How Arlington Entertainment District transformed city into tourism destination

The Arlington Entertainment District is a gem of Texas tourism that officials say has sparkled with promise since the middle of the 20th century.

Over a period of six-plus decades, Arlington has drawn millions of visitors to the city, lured by the wide-ranging family entertainment the city offered.

When Six Flags Over Texas opened its gates in 1961, the city of Arlington became a destination — a place that drew countless visitors who often returned year after year. It was the payoff for a lot of hard work by the late Tom Vandergriff, former mayor, who unsuccessfully tried to lure Walt Disney into building an amusement park in the city, and businessman Angus Wynne. 

The pair later added the Seven Seas Marine Life Park in 1972 that featured a variety of sea life in its facility near Turnpike Stadium. It lost money from the beginning and closed in 1976. By 1983, Wet ’n Wild Water Park opened, with Six Flags over Texas acquiring the park and renaming it to Hurricane Harbor in 1997.

Visitors walk inside Six Flags over Texas in the Republic of Texas section, near the Branding Iron building, in April 1965. (Jack White Photograph Collection | UTA Libraries)

Six Flags Over Texas has flourished and, to this day, is a major tourist attraction in a city that continues to build on its reputation as a driving force for tourism in North Texas and the state. What was once a sleepy town halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth found a new identity, one that continues to evolve.

“The reality about Arlington is that even though it has been around in one form or another since before 1850, it’s mostly a new kind of place, the operant word being ‘mostly,’” longtime Arlington journalist O.K. Carter wrote in his book, “Caddos, Cotton and Cowboys: Essays on Arlington.”

Sure, the city took on the identity of an entertainment capital, but it also was a city that attracted millions of people to call it home and raise families there. It attracted major businesses by the score from its earliest days.

Mayors forge relationships with MLB

Vandergriff, who previously attracted the General Motors plant to Arlington, also dreamed of relocating a Major League Baseball team to the city that would play in what was called Turnpike Stadium, a minor league park that sat near Six Flags.

That dream came true in 1972 when the owner of the Washington Senators moved his team to Arlington after the rent at RFK Stadium in Washington wasn’t reduced. Owner Bob Short met with Vandergriff and the then-Senators became the Texas Rangers. The team moved to the renamed Arlington Stadium and the rest, as they say, is history.

Arlington Mayor Tom Vandergriff speaks on the field at Texas Rangers opening night at Arlington Stadium on April 22, 1972. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection | UTA Libraries)

It’s a history that has grown by leaps and bounds in the ensuing years, adding the Dallas Cowboys’ massive home, AT&T Stadium, and two more stadiums — the former Ballpark in Arlington (now Choctaw Stadium) and Globe Life Field, the current home of the Rangers. With that growth has come Texas Live!, major hotels and convention centers, restaurants and, soon, the National Medal of Honor Museum.

Former Mayor Jeff Williams said the Arlington Entertainment District, as it is known today, is a result of the city’s efforts beginning 10 years ago — in February 2015 — to keep the Texas Rangers from moving as other North Texas cities were trying to tempt the team with offers of a covered stadium to beat the notorious heat.

“Needless to say, keeping the Rangers was a major priority because of the negative impact economically, but also from the morale aspects of our city because the Rangers have become a fabric of the community,” Williams said. “You know, so many people celebrate their anniversaries, they had their weddings there. They celebrate birthdays sometimes there, it just was paramount that we didn’t lose the Rangers.”

Williams and city leaders intensified their lobbying of Rangers owner Ray Davis, hoping to convince him to keep Arlington as the team’s home.

“I went and met with him and he shared with me that he already had two proposals to build a retractable roof ballpark. He said they were in the middle of going out to the public to see what the expectations were and also studying what the ballplayers today would need,” Williams said. 

Davis told the mayor it would be a few months before any decisions were made.

“I asked him if he would come to us first and not take any of those other proposals to us. And he said he would,” Williams said. “Then I asked him if he would team with us, go after a Live! facility to come here to the entertainment district. It’s obvious, if he stays, even if he leaves, he still could make money off of it.”

Former Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams and his wife Karen Williams speak at the centennial celebration of United Way of Tarrant County in November 2022. Jeff and Karen are the campaign chairs for the Second Century Campaign with the goal of raising $100 million. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)Bringing Live! brand to Arlington 

The Live! brand is owned by Baltimore, Maryland-based The Cordish Companies that has several of the facilities around the country. Texas Live! is a $250 million dining, entertainment and hospitality district that is developed by the Rangers, The Cordish Companies and the city of Arlington. 

Williams, who was mayor from 2015 to 2021, said that a Live! facility would be a needed attraction even if the Rangers left.

“The main thought of why Texas Live! was something for people to do before and after the games. Events also come all the time, seven days a week to the complex,” Williams said. 

Williams and other city officials met with Cordish, and Williams said the company “actually had studied Arlington before.”

The former mayor said there was a need for hotels in the district, but that Cordish wasn’t interested in doing a hotel.

