Issue date: 4/22/04 Section: News

DALLAS (AP) - Proposed tax revenue to help pay for a new $1 billion Dallas Cowboys stadium development might not be available if the facility is built in Fair Park, county officials say.

The location where the State Fair of Texas is held annually has been the front-runner among alternatives for a new venue to replace the aging Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving.

But a portion of state law that forbids using rental-car taxes to finance a sports venue that is part of a city park and recreation system was cited by county officials as a likely impediment. They said the law also may forbid the use of hotel occupancy taxes.

Fair Park, just southeast of downtown, has emerged in the last several weeks as the favorite site for the development, which includes an all-weather stadium with an estimated cost of $650 million. Team representatives have been meeting with city and county officials on the project, which would be financed with up to $400 million in hotel and rental car taxes.

However, Fair Park, as the city's second-oldest park, is part of the park and recreation network and is administered by the Dallas Park Board.

Cowboys spokesman Brett Daniels said Tuesday that the team is examining how the law might affect public financing for a Fair Park stadium.

''We do see it as something that needs to be addressed and are working through the process,'' Daniels told The Dallas Morning News in Wednesday's editions. ''They are looking at a number of different options that may be the best way to go.''

According to stadium opponents, the issue as an impediment to tax financing for a professional sports stadium.

''It looks like it would be a very big obstacle,'' said Pat Cotton, a Dallas political consultant working with the group No Jones Tax. ''I don't think the county commissioners or the city officials would want to be in a position to violate the law.''

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