Dallas – Ray Gomez – who worked as a phys-ed teacher and meatpacker, among other things, on his way to becoming a successful builder in Texas – is facing his biggest job ever: a new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys.
With ingenuity and perseverence, Gomez has transformed his company, which started out as a small two-person operation, into a firm that bills millions of dollars each year.
Rayco Construction Inc. is building the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium in Arlington, Texas, where its office is located.
“Without doubt, it’s the most enviable and biggest project I’ve ever had, … (and) in addition we’re also right in the public view. Although I keep thinking I have a small company, this is a definite step toward a more solid work footing not only for me, but for hundreds of subcontractors,” said the 58-year-old Gomez.
Rayco Construction is participating in the huge $650 million project along with Manhattan Construction and 3i Construction, and the trio intend to complete the stadium in four years.
“We’re talking about thousands and thousands of people who will have work while the construction … is under way,” said Gomez.
The new stadium, which will have a capacity of 100,000 people and will house restaurants, stores and the Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame, might be the professional pinnacle for other people, but not for Gomez.
“That remains to be seen. For now, there’s a lot of work to do,” he said.
Currently, Gomez – a Texan born of Mexican parents – has an important contract with the Dallas-Fort Worth airport to help build International Terminal D, as well as projects with multinational firms and the federal government.
He has also worked on the construction of military projects in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Gomez clearly has a sparkling present and an encouraging future, and his past is an example of tenacity and how his persistence enabled him to overcome assorted obstacles.
He started out as a physical education teacher at an El Paso high school, a position he moved into because of his love for sports.
After several years of financial difficulties, however, Gomez left his teaching job to work in a meatpacking plant and then later as a painter.
Working with a relative, he said that the painting job was something that, at the time, he felt was “just a chance to get myself out of my difficulties while looking for something better.”
He landed a few small painting contracts that occupied him for several months of hard work.
“I was able to bid on several (painting) projects to run my business, but I noticed that they needed a broader-based company in the construction area and not one that just handled painting,” he said.
“It was then that I equipped a small team of Hispanics who knew how to do everything, from bricklaying to electricity,” he added.
He landed his first medium-sized contracts in the Texas cities of Big Springs, Lubbock and San Angelo, but then he expanded the business to Little Rock, Arkansas, and now he has registered the firm in five other states as well.
“Despite the fact that at first I didn’t dream I’d achieve what I have now, I never lost faith in my ability to get ahead. But I did it with lots of sacrifice and lots of humility. You can’t have one without the other,” Gomez said.
