Arlington voters pass ballot measure to fund new Rangers ballpark
Voters in Arlington, Texas, approved a ballot measure Tuesday to provide $500 million in funding for a new stadium for the Rangers.
The ballot measure, which passed with 60% of the vote, called for the city to extend a city sales tax, hotel tax and rental car tax. The taxes were first put in place to fund the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, on which the city still owes $155 million.
The city’s share of the construction costs is capped at $500 million and the stadium is expected to cost $1 billion, though a study by local TV station WFAA estimated the cost could be as high as $1.675 billion.
As part of the measure, the Rangers are allowed to tax parking and admission. Critics have pointed out that those taxes could have been included as part of the city’s share.
Globe Life Park, the team’s current stadium, opened in 1994. The new stadium will include a retractable roof.
The Rangers are owned by oil magnates Bob R. Simpson and Ray Davis, whose combined net worth is nearly $3 billion.
