Fort Worth's Dickies Arena will host two more NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament this weekend, and businesses in the city's Cultural District are celebrating a spike in customers. The arena will host a total of six first and second round games through Saturday.
The Fort Worth Sports Commission estimates the games will have a $6 million economic impact in the city.
"It's huge, it's amazing," says Sarah Castillo, owner of Taco Heads, across Montgomery from the arena. "It's crazy we have this location, and it's directly across the street."
Lines of customers stretched onto the sidewalk outside Taco Heads during games Thursday afternoon. Castillo says the arena has brought more business since opening in November of 2019.
"We've been here since 2016, and they announced Dickies Arena, so we did a big remodel to get ready for all the Dickies events," she says.
Since the arena was announced, a hotel has opened across Montgomery. Hotel Dryce is a 21 room boutique Hotel near Montgomery and Byers with a bar in the lobby.
Last September, developers broke ground on a $250 million dollar project a few blocks away at Camp Bowie and Van Cliburn Way. Crescent Cultural District will include an eight-floor office building, 8,600 square feet of meeting space, 170 apartments, a bar, spa and fitness center. The project is scheduled to open in 2023.
The Harlem Globetrotters are scheduled to play at Dickies Arena April 3 followed by Disney on Ice April 7-10.
May 17, Paul McCartney will play at Dickies Arena. McCartney previously played at Choctaw Stadium, then Globe Life Park, in Arlington in 2019. The concert at Dickies Arena will be his first appearance in Fort Worth since 1976 with his band, Wings.
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