He also played a key role in bringing Formula 1 racing to Austin by investing in the Circuit of the Americas, the Austin track that has hosted the annual United States Grand Prix since 2012.
In a statement Monday, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Mr. McCombs “a true Texas titan in sports, media, business and philanthropy” who had “followed his dreams.”
The most profitable company of Mr. McCombs was Clear Channel, which he co-founded with Lowry Mays in 1972, when they bought a local radio station in San Antonio, KEEZ-FM, for $125,000. (Mr. Mays died in September at age 87.)
The two men went on to acquire radio stations, then television stations and billboards across the country. With the help of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, which allowed media conglomerates to own an unlimited number of stations, they made the company the largest owner of radio stations in the world; by 2000, Clear Channel had more than 1,200.
The company eventually expanded into event promotion, live music and sports management. Mr. Lowry oversaw the business, but Mr. McCombs was instrumental in seizing expansion opportunities, according to John Hogan, the company’s former president and CEO.
“He was adamant in supporting the idea that when telecom regulations changed in 1996, we needed to move quickly and aggressively, and that those who were slow and hesitant would be left behind,” said the Mr. Hogan in an interview for this obituary. .
Although the company was often criticized for homogenizing radio programming in a way that removed much of the local flavor of independent radio stations, the formula was extremely profitable. When Mr. Lowry began to see signs that the Internet would disrupt his well-oiled strategy, he and Mr. McCombs sold the company in 2006 for $17.9 billion to a private equity group led by Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners. As part of the deal, the group agreed to assume more than $8 billion in the company’s debt.
