Sports Noise

Arlington, Cowboys in exclusive talks
By David Wethe Star-Telegram Staff Writer
The Dallas Cowboys agreed to stop its stadium search and focus solely on Arlington until August 17, Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck announced Monday at a news conference.
At that time, a cost-benefit analysis is expected to wrap up, saying whether it makes financial sense for the city to help build a Cowboys stadium, Cluck said. The city would then decide whether to put a tax increase proposal on the Nov. 2 ballot, Cluck said. The team would remain committed to Arlington if the proposal winds up on the ballot.
The team agreed to pay for up to $50,000 for reseach and legal fees associated with the city's analysis.
The City Council, which met in a closed-door meeting, agreed to hire Economics Research Associates, to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of a proposed stadium. The city will devote half of the Cowboys' contribution towards the economic study.
The stadium's total price tag is still being negotiated, Cluck said. However, the city and team agreed to a 50-50 split. That's an increase from the 2/3 ratio that Jones was asking Dallas County taxpayers to support earlier this year. At that time, the stadium was projected to cost about $654 million, while Dallas County would contribute $425 million through hotel and car-rental tax increases.
The Arlington Sports Facilities Development Authority, which owns Ameriquest Field in Arlington and leases it to the Texas Rangers baseball team, would own the Cowboys park, if it's built, Cluck said.
The team and the city's staff are negotiating where the city could come up with its share.
The city is trying to beat its Aug. 24 deadline to get a stadium-finance proposal on the Nov. 2 ballot.
Cluck said the team is looking at two different locations, but declined to say specifically where the sites are other than to say they are near Ameriquest Field in Arlington.