Dreams get done in Arlington: The American Dream City.
Plans were unveiled today, December 16, 2015, for the 100,000 square foot Texas Live! Entertainment Complex, along with plans for a 300 room upscale hotel with 35,000 square feet of convention space near Globe Life Park. This project is another example of a dream come true for Arlington and is the next chapter in a partnership with the Texas Rangers that spans more than four decades.
The Arlington City Council on December 15, 2015, approved a public-private partnership between the City of Arlington and the Texas Rangers for the $200 million dollar development. Initially, $150 million will be invested from the private sector and $50 million from the City of Arlington. The Rangers have selected The Cordish Companies, an award-winning development firm with expertise in mixed use, entertainment and sports developments, as the development partner for this project.
Texas Live! will feature multiple best-in-class restaurants, retail and entertainment venues, along with a signature event space with a capacity of 5,000 people. The entertainment facility will also create approximately 1,800 total jobs including 1,000 construction jobs and 800 permanent jobs.
"This project is another significant investment in an Arlington economy that already has tremendous momentum," said Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams. "This state-of-the-art development will expand the city's ability to host even more major events and conventions. We greatly appreciate the Texas Rangers' continued investment in our community and we applaud their selection of The Cordish Companies, the premiere mixed-use developer in the country, as their development partner."
The project will be inspired by the country's leading sports entertainment districts such as The Cordish Companies' and St. Louis Cardinals' Ballpark Village in St Louis, but will be uniquely authentic to Arlington and will set a new national standard for sports anchored districts.
Blake Cordish, Vice President of The Cordish Companies, said, "We greatly appreciate the partnership of the City of Arlington. We are thrilled and humbled to have been selected by the Texas Rangers as their development partner on this ground breaking development. The Texas Rangers are one of the great teams in all professional sports with a fan base to match. In keeping with this rich legacy, our partnership is committed to delivering a transformative project that will create thousands of jobs, attract millions of visitors and generate maximum benefits to the local community."
Construction of the Texas Live! entertainment complex will be begin in 2016 and open 12 months later. It is the intention for the hotel/convention facility to proceed by the end of 2016. In that case, the City would provide the Texas Rangers performance based incentives that include retaining income from the following sources: hotel occupancy tax, property tax, sales tax and mixed beverage tax for 30 years from the City and hotel occupancy tax and sales tax from the state for 10 years.
"The Rangers are proud to be partnering with Arlington on this very significant project," commented Rangers Co-Chairman Ray Davis. "Commercial development around Globe Life Park in Arlington has been a vision of the Rangers for a number of years. We are also extremely pleased to have selected The Cordish Companies as our development partner to help us fulfill this vision. We join with the City of Arlington and Cordish on a commitment to deliver the leading sports and entertainment district in the country."
Enhancing the entertainment district is a key component of the City's Economic Development Strategy and Comprehensive Plan and this project is part of the City Council's priority to "Invest in Our Economy." Council continues to identify this as a vital priority to ensure that the Arlington community and our neighborhoods continue to thrive.
Arlington: The American Dream City is home to America's team with AT&T Stadium and the Cowboys, America's pastime with Globe Life Park and the Texas Rangers, America's largest home builder in D.R. Horton, American made automobiles with General Motors' Arlington Assembly Plant and Six Flags Over Texas. Texas Live! will add another world-class, iconic venue to Arlington's Entertainment District.
Visit the Ballpark Project website.
Ballpark Project, Invest in our Economy, Texas Live, Texas Rangers
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