The Dallas Wings are one step closer to getting a home base in their namesake city.
The Dallas City Council approved a $19 million incentive agreement on Wednesday as part of a deal to develop a $55 million training facility and office space for the WNBA team, the Dallas Business Journal reported. The address of the development site, 1200 North Cockrell Hill Road, is in the Pinnacle Park area of West Dallas at a site zoned for industrial use and partially designated as Joey Georgusis Park.
The incentives will be paid out over three years from convention center construction funds.
The site requires rezoning to allow recreational use, which city staff said could take up to six months and may not reach the council until August. That timeline is raising concerns about whether the facility can be completed before the 2026 WNBA season, when the Wings are supposed to move out of their offices at UT Arlington’s College Park Center, where its games are played.
Their home court is expected to relocate to the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, which is part of the downtown convention center, by 2027.
City officials previously explored locations in downtown and the Cedars, but Rosa Fleming, the city’s director of convention and event services, said the Cockrell Hill Road property won out for its airport access, development potential and alignment with regional park and recreation needs.
Council members were divided on the choice.
Council Member Paul Ridley questioned whether enough alternative sites had been considered, raising doubts about timing and costs. Council Member Cara Mendelsohn opposed using convention center funds for a facility far from the city’s core, suggesting reinvestment in Fair Park or other existing structures downtown.
Still, the vote reflects Dallas’ push to retain major league teams as more franchises eye suburban options.
“For anybody who’s listening: we are ready to make deals,” Mayor Eric Johnson said. “We are ready to be aggressive. We are ready to compete for that business, because we are not going to just continue to concede it to our suburbs.”
The facility’s design-and-build contract with Gensler was increased to $30 million in May.
— Judah Duke
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