cost of the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium
http://www.star-telegram.com/stadium/story/937327.html
Dallas Cowboys stadium funding from variety of sources Posted Sunday, Sep.
28, 2008
Personal seat licenses should mean big bucks for Cowboys owner Jerry
Jones<http://www.star-telegram.com/stadium/story/937311.html> [image:
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The money to pay for steel, concrete and other items in the new Dallas
Cowboys stadium in Arlington is coming from public and private sources. And
with less than a year until opening day, more than $650 million has been
spent on the stadium.
*From the city*
As part of the deal to bring the NFL franchise to Arlington, the city
provided $325 million. That money came from voter-approved bonds issued in
2005 that will be paid back from a portion of the sales, hotel occupancy and
rental-car taxes collected in the city.
*From the county*
Tarrant County is also chipping in $25 million, mainly for road construction
and parking lots that will surround the complex.
*From owner Jerry Jones*
As the budget for the stadium ballooned from $650 million to more than $1.1
billion, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has had to come up with the money to pay
for the cost overruns. But since Jones apparently does not have a
half-billion dollars sitting in his bank account, he has also had to finance
his portion of the projects cost.
The Cowboys agreement with Arlington included city-issued bonds, which the
team was liable for, that would be paid back using revenue generated from a
10 percent admission tax and a $3 parking fee. About $114 million was put in
the projects construction fund from those bonds.
The team has also raised about $126 million through the sale of private
auction-rate bonds and received a $76 million loan from the NFL, which will
be paid back with revenue from club seats in the new stadium.
Personal seat licenses are expected to provide the largest chunk of money
that Jones can use to pay back the NFL loan and other financing he has
arranged for the project. The team has said it will use seat-license money
to pay for construction costs.
A *Star-Telegram *analysis found that Jones could make as much as $735
million off seat licenses.
It is unclear, however, how Jones structured his construction financing so
he could have the cash on hand to pay contractors. Most sports franchises do
not release details of private financing, which typically includes loans and
private bonds, said Craig Depken, a sports economist at the University of
North Carolina at Charlotte.
Andrea Ahles