DALLAS — Dallas City Council approved a 15-year agreement 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 approved unanimously Wednesday concerns a resident use and incentive agreement for the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, which is part of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. The auditorium's renovation is part of a larger development plan for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
“The Dallas Wings would like to thank the City of Dallas and especially Mayor Johnson for his strategic vision and commitment,” said Dallas Wings President and CEO Greg Bibb. “The City of Arlington, the University of Texas at Arlington, and College Park Center continue to be valued partners, and we look forward to playing in Arlington for the next two seasons.”
The Wings weren’t named in the resolution shared in Dallas City Council agenda documents, but Dallas Wings’ CEO Greg Bibb confirmed in a statement that his team has been in talks with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and other city officials about the planned renovations to the auditorium.
Johnson released the following statement after the approval of the 15-year deal:
"Dallas is the place to be right now – for residents, for businesses, and for professional sports teams and their fans," he said. "This deal has been a top priority for us because we know the Dallas Wings will soar in the city they represent. We will be thrilled to welcome the Wings to the heart of our city – and we are even more excited to see this franchise anchor our new convention center district that will transform downtown Dallas for decades to come."
The deal would find the Wings moving to Dallas Memorial Auditorium for the 2026 WNBA season, pending final approval by the WNBA's Board of Governors as well as the completion of the planned renovations to the arena and the convention center at large. It is not yet known when it will be approved.
The Wings will continue to play their 2024 and 2025 campaigns in Arlington as planned.
The University of Texas at Arlington's College Park Center, where the Dallas Wings have historically played their games, seats about 7,000, according to its website.
“The Wings have been a wonderful partner for UTA since 2016, providing a national platform for our state-of-the-art, 7,000-seat College Park Center. The University and our arena staff remain focused on continuing to deliver an exceptional experience for the fans and the team for the upcoming 2024 and 2025 seasons," Jeff Carlton, executive director of communications and media relations told WFAA ahead of the vote.
The Dallas Memorial Auditorium has a capacity of about 10,000 and is easily accessed by public transportation.
Per the resolution, the Wings would occupy Dallas Memorial Auditorium for a minimum of 70 days between April 15 and Nov. 1, although the agreement also includes year-round use of the facility for training and office space.
The agreement also includes $19 million in incentives paid by the city to the Wings over three calendar years. City officials expect to offset those costs by at least $1.5 million in annual revenues over the next 15 years, according to the resolution.
"Now the real work begins, now we have to get the building ready to go so that we can be here to play starting in the 2026 season," said Bibb.
Mayor 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.
"He made us feel as we should feel, as a major league team because that’s what our world class athletes deserve," Bibb said.
The agreement comes amid a surge of interest in women’s basketball, partially attributed to Caitlin Clark, which is believed to have helped the Wings sell out of home season ticket agreements in advance of its upcoming season for the first time.
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