On Sept. 7, Jerry Jones will try to beat the San Francisco 49ers.
But since 2011, turns out he’s been trying to help them win.
While Jones’ Cowboys flounder around .500 on the football field, his Legends Hospitality venture continues to flourish as one of the nation’s leading sports companies. Legends, which Jones formed in 2008 along with Hal Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees and former New York Knicks’ president Dave Checketts, was hired to help the 49ers sell season tickets and suites to their new Santa Clara home – Levi’s Stadium, which hosts its first game against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 14.
Industry sources also indicate that Legends is a front-runner to provide the new stadium with food, beverage and catering services.
Though the Cowboys open their season against San Francisco in Week 1 of the 2014 season at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, in a sense Jones is also invested in the success of the 49ers. Not on the field exactly, but in the stadium.
And it’s really nothing new. Jones, via Legends, has also been a partner with the hated Washington Redskins (food and beverage at FedEx Field), Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars (online and in-stadium retail and merchandise). Legends has also been a provider for the Los Angeles Angels, Churchill Downs, Manchester City soccer club and the Rose Bowl.
Jones’ company was recently awarded exclusive rights to serve the new One World Observatory, the three-level spot occupying the 100th-102nd floors atop new 1 World Trade Center, scheduled to open in New York in 2015.
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So although 49ers’ fans in new stadium suites just might be sitting in seats and eating food sold by Jerry Jones, let’s not go off squawking about a possible conflict of interest. Legends did, after all, end its partnership with the Redskins this spring.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
