Texas Live! Inaugural New Year's Eve Party Gives 2019 Lone Star Welcome
(photo by Karen Gavis)
It was New Year’s Eve lone star-style as more than 5,000 people packed Texas Live! to give 2019 a grand welcome.
”I heard it was going to be the coolest place in the metroplex,” says Arlington resident Brice Gambrel,34, who was waiting for the doors to open at 7 p.m. after buying a gold pass for early access.
Gambrel, who says he hopes to get healthier and wealthier during 2019, was prepared to party with a dozen of his friends at the event which was being billed “the biggest NYE party in Texas.”
Partygoers await entry to Texas Live! located at 1650 E. Randol Mill Road. (photo by Karen Gavis)
Ticket prices ranged from $30 general admission to $1,150 packages and those who’d shelled out $110 for gold passes wielded wristbands good for four drinks and a buffet.
Although some packages offered menu items like prime rib and lobster mac and cheese, Gambrel was headed upstairs to the Professional Bull Riders Bar [PBR] where Lockhart’s BBQ was catering a buffet. Between bites of BBQ, partiers there watched boxing matches and football games on various TV screens or cowboys with bar towels hanging from their jean pockets whirl around on a mechanical bull.
(photo by Karen Gavis)
Later, lady staffers with considerably less jean material on their backsides honed their bull riding skills too.
Texas Live! spokesperson Autumn Reo says the entertainment complex, which opened in August, offers something for everyone. And with the help of Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau, a free party in the plaza with fireworks was also happening.
“We wanted to be able to provide something for everyone to be part of the fun,” REO says. “We want to build this as a tradition for everyone to look forward to come every year whether they’re outdoors or indoors.”
Reo also shared what the night had in store – live music by Austin Allsup and Sundance Head, cash cannons blasting out several hundred thousand one dollar bills, champagne toasts, a bedazzled ball drop, fireworks and DJ Scooter.
“Once that ball goes down, everybody’s going want to be dancing and having a good time and it kind of changes the experience,” she says. “He’ll be DJing and mixing.”
Scooter’s Facebook page reads “from New York to Miami to Las Vegas, where the party's hot you will find Scooter on the turntables.”
And that’s why Dallas residents Yolanda and Keldrick Hayes were there for the party. Yolanda says when she heard DJ Scooter would be spinning in Arlington she knew they had to come.
Dallas residents Yolanda and Keldrick Hayes were there to party and hear DJ Scooter. (photo by Karen Gavis)
“[Scooter’s] diverse, he plays all types of music,” says Keldrick, who’s hoping “to just be a better person” in 2019.
As the night progressed, some lined up for slices of Pudge’s pizza while others opted for a foosball game or dancing. Smiles and laughter were the norm as Allsup sang a scratchy-throated version of “Stand by Me” shortly before the 400-pound lighted ball bedecked with 17,000 crystals dropped.
(photo by Karen Gavis)
Then, when the countdown clock registered zeros and 2018 was but a memory, fireworks filled the sky in Arlington's entertainment district as 2019 burst onto the scene.
Charles Foster described the NYE experience on social media as “mad real.”
