Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson recently revealed that he would like to add another NFL franchise to the city as it expands. However, the city may not be doing as well as Mayor Johnson made it seem.
After the NFL on CBS took to Twitter asking which city deserved a new expansion team, Mayor Johnson replied, expressing his want to add another team to Dallas.
“The answer is Dallas,” said Johnson. “Why? We are about to pass the Chicago metro and become the #3 metro in the U.S. which would make us the largest U.S. metro WITHOUT 2 teams.”
He added, “Football is king here. Dallas needs an expansion team and we would be able to sustain 2 @NFL teams better than LA or NY.”
Johnson tweeted in March that Dallas is growing ahead of Phoenix, Houston, and Austin.
The nation’s best kept secret ain’t a secret anymore…people coming to Big D in droves from both coasts and Chicago to enjoy the American Dream which is alive and well here!😎👇🏾 https://t.co/N9ChMYhu93
— Mayor Eric Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) March 27, 2022
However, the United States Census Bureau (USCB) data contradicts the “growing” population claim.
While the DFW metroplex grew as a whole, Dallas itself shrank.
The USCB reported that Dallas’ population experienced a 1.1% decline, decreasing from over 2.6 million in April 2020 to a little more than 2.5 million in July 2021.
In contrast to Johnson’s praise of Dallas’ growth, some business leaders in the city claim that its policies are driving people away.
“Dallas is not making it easy to do business, so people are re-locating elsewhere,” said Louis Darrouzet, chief executive officer for the Metroplex Civic & Business Association, to The Dallas Express. “I have discussed this with many business leaders and many of them find it difficult to grow their businesses in Dallas [due] to the challenges and bureaucracy of working with the City.”
Darrouzet added, “Why would companies want to move somewhere that makes their life and business more challenging?? Being in business is risky enough for most people. The local government can either increase risk or reduce it. The cities that are doing the latter are winning time and time again.”
He credits the difficulties in Dallas to permitting challenges taking as long as four months and inflexible zoning requirements.
“Instead of taking away from the businesses already in Dallas, the goal should be to find a way to get more companies to Dallas, which will bring jobs, people, and growth to the tax base,” according to Darrouzet.
Mayor Johnson did not respond to requests for comment from The Dallas Express.
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