When Aziz Kobty heard about the Texas Rangers’ latest project — luxury apartments located in Arlington’s Entertainment District — he knew he had to live there. The 35-year-old chef and co-owner of nearby restaurant Prince Lebanese Grill is one of many flocking from all over to be one of its first residents.
The $100 million project, One Rangers Way, located at 1200 Nolan Ryan Expressway was developed by Maryland-based The Cordish Companies and the Texas Rangers. It’s expected to open January 2025 and is a five-minute walk from Globe Life Field and Texas Live!, making it the perfect location for the self-proclaimed ‘prince.’
“The location and amenities are going to save me time and give me freedom,” he said. “Plus, I’m a season-ticket holder for the Cowboys and I go to 50 Rangers games a year. If you’re a young professional that wants to be in a fun area, it’s a prime location, in my opinion.”
It’s exactly what the Rangers and Cordish want to hear. Cordish already has another similar property, One Cardinals Way, in St. Louis, with the company being bullish on the future of fusing residential developments, hospitality and sports venues.
For the Rangers and Cordish, properties like One Rangers Way are just the beginning. It’s the first residential community in Arlington’s Entertainment District and won’t be the last.
Why are these properties popping up all over?
The Rangers began working with Cordish in 2016 to construct Texas Live!, a $250 million entertainment district that combines bars, dining and entertainment steps away from AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field. But Cordish has been eyeing sports-injected investments since 2013 when it began building Ballpark Village in St. Louis.
The reason behind it is simple: there’s land and money aplenty near sports venues. The addition of apartments and hotels nearby was just a matter of time, a representative from Cordish told The Dallas Morning News over email.
“Companies see value adding multifamily to sports-anchored developments by way of creating a unique extension of their brand outside the four walls of their arena or stadium,” they said. “A lot of professional sports teams or municipalities nationwide have extra real estate surrounding their stadiums that they are looking to create additional experiences for their fans.”
However, enticing people to the apartment complex is going to be one of the biggest challenges the Rangers and Cordish will face for One Rangers Way.
The area hosts Cowboys and Rangers games as well as concerts year-round, and it will soon be the gathering spot for over a hundred thousand fans in 2026 when the World Cup lands directly in Kobty’s backyard. Unlike others, the hustle and bustle of the district is a selling point for him.
“I want the madness of the World Cup. I want to be down there every day,” Kobty said. “It’s the whole reason I’m getting a two-bedroom apartment. Whenever people want to stay over, I want to leave the door open for them. But I know not everyone is into that. Some people are more homebodies.”
That means winning over young professionals who want to be in high-traffic areas, like Kobty, is one of the Rangers’ biggest goals. Cordish is the right company to see that vision through, said Rob Matwick, executive vice president of business operations for the Texas Rangers.
“I think we’re aiming for that mid-20′s, avid sports fan who may or may not already live in Arlington, but wants to be closer to the activity here and wants a quality place to work,” he said. “They [Cordish] have been so successful with their other projects. Several years ago, when we saw what they were doing in St. Louis, we knew we could bring that here.”
Cordish also helped build Ballpark Village with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014 and has since helped develop similar projects like Bayou Place in Houston; Fourth Street Village! in Louisville, Ky.; Xfinity Live in Philadelphia; and casinos in Maryland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Tampa and Hollywood, Fla.
Best of all for the Rangers, Cordish helps operate the properties instead of outsourcing it to another company, keeping more money for both companies.
“Unique among other developers, we marry our development capabilities with market-leading operations, all in-house,” a Cordish representative said. “This allows us to not simply build and manage but operate everything — our entertainment venues, resort casinos, luxury hotels, and residential towers. We can also work together within these broader districts and neighborhoods to ensure that our guests and residents have a seamless experience.”
Attracting out-of-towners is also a big goal for One Rangers Way. In Kansas City, where the Cordish owns properties like One Light Luxury Apartments, which is a three minute walk from the T-Mobile Center, 60% of residents are from out-of-the-state.
What’s the future for Cordish, the Rangers and the Entertainment District?
Building up these kinds of properties is no easy task. The Rangers and Cordish want to see how well One Rangers Way works before making another move public.
However, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to imagine that one day the Entertainment District lights up with residential complexes courtesy of the trio of the Rangers, Cordish and even the Dallas Cowboys, Matwick said.
“We have a great relationship with the Cowboys, but we haven’t necessarily had discussions with them specific for development here. They control the area around AT&T Stadium too so that’s entirely within their purview,” he said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point they consider some additional development around the stadium. And we’d be happy to offer anything that adds something to the district.”
Regardless of the direction the Cowboys or Rangers take on the Entertainment District, there is one thing for sure: the combination of residential complexes with a sports-element is here to stay.
“It’s been interesting to watch this at every level, from college to the pros. And it’s definitely the trend right now,” Matwick said. “We and so many other teams have areas that are primed for development and people want it. Cities want a return on investment, so if teams can find the right development partner like we did, it’s going to become more common all over.”
