The Arlington City Council yesterday voted 7-0 to call an election to determine whether residents "want to redirect taxes" for a proposed $1B air-conditioned ballpark for the MLB Rangers, according to Robert Cadwallader of the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. The council must vote again Tuesday before the item "can be added to the Nov. 8 ballot." Speakers opposed to the ballpark "outnumbered supporters at least 2 to 1." The election would ask voters "whether to allow the city to redirect some of its half-cent sales tax, 2 percent hotel-occupancy tax and 5 percent car rental tax" to begin paying for the new ballpark. About 20 people signed in as "opponents of the project, including speakers who questioned the need to replace" Globe Life Park, and "challenged findings of a study" that Arlington would realize a $77.5M annual economic impact. Under the master agreement, the city and the Rangers would "evenly split the project's cost, but the city's commitment would be capped" at $500M. The city would "own the stadium" and lease it to the Rangers for $2M a year. Cadwallader notes some residents have "criticized how quickly the proposal came about." Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams said that he "feared a delay might encourage competition that would drive up price." Williams: "We know we needed to do something, because I did not want to get into a bidding war with multiple cities. Bidding would have started out at $600 million [the city's portion] next year, there's no doubt" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 8/3).
