🦣Big opportunities for Arlington; Vampires, kickoffs and Marilyn Monroe; Cowboys lose, 28-20, in opener.

Ryan Cohen, President, CEO and Chairman of Grapevine-based GameStop, acquired 1,000,000 shares of the company’s Class A Common Stock for $20,375,900. He holds 39,347,842 shares, about 7.7% of outstanding shares. 

Governor Greg Abbott has nominated five Arlington tracts for the federal Opportunity Zone 2.0 program, creating potential for investment, re-development and job growth. Learn more here. Fort Worth has six zones from the program’s first ideation.

Tickets for the 2027 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo go on sale today at 10 a.m. Rodeo performances at Dickies Arena are Jan. 15 through Feb. 6. With a $1.6 million purse, the FWSSR PRORODEO is ranked among the nation’s top five sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. You can buy online, by phone at 817-502-0011 or at the arena box office.

Given a second chance with the assistance of actor Matthew McConaughey and sportscaster Kirk Herbstreit, a University of Texas student won $1.2 million by making a 33-yard field goal during Pat McAfee's ESPN Game Day promotion. The student said he will donate half the prize to a home-town Indiana non-profit.  

The Army selected Lockheed Martin and a Boeing-Anduril partnership to move on to the second phase of its Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 interceptor prototype program, according to Breaking Defense. This program is designed to fill the capability gap between short-range air defense systems and longer-range air defenses. 

The U.S. State Department approved a possible $140 million sale of four UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters to Argentina, a deal that would give the Argentine Army its first Black Hawks. The helicopters are produced by Sikorsky, a division of Lockheed Martin. 

The Dallas Cowboys defense was better; it didn't allow the New York Giants 37 points as it did during last season's winning opener. Only 28 points this year, but enough to lose, 28-20, in a game the Giants dominated time of possession. The Cowboys could not stop the Giants' running game, especially on key third downs, and had just two possessions in the second half. The Cowboys host the 0-1 Washington Redskins Sunday at 3:25.

Update: A federal appeals court upheld a block of implementing the Trump administration’s restrictions on mail-in voting while the Supreme Court considers the case. Three judges concurred with a lower court ruling that tentatively blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing an executive order on mail-in ballots ahead of the November voting.

Fort Works Art is taking its Marilyn Monroe exhibit to an event level Sept. 26. It will turn its Cultural District gallery into a runway, staging a fashion and art experience called The Marilyn Effect alongside an exhibition of her photographs by Lawrence Schiller. Monroe (June 1) would have been 100 this year and the gallery opened a decade ago. 

A large fire early into the weekend destroyed the main storage shed and all the hygiene supplies, household items and winter clothing Presbyterian Night Shelter had stored to sustain guests and residents. The non-profit's early estimate of damages was $100,000 and it is seeking support.

Conifer Health Solutions in Dallas plans to lay off 1,037 workers Nov. 2, according to a filing with the Texas Workforce Commission. Conifer provides revenue cycle management services and is owned by Tenet Healthcare, which operates 50 acute care hospitals with the largest concentration in Texas.

Several Texas Republicans have condemned Tarrant Republican Bo French’s posts calling Asian students at UT a ''problem''. French is a candidate for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission. 

Jerry Bolz and Sally Glen Turner of Worth Commercial secured a 22,000-square-foot lease at University Centre II for an insurance company. The building, owned by Southside Bank, is 100% leased.

The Texas Stock Exchange in Dallas received approval for its electronic stock ticker display at what will be the tallest tower in Uptown. The ticker will be installed on the southeast corner of the forthcoming Bank of America office tower at Woodall Rodgers Freeway and Harwood Street. It will sit 28 feet above the ground, stand 10 feet tall and cover up to 2,470 square feet as it wraps around the building's corner.

For all of you that dislike visits to the dentist, Fort Worth newbie Smile Muse Spa combines general, cosmetic, emergency and sedation dentistry within a spa-like setting designed around each patient's ease and well-being.

Co-owner Fort Worth is scheduled to vote on the D-FW International Airport fiscal year operating budget Tuesday. The other owner, Dallas, approved the $1.63 billion projection Wednesday. Brian Butler, EVP and CFO for the airport, said the breakdown is $820.6 million for maintenance and operations, $801.8 million for debt service and $10 million for board contingency.

