Jerry Jones: Stadium will keep hosting big events

Since it opened in 2009, Jerry Jones’ palatial stadium in Arlington, Texas, has hosted a Super Bowl, a national championship and a Final Four. Expect that to continue.

Jerry Jones had a dream that a new stadium for his Dallas Cowboys would become a hub for major events.

Events such as a Super Bowl, the college football national title game, the Final Four and the NBA All-Star Game

In less than six years since it opened, the JonesMajal—now called AT&T Stadium—has hosted all four of those big draws.

But that begs the question: What now?

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“It’s just a daily given that our organization will go out and pursue major sporting events,” Jones told The Associated Press. “Bottom line is this, that’s what this stadium does.”

The facility got its first test in January 2011 when it hosted Super Bowl XLV. An ice storm that hit the Metroplex plagued the festivities and game day was marred by several hundred fans showing up with tickets to temporary seats that never got installed.

Things were better for last spring’s Final Four, but heavy rains drenched a concert featuring Bruce Springsteen that was held on the Sunday between the semifinals and final of college basketball’s biggest event.

There were no reports of problems with Monday night’s inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship, so things seem to be progressing.

But the Final Four has set its venues through 2021, with Arlington being nowhere on the list.

This year’s Super Bowl will be played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., with the next three already scheduled for Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.; NRG Stadium in Houston; and the Vikings new facility in Minneapolis.

College football’s newest showcase game will be held in Glendale, Ariz., next January and at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., in 2017.

Logistically, “North Texas” presents some issues because the events are spread out across the Metroplex. Arlington is located between Dallas and Fort Worth, but those cities—30 miles apart—also play roles in the hosting of events at Jones’ playhouse.

The Super Bowl seating situation still has litigation pending, a situation that will likely have to be cleared up before Arlington will be considered to host the NFL’s big game at the end a second time.

Arlington mayor Bob Cluck said the top priority for his city is to attract a major hotel near the stadium to help clear up real and imagined concerns about events being too far apart.

And as far as future events go?

“Of course, I’d like to have them scheduled already,” Cluck said. “It would be very difficult for a major event like that not to come to our stadium because it has become so iconic.”

Not sure a stadium can become “iconic” in less than six years, but it’s his city and his story and he’s sticking to it.

It’s almost a guarantee major events will be back, however. The place seats 80,000 for football—expandable to 105,000 with standing room—and drew 108,713 when it hosted the 2010 NBA All-Star Game.

And, as always, the bottom line is the bottom line when these decisions are being made.

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