Dallas Cowboys stadium update: Lawsuits, land and more

Attorneys for Arlington are preparing to defend the city in trials challenging its right to take property for the Dallas Cowboys stadium project.

Five trials are scheduled for August, September and October. Twenty-two lawsuits related to the stadium are pending against the city. At one time, almost 80 such lawsuits were pending.

Although the city has settled on compensation in several cases in the past few months, City Attorney Jay Doegey said some of the lawsuits are pending because landowners didn’t want to give up their right to challenge the constitutionality of the city’s actions.

Doegey said the city would like to settle all stadium-related lawsuits by the time the stadium opens, in fall 2009.

Land acquisition costs

As the $1.1 billion stadium nears completion, a city report shows that Arlington has paid about $80.5 million for 200 acres for the project, almost 60 percent more than officials anticipated.

According to the Tarrant Appraisal District, the land needed for the Dallas Cowboys stadium was appraised at $50.8 million.

The final land cost could rise as the lawsuits are heard or settled.

The city started purchasing land for the stadium in fall 2005 and in some cases used eminent domain to force owners to sell.

Special event task force

Arlington should create a task force to deal with the crowds expected when the stadium opens, a new study says.

The Matrix Consulting Group has recommend to the city that it create two task forces, each with three police officers and one staff member to coordinate with other agencies and plan resources for large sporting events. The study does not, however, advocate hiring more full-time patrol officers to deal with such events, though they may occur regularly.

"The city can staff those events through overtime of existing staff," said Richard Brady, president of Matrix, told the City Council on Tuesday.

The stadium will host the Super Bowl in 2011, is being considered for an NCAA Final Four tournament and may bid on World Cup matches.