Dallas Wings set to move to Downtown Dallas after city council vote

DALLAS - The City of Dallas approved an agreement that will all but certainly make Downtown Dallas the new home of the Dallas Wings.

Dallas City Council approved a 15-year, $19 million agreement to move the WNBA franchise's games from Arlington to Dallas Memorial Auditorium at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

The city says the $19 million in incentives will be paid out over three years and offset by revenue from parking at the convention center arena and a $2 ticket fee.

The city estimates the deal will generate more than $23 million for the convention center operating fund over 15 years.

"It's an exciting day for the Dallas Wings and the City of Dallas," said Dallas Wings President & CEO Greg Bibb after the vote.

Council members also hope giving new life to an old arena will spur other economic development nearby.

"Imagine the people who live downtown who can walk to the game, walk to a restaurant," said councilmember Tennell Atkins.

A renovated arena could bring other teams.

"VisitDallas has brought other opportunites to interim city manager," said Rosa Flemming, the city's director of Convention and Event Services.

The Dallas Wings have played their games at College Park Center at The University of Texas at Arlington since they moved to North Texas from Tulsa in 2016.

College Park Center holds 6,251 fans.

Dallas Memorial Auditorium holds close to 10,000 seats. It is expected to be renovated as part of a much larger facelift to the convention center, which was passed by voters in 2022.

"If we want to continue to grow, we need more seats, we need a bigger building, we need facilities for our athletes to train," said Bibb.

Under the terms of the agreement, the team would agree to obtain occupancy after the 2025 season, pending approval by the WNBA.

The Wings will continue to play games in Arlington in 2024 and 2025.

Wings officials began meeting with the City of Dallas after Mayor Eric Johnson created a committee for the city to recruit and retain pro sports franchises in 2022.

"I am thrilled to finally welcome the Dallas Wings home!" Johnson said in a statement on social media.

The City of Dallas and the Wings still need to finalize the agreements.

"This proposed deal comes at a time when interest in women’s sports, the WNBA, and the Wings is at record levels, bringing a valuable community asset to a historic city venue," said Bibb. "The Wings saw record attendance in 2023, and virtually every business metric record has been, or will soon be, broken during the 2024 season. We have sold out of Season Ticket Memberships while experiencing unprecedented ticket sales growth year to date." 

Under the agreement, the Wings would have access to office and training facilities year-round.

The move comes with interest in women's basketball spiking.

"I've been involved in women's basketball since 2007. Never did I imagine we would have the days we are having now," said Bibb.

The Dallas Wings sold out its preseason game against phenom Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on May 3.

The Wings say that the two regular season games with Clark are near selling out.

Season tickets memberships for Wings games in 2024 were also sold out for the first time in team history.

Bibb says now the real work begins.

"We have to get the building ready to go so we can be ready to play beginning of the 2026 season," Bibb said.

The regular season for the Wings begins on May 15 against the Chicago Sky.