Arlington will finish paying off AT&T Stadium this week, according to City Manager Trey Yelverton.
Home to the Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium was financed in 2005 using a bond that was scheduled for payoff in 30 years. Yelverton said the city is a decade ahead of schedule and has saved around $150 million as a result.
“Ten years early saves you a lot of interest and a lot of fees,” Yelverton told the council during a Tuesday meeting. “Because of how we’ve structured things, we’re able to pay them off early and because we pay this one off early we continue to be in a good position for Globe Life Field.”
Yelverton said the city expects the debt for Globe Life Field’s construction to be paid off 14 years early, by 2034. He expects the city to save almost $200 million by paying that stadium off early.
The news was shared with the council as part of a presentation on the proposed tax rate increase and next year’s budget.
The stadium cost $1.2 billion to construct, with the city funding $325 million of that. The city’s contribution to construction came from a bond approved by voters in 2004. The Dallas Cowboys paid any expenses over that amount.
Arlington voters also approved a half-cent sales tax increase, a 2% hotel occupancy tax and a 5% rental car tax to satisfy that debt.
Those taxes, which could only be used to satisfy the city’s debt for the stadium, generates around $55 million a year, according to a news release from the city.
Arlington will make the final $22.6 million payment on Friday, the city said in the release.
With interest and fees, Arlington paid $490.3 million to settle the debt.
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