NFL owners will finance Dallas Cowboys plan for $295M in enhancements to AT&T Stadium
The Dallas Cowboys got a helping hand from the NFL on Wednesday in their plan to give a AT&T Stadium a $295 million face lift in advance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The NFL approved a proposal at the winter meetings at the Four Seasons Resort in Irving, allowing the Cowboys to withhold their normal contributions of shared gate revenue to finance their stadium upgrades.
The Cowboys also got a waiver to the NFL’s usual $600 million team debt limit.
The improvement plan will not alter the look of the stadium but rather refresh premium spaces and upgrade some technology, including the pixels and clarity on the giant centerpiece video board
And while it comes at the right time with the Cowboys serving as a host to the World Cup and hoping to secure the spot for the championship match, it’s also a matter of the AT&T Stadium needing to keep up with new-age facilities that have built since it opened in 2009.
“That was the intent all along: to maintain it better than new,” owner Jerry Jones said. “That’s what we’re trying to do. Principally, it’s to take some of the areas that we can really do more efficiency – some of the locations of the concession stands. Also, we intend to upgrade and replace anything that looks like it’s had a foot on it. We want it to look like it did the first day you walked in there and could eat off it.”
This will be the most extensive renovations to the facility since it opened in 2009.
Vice president Stephen Jones said the stadium doesn’t look old but there are areas that needed to be freshened up.
The Cowboys want AT&T Stadium to continue to be one of the go-to venues for big events for years to come with hopes getting another Super Bowl to go along with the World Cup as well being in the continued rotation for Wrestlemania, BCS Championship games and the NCAA Final Four
“Well, believe it or not, it doesn’t feel like it when you walk in there that we’ve been in that stadium, we’re in our 14th season,” Stephen Jones said. “To me and most people, it feels brand new. But certainly there are some areas. You start with our big scoreboard, so proud of it. But over time you get to where you can’t find parts for equipment and it’s time to upgrade that scoreboard, which I think our fans love. Audio and video in general around the stadium needs upgrading. And in general just freshening up all our suites, our club areas, things of that nature.
“It will be something that for the most part all fans will benefit from and certainly we’ll take the next step to have AT&T being hopefully one of the best stadiums in the world for the next 14-15 years.”
