His death was announced by the city late Wednesday.<\/a><\/p>\nIn a statement, Mayor Jim Ross called Cluck “a true visionary.” <\/p>\n
“Dr. Robert Cluck didn\u2019t just lead our city; he reimagined what it could be. His ability to build partnerships and see the community\u2019s future potential fundamentally changed our trajectory,\u201d Ross said. \u201cWe are a more vibrant, competitive, and world-class city today because of his bold leadership and belief in Arlington. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as we celebrate a life exceptionally well-lived.”<\/p>\n
Cluck is best known for spearheading the effort to move the Cowboys from Texas Stadium in Irving to the newly built AT&T Stadium in 2009. The venue became a centerpiece for sports and entertainment in the city, drawing millions of visitors each year.<\/p>\n
The city later named a park and a prominent space inside AT&T Stadium in his honor.<\/p>\n
Beyond the stadium, Cluck played a key role in advancing major developments such as the Arlington Highlands shopping center, the Viridian master-planned community and the revitalization of downtown Arlington.<\/p>\n
Born March 20, 1939, in Cisco, Texas, Cluck earned a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and a medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He completed his training in North Texas hospitals and served as a general medical officer in the U.S. Air Force in the Philippines during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n
Before entering public office, Cluck spent more than two decades in private practice as an obstetrician-gynecologist in Arlington. He later held leadership roles in local health systems, including serving as a medical director and hospital executive while continuing his civic work.<\/p>\n
As mayor, he emphasized public health and safety, launching initiatives to improve cardiac emergency response and promote fitness among residents. He also helped organize regional efforts to address air quality and environmental concerns.<\/p>\n
He is survived by his wife, Linda; daughters, Katherine Cluck Williams and Jennifer Cluck Bills; son, Robert Cluck III; and four grandchildren.<\/p>\n
Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela is KERA’s breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Emmanuel at erivas@kera.org.<\/p>\n
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax- deductible gift today. Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Arlington Mayor Robert N. Cluck, a physician-turned-public servant who helped bring the Dallas Cowboys to Arlington \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151],"class_list":["post-253274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arlington","tag-arlington","tag-arlington-headlines","tag-arlington-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}