If I had a billion dollars

By Os Davis  |   Friday, December 15, 2006  |  Comments( 9 )

Dallas Cowboys
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Everything is bigger in Texas. There. It had to be said; after all, Jerry Jones just threw a Texas-sized bash with a distinguished Texas-sized list of invitees up to and including Bob Costas to irrevocably prove the point by unveiling plans for his Texas-size budgeted Texas-sized stadium.

Jones' new collector's case for his Dallas Cowboys, loftily described by Costas as "the most extraordinary athletic facility ever conceived ... a 21st century, supersonic setting" was originally budgeted at $650 million, but the price tag has jumped to an even $1 billion. (It must be nice to have that kind of flexibility with sums of $350 million, eh?) Local voters, just 10 years after paying out for The Ballpark at Arlington, agreed to foot $325 million for the billionaire's new contribution to the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex.

What are they getting for the money? A sliding dome enclosure, a 180 x 50 foot scoreboard, up to 100,000 seats, a glass exterior which glows blue-and-silver or silver-and-blue, and field-level luxury boxes all in a Texas-sized package approximately two and a half times the size of Texas Stadium. As Jones is quoted on the official Dallas Cowboys Web site, it's ""the largest stadium ever built, and you don't have to stop at the U.S. border."

Sounds great, to be sure, but since this is a sports column, issues other than aesthetics must be considered.
Let's look at that money again.

With a Texas-sized price tag of $1 billion, the as-yet unnamed stadium is certainly the most expensive ever. Putting things into perspective, consider costs for similar items:

$400 million: Estimated cost to build the Titanic (the White Star Line production, not James Cameron's) at today's prices.

$450 million: The Arizona Cardinals' University of Phoenix Stadium.

$800 million: Estimated current Gross Domestic Product for African nations Cape Verde and Sierra Leone.

$884.1 million: Total NASA budget for aeronautics research, fiscal year 2006.

$1 billion: Reward offered by online casino 888.com owner Avi Shaked for peace in the Middle East.

$1.3 billion: Estimated total value of Daniel Snyder's entire NFL franchise. (Not including Tom Cruise's Be-My-Friend-Slash-Trophy-Celebrity contract.)

You'd think that such numbers might put Tony Romo's new romper room - scheduled for a 2009 grand opening - into perspective, but it seems unlikely.

One thing that rankles in any sports money discussion is the incessant complaining about pampered prima donna athletes holding out for $1 million more. Despite promises from Jones such as "No doubt about it, I want our fans to have the pride in a building that is recognized in a quality way," perhaps the best service provided by the multi-billionaire is the reminder to sportsland that, while the players - the ones we ostensibly adore and pay to see - are dealing in chump change compared with the serious fat cats with whom the common man always seems to inexplicably side when rumors of a walkout start.

Is this bit of Arlington really worth more than an entire island nation? Wouldn't this sort of money be spent better elsewhere? Aren't our priorities as a society screwed up? Just a bit?

One billion dollars implies a Texas-sized "yes."

If we had any insights into what owning billions of dollars and the Dallas Cowboys is like, they'd be here at RealFootball365.com.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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CommentsComments: 9  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
fr8ttrain		12:28 PM
12/15/2006
Our priorities aren't screwed up, it's the rest of the World who needs to get a clue. America is RICH, and we love to flaunt it,...
No.2
Tovash		04:13 PM
12/15/2006
Forget the Yankees!! This is all about the Boys baby!! But I do wonder that since Jerry is building the stadium version of the...
No.3
Stranger		12:52 AM
12/16/2006
What happened to add the $350 million to the cost? Is it just Jerry Jones attempt to compensate for small manhood, like old men...
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