Williams said he turned to New York City-based Loews Hotels, a luxury hospitality company that owns or operates 26 hotels in the United States and Canada. Loews is operated by the Tisch family and they were interested in the opportunities in Arlington.

Texas Live! is a sports bar located between AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field and Choctaw Stadium in Arlington. (Emily Nava | KERA News)

With new partners lined up, Williams and city officials focused on the Rangers, and in early 2016 they journeyed to Arizona where the team’s ownership was meeting during spring training.

He said the talks were “encouraging, but weren’t sure.” Williams continued his pursuit.

“Then that night, we were able to talk with each of the shareholders, and that went well,” Williams said. “We were hoping to get an invitation to the board meeting, but we did not. But the next morning in the board meeting, the Texas Ranger owners voted unanimously to enter into a contract with the city to stay in Arlington.”

More work needed to be done, though, Williams said.

“We spent the next few months putting the details of that contract together,” he said. “We also were able to use the same sales tax that had paid for the original Ballpark in Arlington. Then we used it to pay for the Cowboys stadium. We were going to use it to pay for our portion, which was $500 million of this one ballpark. And of course, it ended up running $1.2 billion.”

The team covered the overage.

“Of course, it is state of the art, next generation. Major League Baseball owners all have said it is the best in the majors,” Williams.

Globe Life Field is pictured on July 2, 2024. (Camilo Diaz | Arlington Report) Sealing the deal

The stadium has hosted two World Series, first in 2020 and then again when the Rangers won the championship in 2023.

The City Council approved the tax election in 2016 and voters eventually supported the measure, though there was vocal opposition. 

“The reason being is we had all kinds of outside people wanting that to be defeated, so it could come to their city,” Williams said. He said Dallas-area media also was pushing for the team to move to Dallas.

“In the end, we overwhelmingly won the sales tax election,” Williams said, who credited “the spirit of the people” of Arlington. 

“We brought people together from all over to work on this project and to help other citizens to do their part and ensuring it, because Arlington makes a lot of money out of the entertainment industry,” he said.

Arlington-based technology design firm mma was a key player in helping the city realize the vision of the entertainment district.

Loews Arlington, a centerpiece of the Arlington Entertainment District, is pictured on Feb. 12, 2023. (Camilo Diaz | Arlington Report)

The firm was the civil engineer of record for the project and integrated designs from multiple architects into a cohesive plan for major developments including Globe Life Park (now Choctaw Stadium), Texas Live!, Live! by Loews – Arlington Hotel, Loews Arlington Hotel and Convention Center, Globe Life Field and One Rangers Way.

“The Arlington Entertainment District is a challenging yet pivotal project that promises significant economic and cultural growth for the area,” mma Chief Executive Officer Rob Cronin said. “We are proud to contribute to a project that enhances the vibrant cultural landscape of Arlington, creating a space that residents and visitors alike can enjoy.”

Completed in 2018, Texas Live! was a collaboration between the Rangers, The Cordish Companies and the city of Arlington and hosts sports, concerts, culinary events, themed celebrations and private functions.

Live! by Loews – Arlington Hotel and Convention Center was completed in 2019. Combined with the convention center, the complex features nearly 1,200 rooms and close to 300,000 square feet of meeting space along with an outdoor event space that can accommodate up to 4,000 guests. In 2020, The Loop, featuring pedestrian trails, open spaces and a show fountain, was added to the hotel area.

Also in the entertainment district, Esports Stadium Arlington is the largest dedicated esports facility in North America and it holds 2,500 spectators.

The Arlington Museum of Art moved locations to the Arlington Esports Stadium and Expo Center in the entertainment district in 2024 after decades of being housed in downtown’s Cultural District. (Drew Shaw | Arlington Report) Next generation of entertainment

The district’s newest project is Cordish’s One Rangers Way, a luxury multifamily development nestled within walking distance from Globe Life Field and AT&T Stadium in the heart of the Arlington Entertainment District and adjacent to Texas Live! The development is scheduled for completion in 2025.

Scheduled to open March 25, the National Medal of Honor Museum honors U.S. Armed Forces Medal of Honor recipients. It is founded and funded by the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation.

Another attraction in the future is a first-of-its-kind joint venture between Penske Entertainment, the Dallas Cowboys and REV Entertainment that will bring the IndyCar Grand Prix of Arlington to the district. The 2.73-mile street circuit will weave through the entertainment district around AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field. The initial race is set for March 2026.

Williams said the district already has achieved great things for the city, but what happens in the next 10 years could build it into an economic dynamo.

“I think we have achieved becoming the destination between Orlando and Vegas. That’s what was our goal,” Williams said. “I think now you can see that we are moving into a district that is going to be a place to live, work and play, that is going to be so unique to anywhere else in the world.”

The One Rangers Way apartment community was under construction at the Arlington Entertainment District on Feb. 12, 2023. (Camilo Diaz | Arlington Report)

Related

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.