Arlington approves $273M deal to keep Dallas Cowboys in city through 2055
The Arlington City Council voted Tuesday, April 21, to approve a $273 million agreement to keep the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys’ lease of the stadium, enacted after a voter-approved ballot measure and extended for one year during the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to run until 2040 with an option to extend toward the end of the lease. Under that lease, the city owns AT&T Stadium, but the Cowboys take care of the maintenance and upkeep. Arlington paid $325 million for the construction of the stadium, with the rest financed by the Cowboys.
Under the agreement approved on Tuesday, the Cowboys would extend their lease for another 15 years and invest at least $750 million into “maintenance, operation, and improvement of the complex” through 2055, while the city of Arlington would invest that $273 million over a 20-year period into a “maintenance and operation account.”
When voters approved the city’s contribution to AT&T Stadium in 2004, they also agreed to pay a half-cent sales tax increase, a 2% hotel room tax, and a 5% rental car tax. Those taxes allowed the city to pay back its debt 10 years early. In 2016, Arlington voters also approved a ballot measure to give $500 million in tax revenue to fund a new Texas Rangers stadium.
The council approved the proposal 7-2, with District 3 council member Nikkie Hunter and District 7 council member Bowie Hogg voting against it.
Hogg previously told the Star-Telegram that although the deal would be a positive outcome for the city, he wanted the council to debate whether voters should have the right to re-approve it, as they did in 2016.
Local business owners told council members that the Cowboys bring vital money and visitors to the downtown corridor.
“The money that’s infused into our school systems and the charitable contributions given back from the Cowboys to our community are critical for our real estate community,” Arlington resident and real estate Georgie Zang told the council.
Arlington Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Michael Jacobson said that the chamber has extended its approval for the deal.
“Tonight is about securing an economic vitality for this generation, but not only this generation, the generation to come,” Jacobson told the council.
Some residents also spoke against the deal, arguing that they wanted voters to be able to approve it, just as they did more than 20 years ago.
“This vote tonight is not about whether or not the Cowboys or should, should stay or go,” said Warren Norred, an Arlington resident and attorney who has threatened legal action if the deal was approved.
The city has also faced criticism for extending the tax after raising property taxes in 2025 to account for a roughly $20 million budget shortfall.
The stadium taxes, Arlington City Manager Trey Yelverton said at the City Council meeting, are separate from the increased property taxes. The city cannot use the revenue from those taxes interchangeably.
With this proposal approved, the city can now negotiate the fine print with the Cowboys before closing the deal in 2028.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 8:45 PM with the headline "Arlington approves $273M deal to keep Dallas Cowboys in city through 2055."
