Writer: Liz Palmer
2 min read June 2022 — The City of Arlington’s Entertainment District has seen billions of dollars in investment in the past few years with more on the way, positioning the District as a world-class sports and entertainment destination.
When looking back on the work that has gone into making Arlington’s Entertainment District what it is today, Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce and member of the city’s Board of Directors for the Economic Development Corporation, sums it up with a quote from “The A-Team:”
“I love it when a plan comes together.”
The groundwork was laid in the 1950s when former Mayor Tom Vadergriff first imagined Arlington as an entertainment and sports capital, Jacobson said in a statement to Invest:. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, arrivals such as Turnpike Stadium, the Texas Rangers and Six Flags Over Texas brought the momentum that hasn’t yet quit. Today, Arlington’s Entertainment District has become an institutional economic driver for the Dallas–Fort Worth region. “It didn’t happen by chance,” Jacobson said. “It happened by strategy.”
Since the ‘50s, the area has been in a constant state of reimagination. Most recently, Jacobson said the past six years have seen a concerted effort to maximize the impact of the AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field and Choctaw Stadium in order to receive the greatest return on investment for the citizens of Arlington. In turn, investments were made on entertainment and hospitality capabilities to transform the space’s walkability, meet the needs of all visitors and bring the future of the District into focus.
Partnerships played a major role in this next life cycle for the District. The Texas Rangers and The Cordish Companies are investing $2.4 billion into One Rangers Way, a luxury apartment building that, when completed in 2024, will sit in the middle of the action next to the stadiums and National Medal of Honor Museum, another recent addition to the District. One Rangers Way is “an exciting step forward toward a greater $4 billion vision by the City of Arlington, Texas Rangers, The Cordish Companies and Loews Hotels & Co to transform the Entertainment District into the premier sports, entertainment, hospitality, cultural and lifestyle destination in the country,” according to the City’s press release for the project.
Ray Davis, the Managing Partner of the Texas Rangers, said the project is another step in the right direction. “This area is becoming a nationally renowned sports and entertainment destination with world-class facilities that have already been completed and several other projects that are well underway,” he said in the press release. “The Texas Rangers are proud to join the City of Arlington and The Cordish Companies in building this unique residential community in the heart of the Entertainment District.”
Other incoming arrivals to the District will include Spark’s newest coworking and incubator space, set to open later this year, and the Loews Arlington Hotel & Convention Center, scheduled to open in early 2024.
Jacobson said the partnerships with the families in ownership of The Cordish Companies and Loews Hotels & Co have been and will continue to be critical in catapulting the District forward. “This generates the type of revenue that allows us to reinvest in other parts of the city,” he said. “The success of the Entertainment District isn’t just about the Entertainment District – it’s about investing the proceeds back into our communities to make our city the best it can be for all of our residents.”
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