Save our Stadium (2016)

Arlington City Council has rushed to place a new tax on the ballot in November. The result of this tax would be the tearing down of our beautiful, paid off ballpark and the building of a smaller, uglier, roofed, half a billion dollar ballpark. We oppose this new tax. We oppose tearing down our perfectly good stadium, and we oppose subsidizing the building of a new one.

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People from all walks of life and all political backgrounds are coming together to oppose this new deal. The reasons vary, but we've tried to include all of them here.

Our baseball stadium is beautiful and was built to last 100 years.

Tearing down a perfectly good building right after paying it off is wasteful at best.



There has been no real data presented to the public on the cost estimate of $900 Million. Why is it so costly?

The proposed new stadium is more expensive than the last, has fewer seats, and will lead to higher prices for game-goers, as explained HERE.

Our City Council held all of their negotiations behind closed doors and still have not released any pertinent financial studies to the public. They have just recently released nebulous reports to the public, which can be found on their newly-created webpage, HERE. The one thing thay have yet to explain (or justify) is the estimated cost of $1 BILLION. Apparently, we're suppose to approve this sales tax extension (a new tax) in the upcoming election "sight unseen". When asked to see a "nuts and bolts" cost estimate, to further explain this price tag, here's what we got:



"Cost breakdown won't exist until engineering and design is done, won't happen until after a yes vote on deal." - Robert Rivera, Arlington City Councilman, District 3. (June 26, 2016)

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Several financial studies have been done over the years by well known economists, and the overall consensus is that taxpayer funded stadiums do not spur economic growth. In fact, in many places, growth is stunted. Reports HERE and HERE.

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Asking Arlington residents with a median income of $52,000 a year to fork over their money to millionaires and billionaires so that they do not have to pay for their own stadium is just wrong.

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This decision will appear on the November 8th ballot, for Arlington registered voters. We reccommend voting a resounding NO. The City wants you to think it's a vote to "keep the Rangers", and continue an "existing tax". Don't be fooled. This is a vote for a NEW tax, or else we wouldn't need the election. The current half-cent tax will soon drop off, returning the money to its rightful owners - the TAX PAYERS. As for the Rangers? If they want leave Arlington, then why would we want to stop them? If they want a brand-new shiney stadium, they have plenty of money to build one themselves. Arlington will be more than happy to lease them the land. No biggie.