DALLAS — The Dallas City Council is expected to consider a 15-year deal Wednesday that could see the WNBA’s Dallas Wings relocate from UT- Arlington’s College Park Center to downtown Dallas’ convention center arena.
The resolution up for consideration Wednesday concerns a resident use and incentive agreement for the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, part of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center downtown. The auditorium's renovation is part of a larger development plan for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
“A professional sports team has expressed desire to relocate to the City as its resident home base,” the draft resolution reads. “The city recognizes the potential detrimental effects the relocation may cause the professional sports team… and the city recognizes the long-term economic and collateral benefits to be gained by activating the use of the Arena through the relocation of a professional sports team to the city.”
The Wings aren’t named in the resolution shared in Dallas City Council agenda documents, but Dallas Wings’ CEO Greg Bibb confirmed in a statement that they’ve been in talks with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and other city officials about the planned renovations to the auditorium.
“While there are many details that remain to be worked through, including approval by the Dallas City Council and the WNBA’s Board of Governors, the possibilities of relocating to downtown Dallas are boundless,” Bibb wrote. “Women’s basketball has captured the nation’s attention like never before, and both the WNBA and the Wings are experiencing an unprecedented surge in popularity. The city of Arlington, the University of Texas at Arlington, and College Park Center continue to be wonderful partners, and we look forward to continuing that relationship during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The City of Dallas’ proposal offers a fitting, world-class stage for our remarkable athletes and devoted fans and we look forward to commenting further at the appropriate time.”
Watch the full interview with Greg Bibb here:
The agreement proposed would include $19 million in incentives paid over three calendar years, according to the draft resolution. City officials expect to offset the costs by at least $1.5 million in annual revenues over the next 15 years, according to the resolution.
College Park Center seats about 7,000, according to its website, and the Dallas Memorial Auditorium has a capacity of about 10,000.
The team would occupy the auditorium for a minimum of 70 days between April 15 and Nov. 1, according to the draft resolution, but the proposal includes year-round use of the facility for training and office space.
Johnson created the city council’s ad hoc committee on professional sports recruitment and retention in hopes of attracting more sports franchises to the city in 2022. WFAA has reached out to Johnson’s office for comment and we’ll update this story when we hear back.
The proposal comes amid a surge of interest in women’s basketball, partially attributed to Caitlin Clark, that is believed to have helped the Wings sell out of season tickets for the first time.