keep the Dallas Cowboys in town.  

The idea already is drawing pushback from a longtime critic who says voters are being cut out of the decision.

The City Council will discuss a lease extension at the city-owned AT&T Stadium next week to ensure the football team stays put through 2055, according to the city’s agenda. Their current lease runs through 2040. 

If approved, the agreement would add 15 more years to the Cowboys’ lease. It would also enable the city to create a $273 million account for stadium upgrades, operation and maintenance over two decades using venue taxes the city already collects. 

The Cowboys said in a statement that the partnership with the city has “exceeded the high expectations” of the team and the “proposed extension is a reflection of our continued trust, collaboration and proactive approach to the future.”

But a taxpayer advocate is alarmed that voter approval is absent from the city’s plans. 

“This is not the right way to do it,” said Warren Norred, an attorney who has long been critical of Arlington’s streak of stadium deals. He said the city’s contract with the Cowboys allows for an extension but “it doesn’t say more money needs to be borrowed.” 

Norred said the city hasn’t clearly explained what it’s getting and what it’s giving up.

The city of Arlington did not immediately respond to comment from The Dallas Morning News.

Arlington voters have used hospitality and rental taxes to pay for stadiums before. 

In 2004, voters greenlit a Texas-sized $325 million deal to lure the Cowboys from Irving. The approval meant Arlington used a half-cent sales tax increase, 2% hotel occupancy tax and 5% rental car sales tax to pay down the debt it had taken on building and upgrading the stadium. 

Voters were asked once in 2016 to decide if the city could use the same funding structure to build Globe Life Field, the Texas Rangers’ new stadium. Supporters of the stadium won in a landslide election. 

Last year, the city completed its debt payments for the Cowboys stadium a decade earlier than scheduled. 

The Cowboys will invest at least $750 million toward the sports complex, and will draw from the city’s account for reimbursements for eligible stadium expenses, according to a city memo. They have until 2043 to complete the upgrades. 

The lease terms also would reduce the rents for the space and the naming rights to a combined $1 million. The football team is currently paying the city $2 million in base rent and $500,000 in naming rights rent. The Cowboys will also give half a million annually for youth programs. 

Staff writer Calvin Watkins contributed to the report.