The Texas Rangers and The Cordish Companies have made their first key executive appointment to the Texas Live! team, naming Jim Watry as chief operating officer.
Watry brings more than 20 years of experience in the dining, entertainment and hospitality industry to this role, as well as a long history of community and philanthropic involvement, the group said in a news release.
“Jim’s experience and passion for community-driven initiatives make him the perfect candidate for this position,” Rob Matwick, Executive Vice President of Business Operations for the Texas Rangers, said in the release. “In our commitment to delivering a dynamic development to the City of Arlington that maximizes benefits and opportunities to local residents and businesses, we are thrilled to have Jim on board as chief operating officer to continue our commitment throughout the ongoing operations of the project.”
Watry previously was chief operating officer of Ballpark Village, a sports-anchored dining and entertainment district in St. Louis, Missouri, in partnership between The Cordish Companies and the St. Louis Cardinals.
“It is an honor to be named Chief Operating Officer of Texas Live!,” Watry said in the release. “There is incredible momentum happening in the Arlington Entertainment District with Texas Live!, Live! by Loews and the Rangers’ new ballpark, Globe Life Field, all currently under construction. I am extremely proud to be joining the team at such an exciting time and look forward to the opening of Texas Live! later this year.”
Texas Live! is under construction between the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Park and the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in the Arlington Entertainment District.
The $250 million project will have more than 200,000 square feet of dining and entertainment space, a 5,000-capacity outdoor event pavilion and a Live! by Loews hotel, a 300-room upscale hotel with 35,000 square feet of convention, meeting and special event space.
Texas Live! is scheduled to open in late summer or early fall of this year, with Live! by Loews opening in 2019. The project will sit adjacent to the Texas Rangers’ new ballpark, Globe Life Field, when it opens in 2020.