JANUARY 1 2008
AMERICANWAY 37
the task ahead,” Jones says. “It helped me
in sizing everything up, in terms of capac-
ity and square feet, and really helpedme to
thinkat that level, that big.”
Evenas the team jetted toa fast startdur-
ing the 2007NFL season, led by newNFL
wow-boy Tony Romo, Jones continued
to visit the construction site three or four
days aweek.While the construction cranes
whirred away, he communicated with
contractors or hobnobbed with corporate
chiefs, helping to arrange a powerful cache
ofhigh-dollarmarketingattachments.Back
at the team’s headquarters, he practically
bounced into weekly Tuesday meetings
with stadiumarchitects.
Jones remains absorbed by the compe-
tition aspect as well. He’s chasing Super
Bowls, Final Fours, high-profile college
games, concerts, conventions, and other
events tofill an estimated250 to275 dates
a year. Still, themost recurring number in
Jones’s daydreams is six— as in the club’s
sixthSuperBowl crown.
That’s why Jones took fliers and signed
notoriousNFLbadboysTerrellOwens and
Tank Johnson. Brad Sham, the Cowboys’
longtimeradiovoice, saysJoneshascertain-
ly learned thatwhile fancy stadiumsand lu-
crativemerchandise sales are great, like all
empty-caloriefizz, theyeventuallydissipate.
“That honeymoon wears off,” Sham says.
“One thing he’s learned: All these events
won’tmeanasmuch if theyaren’twinning.”
Even backed by the new standard
bearer of stadiums, the Cowboys’ bid for
the 2011 Super Bowl was hardly a slam
dunk. It took NFL owners four rounds of
voting to choose the Cowboys over other
Super Bowl XLV suitors, namely, India-
napolis and Glendale, Arizona, where the
Arizona Cardinals recently helped christen
the new University of Phoenix Stadium.
Ascitiesreach forSuperBowls, thefinan-
cial prizekeeps escalating.According to the
South Florida
Sun-Sentinel
, the $463mil-
lion poured into Miami-area restaurants,
bars, hotels, etc., last February represented
a 17percent increase over the$396million
gleaned from Super Bowl XXXIII, held
eight yearsbefore in the city.
Sowhenowners choseNorthTexas,most
media accounts credited their decision to
the lure of unrivaled revenue. Super Bowl
ticket prices are projected to be $900 by
2008
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