Just a week after a drunken Jerry Jones surfaced on video talking smack about Bill Parcells and others, comes this Dallas Morning News report that the Dallas Cowboys coach blamed Dallas Mayor Laura Miller for killing a stadium deal in that city.
Miller didn’t want to give hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to a high-rolling billionaire to build a stadium for grown men to play games.
Jones recalls Miller patting him on his knee and telling him to take his team elsewhere.
Miller told Channel 8 the only person she’s ever patted on the knee was her husband.
As it turns out, the stadium deal in Arlington turned out to be pretty sweet for the city (unless you were one of the landowners forced to sell their hard-earned property to make way for Jerry World).
Arlington was on the hook for half the $650 million projected cost, but that $325 million investment looks to be a winner.
Jones threw in an extra half a billion bucks or so and built the biggest and baddest football stadium in the country. He’s attracted worldclass boxing events and concerts, and there’s no telling what he’ll come up with next. The Cowboys are a winning team again. The future looks good. Jones exceeded expectations and for that he deserves great credit.
But nobody knew this six years ago when Jones was lobbying Miller for free money and perks.
Miller showed leadership and took a hard stance on handing out taxpayer money to rich wildcatters. Dallas residents seemed on board with her decision.
Ultimately, Jones struck gold in Arlington, the ambitious little suburb with the chip on its shoulder and a desire to be North Texas’ Fun City. Good on them. But don’t go throwing Miller under the bus now.
Here’s Jones talking the fool in a bar about the team:
