ARLINGTON -- Thanks to record sales tax revenue, Arlington is poised to pay off a significant portion of its $325 million Cowboys Stadium debt years early, a move that is expected to save taxpayers at least $64.5 million.
In 2004, Arlington voters approved a 30-year, $325 million bond package to help build the $1.15 billion stadium.The city's bonds are being repaid with a half-cent sales tax, a 2 percent hotel occupancy tax and a 5 percent car rental tax.That revenue is coming in higher than expected.At a minimum, Arlington is required to pay about $21 million on the debt every year, but the half-cent sales tax alone is generating about $25 million a year, Budget Manager Mike Finley said.From 2005 to 2011, Arlington collected $35.2 million more in stadium revenue than what was required.Mayor Robert Cluck said the city's economy is doing so well that he expects the entire stadium debt to be paid off 12 to 15 years early.It's happened before.In 2001, Arlington paid off $135 million in bonds for Rangers Ballpark in Arlington -- a decade earlier than expected."I don't think it's a surprise. Even though they were long-term bonds, we told people during the election for the stadium that just like the Rangers stadium bonds, they would be paid off early. It will happen," Cluck said."It saves the city a lot of money to put this debt behind us."Arlington is using its extra stadium revenue to pay off a $64.1 million portion of its debt by 2015.Those bonds are not due to be paid in full until 2034, but the city would have paid $3.2 million a year in interest -- $64.5 million total -- if it waited until then, City Treasurer Ethan Klos said."It is a substantial savings by paying these things off early," Klos said.Sales tax revenue collected to fund city services is also up.Arlington collected a record $50.5 million for its general fund last fiscal year, a nearly 5 percent increase from the year before."Our economy is awesome right now," Cluck said.Since 2006, Arlington has paid $166 million toward the stadium debt: $60.5 million toward the principal and the rest to interest and fees.If Arlington made only the minimum payments, it would cost the city about $553 million, including interest and fees, to pay the debt.But with bigger payments, city officials project that all the bonds will be repaid at least a decade early."We don't think we are going to pay anything like that," Finley said. "We committed to our citizens to pay it off in a certain period of time. We are paying it off earlier than that."The projected savings from paying the debt off 10 years early have not been calculated, Klos said.The special taxes will automatically end once the stadium debt is paid, Finley said.Cowboys Stadium was originally publicized as a $650 million project, with Arlington taxpayers and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones splitting the cost.Though construction costs on the 3-million-square-foot stadium escalated, Arlington's contribution was capped at $325 million. Tarrant County also contributed $15.8 million to the project, mostly in paving roads and parking lots.Arlington owns the stadium, and the Cowboys lease it from the city for $2 million a year.The venue has brought several high-profile events to town, including the NBA All-Star Game and Super Bowl XLV.This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.Susan Schrock, 817-709-7578Twitter: @susanschrockHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
