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Cowboys-Backed Legends Funded Team’s $1.15B Stadium: Day 3 at SXSW

eric jackson, eben novy-williams and asli pelit
·4 min read

In October of 2008, the Dallas Cowboys teamed with the New York Yankees and Goldman Sachs to launch Legends, a hospitality company that later expanded into other businesses. Seven months later, the NFL team opened the $1.15 billion AT&T Stadium.

The two events weren’t directly related, but the Cowboys view them as intertwined. Chief brand officer Charlotte Jones, daughter of control owner Jerry Jones, explained during Day 3 of SXSW Sports.

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“We look at Legends as how we paid for AT&T Stadium,” Jones said during a panel that also featured her brother, team CEO Stephen Jones.

The Jones siblings spoke at length about how the family’s ownership helped reshape the business of the modern NFL, particularly around how the league and its teams handle media rights and sponsorships. They also talked about two hallmark business moves for the Cowboys—the creation of The Star, a real estate development in Frisco, Texas; and Legends. The hospitality company now helps build and design venues, sells suites and sponsorships, and advises on advertising and marketing. In 2021, the business was valued at $1.35 billion.

RedBird Capital founder Gerry Cardinale, who moderated the panel, was working at Goldman at the time. He recalled telling Jerry Jones: “I would leave Goldman Sachs if you found a way to merge the Yankees, Cowboys and Lakers.”

Here are some other things that stood out from Day 3 of SXSW Sports:

McConaughey Center: It’s no secret that Matthew McConaughey has influence all around Austin. That includes the Moody Center, the $375 million campus venue where he’s a part owner alongside major stakeholders Oak View Group, Live Nation and C3 Presents. Not only is his well-known catchphrase “alright, alright, alright” stamped inside and outside the multipurpose venue, McConaughey and his wife Camila were influential in the design of the premium club spaces around the two-year-old home of the University of Texas men’s and women’s basketball teams. UT’s music-focused arena, decked out with art from Austin-based artists, epitomizes the OVG playbook combining the latest venue technology while weaving in local culture and vibes.

Captain America: How important is American star Christian Pulisic to the business of Italian soccer club AC Milan? Twenty-nine percent of the team’s jersey sales are from the U.S., and the majority of them are Pulisic’s No. 10.

“While that’s great … we need to have a better plan to not just be on him,” AC Milan CMO Tania Moreno said during “The Cowboys’ Stephen & Charlotte Jones with Gerry Cardinale” panel. “Down the line if he were to leave, we have to build the plan the right way. If Messi leaves, does Inter Miami have a plan? If he were to go to Saudi next year, would all those fans go that way, too?”

Having the Conversation: Former NBA center Jason Collins didn’t know what to expect when he joined the Brooklyn Nets as the first openly gay athlete in the history of U.S. major pro sports leagues. Just a few days before he signed, then Nets head coach Jason Kidd asked the team if they had any issue with Collins joining the team. No one did. “Plus, they needed another center,” Collins said laughingly during the “Rebirth of Pride Night” panel. Collins, whose jersey was an immediate top seller after signing, reflected on Monday about how some of his biggest supporters on the team also used homophobic language and how he used the “disconnect” as a teaching moment to dispel negative aspects of male sports culture. “Having those conversations is the only way things are going to change,” he said.

More Than Football: Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White and University of Nebraska  linebacker Chief Borders want to be remembered as more than football players.  “I want people to know me and my face under the helmet,” Borders said during the “Beyond the Game: Athletes Forging Music Partnerships” panel. Borders and White are among athlete influencers who are positioning themselves at the intersection of sports and music, leveraging their audience when collaborating with artists. In the era of name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities, more athletes are building their personal brand outside of sports. But these partnerships need to be authentic. “Money is cool, but not all money is good money,” White said. “If our messages do not vibe, it does not work.”

The Business of Hope:  In a panel about the future of sports betting, Play Anywhere’s Peter Scott discussed the rapid diversification of sports gambling operators. They are expanding into media, horse racing, online casino games, social contests, and more recently, digital lottery. He summed it up by saying companies like DraftKings and FanDuel are hoping to become dominant companies “wherever the affinity is for hope.”

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