Owner of Dallas Cowboys seeks $1 billion in tax funds

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DALLAS -- Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants taxpayers to build a $1 billion stadium complex to showcase what was once called "America's Team."

But the NFL franchise has posted lackluster performances in recent seasons -- the Cowboys haven't been to the Super Bowl since 1996 -- and some say the wealthy owner should "pay for his own toys" rather than seek a subsidy from taxpayers.

If Mr. Jones has his way, he will use recently passed legislation that allows Dallas County to levy additional taxes on hotel rooms and car rentals to pay for most of the plan.

Voters would have to pass a referendum allowing the increases. That could come, Cowboys officials have projected, as soon as November on the same ballot as the presidential election.

Much of the funding would come from visitors to Dallas, not from the local community. While that pleases some, others predict such a move would affect convention business.

"This would be devastating to the city," said Phillip Jones, president and chief executive officer of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau.

He said his organization was not opposed to an impressive new stadium complex, but was "concerned about the funding mechanism to be used."

Mayor Laura Miller is among those who have questioned the funding plan.

Dallas County Commissioners Court, the five-member board that controls the county's fiscal affairs, would be the Cowboys' partners if the proposal succeeds.