A planned Muslim residential community named EPIC City in Texas has received significant media attention, with some Texas officials claiming it will be an Islamic city or governed by Sharia law.
Texas
What’s inside Texas Tech football’s new end zone building at Jones AT&T Stadium
Texas Tech football end zone building progressing at Jones AT&T Stadium
Texas Tech will spend $242 million on football facility upgrades. Here’s the latest look at the crown jewel, the Jones AT&T Stadium south end building
The area beyond an end zone is not the first place most people think of when it comes to prime seating in a football stadium. The Texas Tech football program hopes to make that location a compelling option this coming season, though.
The centerpiece of Tech’s two-year, $242-million football facilities project is the south end zone building currently under construction at Jones AT&T Stadium. It’ll have all sorts of features: a field-level club, loge boxes, concessions-laced concourse with a view of the field, coaches’ offices, luxury suites — even a party deck.
“There’s just so many aspects to it that are unique,” Tech deputy athletics director Jonathan Botros said in late January. “There’s not a single seat in that end zone that will have sun, whether it’s an 11 a.m. game, 3 p.m., 7 p.m. The sun is completely guarded in that area. We’ll obviously have amenities in that end zone that we don’t have anywhere else in the stadium.”
Having walked through it days before, Botros said, “The angle and the closeness to the field of such a premium seat is pretty cool. It’s unlike anywhere I’ve been to have a premium seat that close to the field. And even the suites, just the angle is really, really cool.”
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Texas Tech football players to make grand entrance
When Tech announced plans for the project in July 2022, one of the features that grabbed fans’ attention was a new team entrance. For years, the Red Raiders have come onto the field via a ramp at the southwest corner. Now they’ll enter directly behind the south end zone goalpost — and to get there they’ll pass through Red Raiders fans in the field-level club.
“We will just temporarily put up some rope stanchions,” Botros said. “When they come through, we will remove them so that the fans can get back to mingling in that area.
“The design and the branding of that facility will be second to none. The return of the saddle there for the guys to touch as they take the field and then they’ll continue out, just make a small little left-hand curve and still follow the Masked Rider in a similar position as in previous years.”
Adjacent to the field-level club, plans call for a game-day recruiting lounge for visiting prospects and their families. When the recruits move to their seats in the stadium bowl for kickoff, the lounge area will be opened to Tech letterwinners.
Botros said Tech currently expects to offer field-club passes and priority access to that area based on a fan’s giving level to the Red Raider Club.
“If you already have a ticket in the stadium,” he said, “you can have an additional fee and be able to get down into that field club. Obviously, the team will enter directly through that field club just like at Dallas Cowboys (AT&T) stadium, and so it’ll be unique to something that we don’t have here currently at Jones AT&T Stadium.”
Street-level pavilion to provide Texas Tech football fans view of the field
Above the field-level club will be loge-box seating with four- and six-person boxes equipped with television monitors and coolers. Tech will offer those for sale on a season basis.
Above the loge boxes will be a street-level concourse, complete with high colonnade archways. The design will be in the Spanish Renaissance architecture traditional to the Tech campus.
“So if you’re on — it’s 6th Street, but it’s really a pedestrian pavilion between the Sports Performance Center and the south end zone building — you’ll kind of be able to peek through and look down onto the field from that walking pavilion,” Botros said, “which will also be a unique aspect of the stadium.”
Plans call for the concourse level to have an indoor premium concession marketplace to buy specialty foods and general concessions.
“We’ll obviously have additional concessions, points of sale,” Botros said, “which we hope will help with lines and congestion in other parts of the stadium and allow people to move through there so we’ll see some increased concession sales.”
The next level up from the concourse is the domain of Tech coach Joey McGuire and his staff. Each of the assistants will have an office, and each of the offices will open onto a shared balcony overlooking the field. McGuire will have the corner office, in the southeast nook of the stadium, and it’ll extend into one of the two bell towers that frames the building on either end.
“Part of it is in that main row of offices with a balcony outdoors,” Botros said, “but then it also is kind of an odd L shape that actually extends out into that bell tower, and so it’s incredibly unique as kind of a coach’s office-slash-closing room.
