Update:
Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report, “Decoding Downtown,” which examines the state of Downtown Dallas ahead of 2025.
Women’s basketball is booming and so is business for the Dallas Wings.
The organization sold out season-ticket memberships for the first time in its history in 2024, with individual ticket sales up more than 1,100%. Talks that the Wings could use the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft on UConn superstar Paige Bueckers has increased fervor. Season-ticket memberships for 2025 have already sold out.
As the brand grows, the organization has secured a larger stage.
Come 2026, the Wings will leave their current home court, UT Arlington’s College Park Center, and move to Memorial Arena at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown. The Dallas City Council in April approved a 15-year, $19 million use agreement for the Wings to play at the venue.
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As the calendar turns to 2025, the city is in the process of soliciting bids, with plans to recommend firms to the City Council in the first quarter of 2025, said Jennifer Brown, a spokeswoman for the city. The Wings declined interview requests for this story.
The Wings play a crucial role in Dallas’ efforts to revitalize downtown. Plans include creating a sports entertainment district around the convention center, which will undergo a $3.7 billion redevelopment.
City voters approved in November 2023 a hotel tax increase to pay for a new convention center and related projects, including renovations to the more than 60-year-old arena. Renovations will include efforts to make the space compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, said Rosa Fleming, director of the city’s convention and event service department.
UConn guard Paige Bueckers (left) could be the top overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft in April. The Wings have the No. 1 pick.(John Munson / AP)
Wings President and CEO Greg Bibb told The Dallas Morning News in October the project will create “more opportunity to generate revenue, more ability to impact the community and first and foremost, services to help our athletes be the best they can be, which ultimately leads to championships.”
This story is part of a special report, “Decoding downtown,” which examines the state of downtown Dallas ahead of 2025.
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