Fort Worth City Council votes Tuesday on its fiscal 2027 budget and property tax rate that would also add Fort Worth police staffing and a new pavement management fee to help pay for street maintenance. Tarrant County commissioners vote on the county's and hospital district's 2027 budget and tax rate. 

Lithia & Driveway has acquired Rockwall Hyundai, its 10^th dealership in D-FW. In Tarrant County, the company owns Grapevine Honda and Meador Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. 

A joint venture between Caddis Partners and a private equity real estate fund has sold Hearts Mid-Cities, a 178-unit senior community at 2308 Highway 121 in Bedford. Ventas acquired the asset, according to public records. Berkadia arranged the deal for the seller. The unit mix features independent and assisted living components, as well as memory care.

Snippets:

• Data center growth is creating a shortage of memory chips. That’s driving up costs for tech manufacturers, who then pass them down to consumers.

• The TCC Board of Trustees raised its property tax rate after a 5-1 vote. Read why here. 

• Edward Russell offers a substantial Substack article about the architectural effects of Terminal F on the D-FW International horseshoe.

News of the weird: Fangs for the memories. An 1800s vampire-hunting kit in Florida sparks a bidding war online thanks to its massive size, rare artifacts and tiny zombie priest carving.

Today in history: 1956 = IBM announced the 305 RAMAC, the first commercial computer to use a random-access disk drive. Its refrigerator-sized storage system held roughly 5 megabytes of information—less than a typical smartphone photograph—and helped launch the era of magnetic-disk data storage that eventually gave rise to the modern hard drive.

Significant stat: Through mid-August of this year, domestic theaters had sold 568.4 million tickets, marking a ~30% decrease from the same period in 2019 (or 248 million fewer tickets). Higher movie ticket prices are helping to disguise a decline in domestic theater attendance since the pandemic.

Daily digit: 36% = Decline in the number of murders in the city of Fort Worth during the first eight months of 2026 compared to the prior year (from 54 to 35).

Announcements:

• TRIVAN Roofing: Hires Curtiss Bird as sales director for D-FW.

• Paychex: Hires Dani Watts as Channel Sales Associate - CPA.

• Alcon: Hires Sarina Sood as VP-Head of Global Medical Affairs, and Health Economics and Outcomes Research.

• Trivium Asset Management Partners: Hires James Hart du Preez as Principal/Investment Advisor Representative.

• Kelly Hart: Adds Sarah Morton to its litigation practice and Addison Bruce Perry to its Labor & Employment Group. 

• Quorum Architects: Adds Evan Roberts as Architectural Intern on the Municipal Design team.

• United Way of Tarrant County: Selects Tellamecus Forsythe as Programs Manager, Financial Security.

• Communities In Schools of Greater Tarrant County: Hires Evan White as Senior Director of Development. 

• Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce: Selects John Martinez, Regional Hispanic Construction Association, for its Chairman Award. 

• Stadium People: Scott Salmon, SVP Recruitment, is leaving after 24 years.

• TCU: Elaine Cole retires after 20+ years in Communications and Special Projects. 

• Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Opinion editor Ryan Rusak’s position has been eliminated and he has left. 

• UTA West: Hires Sheri D. Collier as Assistant Director of Recruitment & Academic Partnerships.

• Tarrant County College: Selects Tara Firmin to lead Architect, Student Lifecycle Systems. 

• UNT Health Fort Worth: The College of Pharmacy and Health Professions hires Regina Calderon as Associate Director of Academic Communications. The Neuroscience division promotes Dr. Rita Shetty to Associate Professor.

• Smile Source: Adds DDS Stephanie Bangs as Director of Communications and Brand Management. 

• Republicans Against TLR: Hires Rachel Horton as Grassroots Engagement- North Texas Region.

• Lincoln Property Company: Hires Sarah Westover.

• Fort Worth: Hires Jasmin Cleveland as Water Systems Technician.

• Ameriflight: Adds pilot Robby Hirst. 

Thank you for reading to the very end. 817 Biz is formatted for mobile viewing. Some links may expire after posting or be behind a paywall.