“So you can just imagine how powerful that is — having a conversation with a young man about coming to school here and playing football here in those offices and then going out on the balcony.”
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Premium suites and a party up top
Texas Tech is projecting about $3 million to $3.5 million per season in incremental revenue from the south end zone building, Botros said, not counting commission money the department receives from concession vendors.
A key driver of that anticipated revenue comes from the top level of the building, a row of 17 luxury suites. Those 17 and the existing 85 suites already part of the stadium all are sold, according to Tech officials.
Tech also is planning to offer a suite on each end, possibly to corporate or other groups who can’t commit to a full season’s attendance. Situated in the top right and top left corners of the building, Botros described it as a party deck. Though not officially decided, Botros said Tech could rent the two suites on a per-game basis.
“We have a lot of corporations, businesses, call us and say, ‘Hey, I really can’t (commit to a full season),’ ” Botros said. ” ‘Maybe we’re out of Midland. Maybe we’re out of Amarillo, DFW. We can’t commit to coming for a whole season, but I’d love for one or two games to come entertain our clients and things like that.’ “
Targeted substantial completion dates are in June for the south end zone building and Aug. 31, the date of the season opener, for the adjacent Dustin R. Womble Football Center, which will be the team’s daily headquarters. Also planned for completion by the time of the opener are the new visitors’ locker room at the northeast corner of the stadium and a sound system and video board on the north end.
Projected costs are $4.9 million for the Daktronics video board and $3.7 million for the sound system.
Workers are currently digging and doing underground infrastructure for connection to the visitors’ locker room.
“They are slowly starting to trench that tunnel that will connect the visiting-team locker room and make its way down to the field,” Botros said, “so there’s a lot that they’re having to do. It’s not as easy as just digging a hole. They have to continually reinforce the walls on either side of that trench as they dig further down, and that’s what takes a little bit of time.”
Underground work continues on Jones AT&T Stadium visitors’ locker room
The new visitors’ locker room is scheduled to be completed just in time for the Red Raiders’ Aug. 31 season opener against Abilene Christian
Texas
‘Muslim only’ event at taxpayer-funded Texas waterpark gets major splash back: ‘Should we expect a Christians only day?’
A taxpayer-funded Texas waterpark is getting splash-back for a “Muslims only” event next month after a local Islamic group rented out the facility.
A flier for the DFW Epic Eid event on June 1 noted three times that attendance was strictly for Muslims — and modest swimsuits are required.
“Seems like a civil rights violation,” one outraged commenter said.
“Should we expect a ‘Christians Only’ day?” another commenter asked.
Radio host Dana Loesch asked, “How is a taxpayer-funded, city-owned entity allowed to discriminate against non-Muslims at a public water park?”
After the backlash, the organizer of the event, Aminah Knight, told The Post that she is backtracking on how she is advertising it — “to make it clearer that this is a modest dress-only event centered around celebrating Eid.”
The third-annual event is being held at Epic Waters in Grand Prairie, outside Dallas, a massive, 80,000-square-feet indoor waterpark opened in 2017 at a cost of $88 million.
The park was funded by a 0.25% sales tax residents approved at the ballot box in 2014.
The FAQ for the event says “the entire waterpark has been exclusively reserved for Muslims.”
Although the event website says men and women will not be separated during the event, it notes “we ask all attendees to uphold Islamic etiquette just as they do in other mixed gender spaces,” and encourages all visitors to follow a “modest” dress code and lower their gaze around members of the opposite sex “to help preserve a spiritually mindful and welcoming atmosphere for all.”
The website offers suggestions, including an entire “what to wear” section of the site, complete with purchase links for modesty-approved swimwear for women, girls, boys and toddlers.
Event tickets are being advertised for $55 a pop, or $65 with food included, all of which will be certified halal, according to the flyer.
Also advertised is a private prayer room, which will be available between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on the night of the celebration.
A new flier for the event — released on Monday — removed the worlds “Muslim only” and replaced it with “modest dress only” and added the line “come and celebrate Eid with us, all are welcome!”
