The City of Dallas and Dallas Sports Commission have launched a program that will give teens in the city access to professional and amateur sporting events. The "Mayor's Youth Sports Ticket Program" was announced Monday.
Mayor Eric Johnson says this project was inspired by the Teen All Access Pass. That program was launched by Dallas Parks and Recreation to provide up to 10,000 teens with free admission to places like the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas Arboretum and Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum.
"We are going to continue to make our city safer, we're going to continue to make it more fun, we're going to continue to make it more family-friendly," said Mayor Eric Johnson.
Children ages 12 to 17 will be able to get a pass to one event. They will also get a pass for a chaperone. Twelve organizations are participating:
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Sidekicks
Dallas Stars
Dallas Wings
FC Dallas
Fair Park First
SMU
Dallas Baptist University
University of Dallas
University of Texas at Dallas
Texas Motorplex in Ennis
"I can't thank our partners enough," said Monica Paul, executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission. "Quite honestly, when we looked to start this program, I wasn't sure it was going to be that long of a list. I think this shows our sports organizations do give back to the community, and they recognize the benefits sports have to our kids who are developing."
Kids can also sign up to attend individual events:
First Responder Bowl
MEX Tour
NCAA Women's Final Four
World Food Championship
The organizations participating say the partnerships aim to provide access to fans who may not be able to afford tickets on their own.
"Once a community gets involved ... to uplift the kids who are underserved and really don't have the opportunity to feel like they're a part of what's going on in the city is very important," said former Dallas Maverick Rolando Blackmon.
Blackmon was born in Panama and lived in New York City when the Mets won their first pennant in 1969.
"I remember the Mighty Mets, having the opportunity to watch those people play and win a championship was such a fantastic, inspirational piece to a kid who just came to this country for an education," he said.
Blackmon says businesses and parents worked together to find a way for kids in his neighborhood to attend some games.
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"The real opportunity is to tie that to educational value, tie that to community value, tie that to national value and really uplift these kids so they feel like they are part of something special. These are the things that are very important when people are inside a community," he said. "We can talk about who's red, who's blue, who's this, that and the other. What matters is you feel included."
Details about the program are available at https://www.dallassports.org/mayors-youth-ticket-program.html .
The city and Dallas Sports Commission say they are also working to expand the program to other organizations.
"Bear with us because we are trying to do something that's never been done before, but I'm extremely excited about what this program is so far and what it can become," Johnson said.
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