DALLAS, July 27 (UPI) -- The chances of the Dallas Cowboys returning to their historic home in Dallas to build a new $650 million stadium appear to be dimming as the Nov. 2 election approaches.
Arlington, a neighboring city and home to the Texas Rangers baseball club, is making a last-minute bid for the 100,000-seat stadium that would have to be approved by voters.
In April, the Cowboys and Dallas County officials talked about building at the site of the historic Cotton Bowl in Dallas, but those talks fell through when county officials learned the team wanted $450 million in taxpayer funds.
Dallas County officials also wanted more time to study the feasibility of the project, and the Cowboys were pressing for a decision to get the issue before voters. Dallas is still interested, but the Cowboys have moved west on Tom Landry Freeway to Arlington with their plans.
"At this time our focus is on the city of Arlington to get something on the ballot by November," said Cowboys spokesman Brett Daniels when asked Tuesday if Dallas and Irving, the current home of the team, are out of the running.
The history of the Cowboys is tied to the Cotton Bowl, where the team was born more than 40 years ago, and the thought of the team returning there stirred up fan interest. The Cowboys played at the Cotton Bowl from 1960-71.
Suburban Irving, the home of venerable Texas Stadium, is still hoping to keep the city's most famous attraction by either renovating the current facility or building a new stadium at the Las Colinas business park.
Daniels said the club is intent on getting the issue on the November ballot because of the millions of dollars of taxpayer funds the team needs to build the retractable-roof stadium and stay on schedule.
"We have a timetable of construction of a stadium and a deadline to get into a new facility and be up and running by the 2009 season, and in order to maintain a timely schedule we need to be moving forward with the process, the election being the first step in that," he said.
Cowboys President Jerry Jones has said he wants a modern, new facility ready to go after the team's lease with Texas Stadium expires in 2008. He had originally envisioned retail development and an amusement park to be part of the project, but that has apparently been dropped in the Arlington plan.
Political observers say the team is aiming for the Nov. 2 general-election date because it figures more voters will turn out for the presidential race and passage of the stadium issue will be much easier than it would be in a non-presidential-election year.
It was no surprise when Arlington officials announced Monday they would make a serious bid for the Cowboys stadium because talks had been under way since the Dallas deal appeared to fall part earlier this summer.
Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said the team agreed to work exclusively with the city on a deal until Aug. 17 in an effort to get the issue on the ballot. A cost-benefit study will be conducted, but the team and city will split the costs of a new stadium 50-50.
Arlington taxpayers, who approved a half-cent sales-tax increase to finance the baseball park, could be asked to approve the same increase again. There would also be a hike in the room tax on hotels and motels in the city.
In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said the Arlington proposal to provide 50 percent of the financing was "foolhardy" for a city that already faces a budget deficit. Arlington officials hope a new stadium will boost sales-tax revenues and get them out of the red ink.
When Arlington voters approved a half-cent sales-tax hike in 1992 to build a new ballpark for the Rangers, it came after they had considered moving to Dallas. The bonds for the ballpark were retired, and the sales-tax rate dropped.
The head of an Arlington government watchdog group doesn't think Arlington taxpayers will go along as easily this time as they did in 1992 on the Texas Rangers facility.
"I don't think our taxpayers are going to fall for it this time," said Bruce Deramus, chairman of Concerned Taxpayers of Arlington.
Some Arlington residents were disappointed that promises were broken after the ballpark was approved, he said, adding that they were told associated economic development would reduce the need for future tax hikes.
Deramus said the city's recent budget woes have proved that tax-funded sports facilities are not the economic engine that they claim to be. He said his group is already organizing to fight the stadium project.
"We've learned over the years how they work," Deramus said. "They say they are doing a cost-benefit study. The fact is that it's a done deal. They know what they want the study to say, and that's what it's going to say."
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