Knight told The Post that she did not mean to exclude non-Muslims in organizing the event.
“The core intention behind this event is to create a space where individuals and families who value modest dress and a modest environment can come together and feel comfortable enjoying a recreational space that often doesn’t naturally accommodate those preferences,” she said.
“While the event is rooted in celebrating Eid within the Muslim community, the guiding principle for attendance is the modest dress code.
“Guests are expected to follow that guideline; such as burkinis for women and swim trunks with shirts for men.”
Knight said the park regularly rents out the space for private events, and that this event is no different.
A spokesperson for the water park said the event is “not hosted or organized” by Epic Waters, and that it makes its space available for rent to a variety of groups, including faith-based orgs like DFW Epic Eid.
“These groups regularly book our venue for birthday parties, celebrations, youth events, corporate programming, and other activities, including full-park buyouts for large-scale private or ticketed events. As with all rentals, the hosting entity, not the waterpark, determines the event’s programming,” the spokesperson said.
Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run homer and the Detroit Tigers pulled away to a 7-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday night.
Torkelson had gone five games without a homer after tying a franchise record by homering in five consecutive games.
Kevin McGonigle had two RBI singles and Matt Vierling added a two-run double for Detroit, which has won all five of its home series. Hao-Yu Lee chipped in a run-scoring single.
Tyler Holton served as an opener and retired two of the three batters he faced. Brant Hunter (4-0) tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, allowing two hits and striking out two.
Rangers starter Jack Leiter tied his career high with 10 strikeouts. He lasted 6 2/3 innings and was charged with five runs.
Leiter struck out six of the first eight batters he faced. He didn’t allow a baserunner until he issued a four-pitch walk to Riley Greene. Torkelson fell behind in the count 0-2, then clubbed a hanging slider over the left field wall to give Detroit a 2-0 lead.
McGonigle’s line drive single in the sixth knocked in Jake Rogers, who led off the inning with a liner that bounced past center fielder Evan Carter for a triple.
Texas scored in the seventh on Kyle Higashioka’s RBI groundout. The Tigers then scored four runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by Vierling’s two-run bloop double.
Up next
The Rangers begin a three-game road series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. RHP Jacob deGrom (2-1, 2.01) will start for Texas.
Tigers ace LHP Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.70) will start the opener of a three-game home series against Boston on Monday.
The developers and Muslim American groups deny these claims and say it will be a “Muslim neighborhood” and not a separately-governed space.
So what is true?
EPIC city is a planned large-scale development project in Texas, promoted by a private development group associated with the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) area community.
The “city” is a plan to develop a 402-acre tract of land in Hunt and Collin Counties that, when built, will host more than 1,000 residential lots, a faith-based K-12 school, commercial and retail centers, and a mosque. It has now been quietly rebranded “The Meadow.”
It is not a new city, and will not have its own government. It will remain under Texas state law.
Marketing materials lead to HUD investigation
However, marketing materials that promoted the development have referred to it as an exclusively “Muslim community” that will serve as “the epicenter of Islam in America.”
This prompted the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) to launch an investigation to determine whether EPIC City’s plans violated the Fair Housing Act by engaging in religious and national-origin discrimination.
This included reviews into whether the project used discriminatory financial terms that required lot owners to subsidize a mosque and Islamic educational centers.
“It is deeply concerning that the East Plano Islamic Center may have violated the Fair Housing Act and participated in religious discrimination,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner.
“As HUD Secretary, I will not stand for illegal religious or national origin discrimination in housing and will ensure that this matter receives a thorough investigation so that this community is open to all Texans.”
Texas state officials, Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, have been repeatedly attempting to block the project, believing it to be a potential for Sharia law.
Paxton has filed multiple active lawsuits against them, including for securities fraud and illegal maneuvers involving their municipal utility district. These are multiple separate cases, and there is no single unified case against EPIC City.
Abbott has already directed multiple state agencies to get to the bottom of it. He claimed that the Texas Rangers also opened up a criminal investigation.
“Sharia law is not allowed in Texas,” he has said on multiple occasions.
