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LITTLE ROCK - Like Wal-Mart, Jerry Jones knows how to make a buck in a down market.
"I've always known that sports is a respite during hard times. We've always known that it's a place to go," the Dallas Cowboys owner said Tuesday. "That's one of the reasons you're seeing the ratings that you're seeing."
Jones, addressing an audience of travel professionals at a forum in downtown Little Rock, said his target market is far larger than Cowboys ticket buyers.
Noting that only 7 percent of NFL fans have seen a live game, Jones said that his team's $1.2 billion stadium in Arlington "is an experience that is known throughout the United States or possibly other parts of the world."
Jones, who grew up in North Little Rock about a half-mile from where the U.S. Travel Association's Marketing Outlook Forum took place, said tradition is an important factor in marketing the Cowboys.
"It's not (quarterback Tony) Romo today, it's what he represents," Jones said. "We've got great tradition all over this country. And we've got people that participate. We've got generations that can be tapped into.
"Look for the tradition, don't underestimate it," he said.
Jones recalled how he sold shoes and insurance at the same time while a student athlete at the University of Arkansas in the 1960s. He said he once was working at a Ben Franklin store in Berryville and wound up making a sale to Sam Walton, founder of Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Jones' ambitions are similar to the late Walton's, except he doesn't thrive by offering low prices.
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