Texas Rangers Baseball Club
Schieffer's success in his law practice and business career allowed him to join an investment group, led by George W. Bush and Edward W. (Rusty) Rose that bought the Texas Rangers Baseball Club on April 21, 1989. Having begun as only an investor in the group, Bush and Rose asked Schieffer to be the Partner-In-Charge of Ballpark Development in July 1990. Schieffer toured ballparks around America and successfully negotiated a public-private partnership with the City of Arlington, which became a model for cooperation between cities and private entities in development projects. The Rangers and the City of Arlington announced the deal in October 1990. An election was held in January 1991, which sought the approval of Arlington voters. More people voted in that special election than had voted in the combined Democratic and Republican primaries the year before. The citizens of Arlington approved the agreement by a 65% - 35% margin. The turnout remains the largest in Arlington's history for a special election.
The Ballpark in Arlington was opened in 1994 to strong reviews from fans inside and outside of Arlington. Built on time and on budget, The Ballpark in Arlington was nicknamed the Temple by one sports talk show host because it was such a shrine to baseball.
After passage of the referendum in January 1991, Schieffer was named President of the Rangers and served in that position longer than any other individual has done. When George W. Bush became Governor in 1995, Schieffer was named to succeed Bush as the team's General Partner along with Rusty Rose. The franchise won the division title in 1996 for the first time and then again in 1998 and 1999.
The Bush-Rose partnership sold the franchise in 1998 to Dallas investor Tom Hicks. Under the terms of the sale, Schieffer was required to stay as President of the Club for an additional year. Schieffer resigned as President of the Rangers in April 1999.
While Schieffer was President of the Rangers he also served as President of the J. Thomas Schieffer Management Company and the Pablo Operating Company, two entities that managed investments and oil and gas properties for clients.
Read more about this topic: Tom Schieffer
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