Last week, Travis County District Judge Amy Clark Meachum ruled that the Texas Workforce Commission must honor a settlement agreement and back off its fair housing scrutiny of EPIC City.
This was after EPIC filed an underlying lawsuit to force the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”) to approve certain fair housing documents despite an ongoing federal investigation involving EPIC.
Abbott, however, said on X/Twitter Thursday, “This erroneous court ruling has already been appealed and halted. Additionally, the so-called city is the subject of other litigation and countless investigations. It will never see the light of day.”
Paxton has appealed the ruling, suspending the temporary injunction pending appeal, and ensuring that the Texas Workforce Commission will not be forced to take unlawful action while the case proceeds.
“Following my appeal of the flawed ruling that would have required the Texas Workforce Commission to unlawfully approve fair housing documents for EPIC, I am glad to see that the developers will not receive such services as this lawsuit is proceeding,” said Attorney General Paxton.
“EPIC city developers have sought out any possible way to evade the law and further their development scheme. I will be relentless in ensuring that any attempt by EPIC City to move its development forward in violation of the law is stopped.”
On the same day, a state court judge in Collin County temporarily blocked further actions by a utility district slated to serve EPIC City.
“The state is just asking for a pause until we can figure out what’s going on,” Wesley Williams with the Texas attorney general’s office told Judge Nowak. “There’s a lot of secrecy surrounding this board.”
The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas) has, however, defended the project and called the allegations against it “Islamophobic witch hunts and politically driven regulatory harassment.”
In a statement on Thursday, CAIR-Tx said: “For over a year, state leaders have abused their authority in a bigoted attempt to deny Texas Muslims their constitutional right to develop an inclusive, family-oriented community.”
“We applaud the court for holding state agencies accountable and recognizing that the law applies equally to everyone, including the State of Texas.”
According to archived materials found by The Jerusalem Post, the project has moved from public-facing to more private over the last year, likely due to the public scrutiny.
While its website is currently inactive, its February 2023 site described the project as “a safe purpose-built community to serve the growing needs of the Muslim community.”
In the investor pitch, now also not available, it said that anyone wishing to purchase a lot must note that the “price of the lots covers land purchase cost, land development of roads and utilities, construction of EPIC 2.0 Masjid [mosque], and Construction of EPIC QCA School.
It also said that while many owners are free to choose any financing institution they prefer, “to provide convenience for our investors, we are working with Islamic Financing companies to ensure that Islamic Financing is available.”
Elsewhere, the terms and conditions say the developer intends to donate portions of the Land to EPIC for the mosque and the private school, and also intends to donate to EPIC 100% of the net proceeds from the sale of Lots to the mosque.
The developer is essentially saying: “We will build the infrastructure, sell the lots, and give the profits and some land to EPIC to support its mosque and school.”
None of this is outright illegal. However, it becomes illegal if people are excluded based on religion. Any project must also comply with fair housing, zoning, and development regulations.
What does this mean? A project cannot require buyers to be Muslim, it cannot exclude non-Muslims, it cannot advertise it as “Muslim-only housing,” and it cannot enforce religious membership as a condition of ownership.
Additionally, if buyers are indirectly funding a religious institution through land purchases, regulators may assess whether risks are clearly disclosed and whether profits are properly marketed.
It is this aspect that Abbott and Paxton have been investigating.
One of the main figures, the face of the project, is Yasir Qadhi (formerly Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi), who is both the dean of The Islamic Seminary of America and resident scholar of the East Plano Islamic Center.
A former Salafist, he was criticized in 2010 for saying “Hitler never intended to mass-destroy the Jews” and “that Hitler never actually intended to massacre the Jews, he actually wanted to expel them to neighboring lands.” He later apologized for this and went on a trip to Auschwitz as part of a delegation.
Regarding EPIC City, Qadhi said it will be a “role model community of thousands of Muslims living well-integrated.”
“We are not forming a cult. We’re not forming big barriers between the rest of society. We’re going to be giving back to this state and this country, and we’re going to be showing what it means to be a Muslim neighborhood.”
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