The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved a resolution for the Dallas Wings to play in the city. The WNBA franchise currently plays its home games in Arlington.
The measure is a 15-year use agreement for the Wings to play at Dallas Memorial Auditorium, which is attached to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
“Dallas is the place to be right now – for residents, for businesses, and for professional sports teams and their fans,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement “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 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.”
Interest in women's basketball is spiking with the popularity of Iowa's record-setting Caitlin Clark who was drafted by the WNBA's Indiana Fever to begin her pro career.
With the added draw of Clark's popularity, the WNBA hopes attendance will swell strongly and that is already raising the profile of the WNBA's franchise, the Dallas Wings, who will host the Fever for a pre-season game on May 3, marking Clark's first time on a professional court.
That game has already sold out at the 7,000-seat College Park Center at UT-Arlington where the Wings play.
City leaders are hoping to lure the team to Dallas with a nearly $20 million package of incentives.
Dallas Memorial Auditorium seats about 10,000 fans which would give the Wings room to grow their attendance which averaged about 4,600 this past season, ranking fourth from the bottom among the WNBA's twelve teams.
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