Five stories that have North Texas talking: Baseball is fading in Plano, the Dallas Cowboys welcome a new addition: sculpture, could Texas become Drone Central?, and more.
In Plano, soccer goals are replacing baseball diamonds. Plano鈥檚 demographics are changing, which means something surprising is happening: Baseball seems to be a smaller part of the suburb鈥檚 culture. that over the last 15 years, the decline has been dramatic. In 1998, 8,836 residents played baseball in leagues that used Plano city fields. By 2013, that number had dropped to 2,535, even though the city鈥檚 population grew more than 20 percent during that time. Plano city officials plan to tear up four diamonds in a local park in the next year. They will be replaced with soccer fields -- soccer is growing locally. 鈥淲ho would have thought that in Texas and America, baseball would become less popular?鈥� Parks Director Amy Fortenberry told The News.
- Art with your football?: The Dallas Cowboys have added the first outdoor sculpture to its art collection at AT&T Stadium. It鈥檚 Anish Kapoor鈥檚 Sky Mirror, a 35-foot-diameter concave mirror made of polished stainless steel. It stands nearly three stories tall in the center of the stadium鈥檚 east plaza. 鈥淪ky Mirror will offer a dazzling experience of light and architecture, presenting viewers with a vivid inversion of the expansive Texas sky,鈥� the Cowboys said in a news release. It鈥檚 going to be unveiled Friday night at an invitation-only celebration. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his wife, Gene, will join Kapoor at the program. The Jones family launched the in 2009 with 13 commissioned artworks installed in prominent locations around the stadium. Kapoor became known in the 1980s for his geometric or biomorphic sculptures made using simple materials such as granite, limestone, marble and plaster. back in 2011.
- Could Texas become Drone Central? There鈥檚 a move to turn the skies over Texas into one of the world鈥檚 leading drone test sites. spoke with Ron George, a at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and one of the planners of . George has proposed that a portion of Texas become a test site for unmanned aircraft systems testing, certification and research. He's suggesting South Texas and a portion of the Texas panhandle, because they have the clearest airspace over the least populated areas, KUT reports.
- What鈥檚 new in the arts in North Texas? Join 四虎影院's Art&Seek and Jeff Whittington for State of the Arts -- he with artists Janeil Engelstad, Christopher Blay and Stephen Lapthisophone. Tickets cost $5. Tonight鈥檚 talk is this season鈥檚 first installment of State of the Arts. Engelstad is the founder of Make Art With Purpose, which launches and collaborations this month. Lapthisophone has been in Dallas for many years and is a professor at University of Texas at Arlington. and instructional assistant and curator at The Art Corridor Galleries. Englestad with 四虎影院's Krys Boyd on Wednesday.
- Big Money at Red River Rivalry for Texas politicians: Saturday鈥檚 big game at the Cotton Bowl isn鈥檛 just a big deal to Longhorn or Sooner fans or the State Fair of Texas 鈥� it鈥檚 a big deal for Texas legislators. More than 30 of them are hoping to cash in on the game by raising a lot of money. that the annual football game between the University of Texas and Oklahoma University is becoming a fundraising hotspot for lawmakers in both parties. Why? They can rely on plenty of deep-pocketed donors to be in Dallas for game-day festivities.
And here's your Bonus Item!
- A puppy reunion: Arlington police have reunited a family with the puppy stolen from their home in a burglary more than four months ago. The family and the English bulldog named Maggie were reunited last week. that Maggie's return home has gone well. Arlington police were surprised to find Maggie still with the suspect, who was arrested after an officer recognized his vehicle from previous burglary reports and made a traffic stop. During the stop, they found two stolen iPads, including one traced to the Hancock family. Officers searching the suspect's apartment recovered stolen weapons, televisions, computers, jewelry, coins -- and Maggie.
