Arlington Mayor Jim Ross defends why the expense did not need to go to a ballot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would argue that whoever was in office, they would have done the same thing,\u201d Ross told the Star-Telegram in an interview Wednesday evening in Fort Worth. \u201cWe are doing within the confines of what the voters already approved [in the original vote, in 2004]; we are not writing a $273 million check. This is being paid out of future tax revenues, and the Cowboys are fronting all of that money.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, he also outlined exactly what this $273 million will \u201cbuy\u201d in terms of visible improvements to the stadium itself, and specifically the area outside its walls.<\/p>\n
New improvements to AT&T Stadium and its surrounding streets<\/p>\n
AT&T Stadium opened in 2009, and the measure that was passed<\/a> by the Arlington City Council on April 21 promises that the city will give the Dallas Cowboys $273 million over the next 20 years, and the team will invest \u201cat least\u201d $750 million for the \u201cmaintenance, operation, and improvement of the complex\u201d through 2055.<\/p>\n What will all of this money buy? A video board bigger than Alaska?<\/p>\n \u201c[Fans] will see some radically different things,\u201d Ross said of the future changes to the stadium. \u201cFor instance, pedestrian safety is a critically important thing around AT&T Stadium, particularly around Collins [Street] and Randol Mill Road, and Division [Street] and Randol Mill.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can expect to see these magnificent, Las Vegas-style, big, wide decorative pedestrian crossovers that get people from the west side of Collins to the AT&T Stadium area that does it in a safe, protective way.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cLas Vegas\u201d style crossovers are bridges<\/a> that feature escalators that take pedestrians over six lanes of traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard in Sin City. This type of addition to a few intersections around AT&T Stadium would dramatically change, and improve, how fans can walk in and around the venue.<\/p>\n The intersection of Randol Mill Road and North Collins Street in Arlington is the corner of the northwest side of AT&T Stadium; on game days, it is often swamped with pedestrians, and traffic, as fans navigate entry to the venue.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will see decorative barriers that keep people from doing stuff like what happened in New Orleans, where a crazy person drove his truck into people,\u201d Ross said.<\/p>\n Ross is referring to the tragedy on Jan. 1, 2025,<\/a> when a driver drove his pickup truck into a crowd on New Orleans\u2019 Bourbon Street; 14 people were killed, and more than 50 people were injured.<\/p>\n The streets around AT&T Stadium in Arlington really have no barriers on the sidewalks that surround the venue.<\/p>\n Ross promised other changes to AT&T Stadium, including those that the average fan may not see during a football game, or concert.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are going to see huge changes in the technological advances that take place when it comes to people-screening, packages-screening, and all of that kind of stuff that people may not see personally, but you have to stay up to date with technology,\u201d Ross said. \u201cWe are putting a type of film on the windows that keeps projectiles from going through the glass. Those are the things that really matter.\u201d<\/p>\n As far as some of that cash going toward the purchase of a curtain that could hang<\/a> in the west end zone to block out the late afternoon sun that has become a maddening characteristic of Dallas Cowboys\u2019 games that kickoff at 3:35 p.m.?<\/p>\n Ross was clear about this, too: \u201cAsk Jerry Jones.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/p>\n Mac Engel<\/a><\/p>\n Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n Mac Engel is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man; Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers, Mavericks, etc. Olympics. Movies. Concerts. Books. He combines dry wit with 1st-person reporting to complement an annoying personality.
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