ARLINGTON – Dallas Cowboys and Arlington officials said they're close to a handshake deal on how much the team will pay for extra police, fire and rescue staffing needed on game days.

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Construction of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington continues.

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The City Council was scheduled to approve an ordinance Tuesday setting those staffing levels, but that vote was postponed. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones sent a letter to Mayor Robert Cluck saying that the team agreed to abide by the city's requirements.

"Because we have agreed to the city-proposed staffing and pay levels, we believe there is no longer a need for a special events ordinance of the nature that the city posted late last week," Jones wrote in a letter dated Monday.

Cluck said that if the Cowboys agree to all parts of the ordinance, he wouldn't pursue its passage. He said he'd recommend that the council vote on the special events ordinance a week from Tuesday only if there were any details that couldn't be worked out.

"The ordinance is a little stiff-handed," Cluck said. "We have a very good relationship with the Cowboys and have worked back and forth to solve problems."

He said that skipping the ordinance and just agreeing to the details would be a "friendly way to take care of the public safety funds that we think are essential for the protection of the stadium and the people."

The proposal would require the Cowboys to pay for 32 fire and rescue personnel and 260 police officers to handle public safety during games. They would receive 11/2 times pay or double time on city holidays.

The staffing would include officers to run two large holding cells and three small isolation cells in the stadium. The cells, created by a firm specializing in jail construction, are common in large stadiums and arenas.

Irving police said Texas Stadium has a small holding facility for those arrested during events and game days.

Arlington and the Cowboys started discussing public safety plans in September 2007 but had not been able to agree on all the details.

The summary provided with the ordinance from last Tuesday's meeting said that "due to inadequate progress, the city's Public Safety team briefed the City Council in late June and early July regarding a proposed Special Event Ordinance." The two sides talked again in late 2008 and early this year.

Randle Meadows, president of the Arlington Police Association, said he would not comment about this issue until the council decides whether to vote on the ordinance on Feb. 17.

Shawn Graham, president of Arlington Professional Fire Fighters, said his association is satisfied with the proposed staffing levels and would like to see them approved as an ordinance.

"That puts a level of protection in place for our city to fall back on," Graham said.

He said he's confident that the mayor and council will do what's best for Arlington.

Brett Daniels, a spokesman for the Cowboys, declined to say how much the plan would cost the team for an average game. Cluck said he didn't have those figures immediately available.

The Cowboys had a similar deal with the city of Irving to pay for staffing at home games at Texas Stadium. The team starts playing at its new $1.1 billion stadium in Arlington this year.

Cluck said they were never too far apart during negotiations. He said that one sticking point was that the Cowboys didn't want to pay the 1 ½ -times hourly wage.

The amount the Cowboys typically pay Irving police and fire officials during game and events was not immediately available Friday.

Staff writer Brandon Formby contributed to this report