ARLINGTON, Texas – The City of Arlington is no longer in limbo after confirming it will continue to receive federal funding to keep large crowds safe.

The loss of the public safety grant would have been a major blow to big events like the Cowboys’ games and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

What we know:

A federal grant is confirmed as more than $16 million for North Texas cities. In large part, to cover anti-terror security measures…surrounding major, high-profile events throughout North Texas.

The city of Arlington, with AT&T stadium set to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, has billions of reasons to breathe a sigh of relief.

Arlington Mayor, Jim Ross

What they’re saying:

“The World Cup is huge. It’s like having nine super bowls in a 30-day period here in Arlington,” said Arlington Mayor Jim Ross. 

“We do tons of massive events from two-day WWE WrestleMania, Taylor Swift concerts. You don’t get any bigger than the Taylor Swift people. Football games, baseball games, and the World Series parade. We have over 700,000 people out here, we’re accustomed to doing very, very large-scale events.”

The urban area security initiative pays for expenditures like jobs, training, and equipment that go far beyond what the average visitor or sporting fan actually sees. Some, incumbent to matters involving national security.

“What are we talking about beyond going through a metal detector? Theres eyes going on everywhere. When I say eyes, literally speaking and figuratively speaking, There are screenings, there are all kinds of stuff that goes on everywhere around the stadiums, inside, outside stadiums.”

Dig deeper:

For Arlington, the scope of security now goes beyond sporting events and concerts.

“You look, now we have the National Medal of Honor Museum. It’s a national treasure. We have to make sure everything around that area is safe as well,” said Mayor Ross.

The award of more than $16,000,000 dollars to North Texas takes into consideration local, state and federal resources working together. 

“That necessitates sharing of some of the financial load in doing that, so we’ve been getting those monies annually. Luckily, we got more money this year, or we’re going to get more money this year than we did last year, or the year before.”

What’s next:

North Texas cities will receive the second-largest grant award in the state aimed at securing events. Second only to the Houston area, which is set to receive $26,000,000 dollars.

The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX 4’s Dionne Anglin.

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