His job: Making sure all roads lead to Arlington

After enduring a flight delay and a long wait in customs as he returned from Europe, Jay Burress didn’t immediately hop into his car and head home.

Instead, Burress, who was recently named chief executive of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau, walked up and down the concourse collecting luggage carts and returning them to the cart stations.

"I couldn’t find Jay," said his wife, Jill, remembering the trip from several years ago. "When I asked 'What are you doing?’ he told me, 'I don’t want people to come here and not find carts.’ "

Burress said his commitment to making visitors feel welcome in North Texas — he spent 20 years in 11 positions at the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau — has prepared him to help Arlington redefine its entertainment district.

With the opening of the Dallas Cowboys stadium in 2009, the Super Bowl scheduled at the venue in 2011 and a possible expansion of its convention center, Arlington is hoping to attract more conventions and sporting events, adding their participants to the thousands of tourists who visit the Six Flags parks every year.

"There are several opportunities to really get the name Arlington out there," Burress said. "With the eyes of the world being on that stadium, corporations are going to start looking at this as a potential destination."

Roots in Arlington

Although he has lived in Dallas for two decades, Burress has family ties to Arlington. When he was growing up in Oklahoma, his family frequently vacationed in Arlington, where his grandparents lived.

Burress said he spent summer trips going to Rangers games at the old ballpark and riding the Shockwave roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas. He is moving his family to south Arlington.

He still hasn’t taken his three kids, ages 7, 5 and 2, to the theme parks but understands the vital role that Six Flags plays in bringing tourists to the area. And with the downturn in the economy, Burress said the bureau and the parks together need to remind potential visitors of the value they get when vacationing in Arlington.

"I’m not afraid of screaming or going upside down. I can handle all that," said Burress, who helped promote Six Flags Hurricane Harbor’s new Mega Wedgie ride by being the first rider.

On-the-job training

Burress first moved to Texas in the late 1980s to attend Baylor University, where he studied marketing. An opportunity to work at the Dallas visitors bureau lured him away.

"I stuffed a lot of packets and did a lot of direct mails," said Burress, recalling his first tourism job. Burress went on to work at the visitors centers, in international sales and in convention sales at the bureau.

In his 20 years there, Burress said worked on the World Cup games that were played at the Cotton Bowl and traveled to Asia and Latin America to promote the region. He also met his wife, Jill, who briefly worked at the bureau in sports marketing.

With the Super Bowl coming to North Texas, Phillip Jones, chief executive of the Dallas bureau, said there will be some friendly competition with his former employee.

"I recognize that he has the stadium and we have the hotel rooms and the rest of the venues," Jones said jokingly. But he added that Burress’ strong personality skills are what Arlington needs to build coalitions with other groups in the region as the city prepares to host the biggest annual sporting event in the U.S.

Challenges he faces

Most of Arlington’s tourism dollars are generated during the summer. But city leaders are hoping Burress will help change that.

The city plans to expand its convention center, and there will be more meeting space as part of the new stadium. Rangers owner Tom Hicks is also expected to build a 310-room Westin hotel between the ballpark and the football stadium.

"With the new ideas [Burress] has, I believe we will have year-round opportunities in Arlington. It won’t be so seasonal," said Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, who had lunch with Burress last week.

Cluck added that he is willing to increase the bureau’s $2.4 million budget, which is considerably smaller than its counterparts in Fort Worth, Grapevine and Dallas, to bolster the city’s revenues from tourism.

Burress said he plans to focus immediately on sales. Although he recognizes there is stiff competition in North Texas for conventions and regional meetings, Burress said there is plenty for everyone.

Burress even has an idea for a musical group to play at the grand opening of the Cowboys stadium.

"I’m a big fan of old music, like the [Rolling] Stones," he said. "But I would like to see U2" open the stadium.