On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council will decide whether to let a new professional women’s soccer team use the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Fair Park as its home starting as soon as this summer.
A resolution The proposed vote would give up to $296,000 per year to Oak View Group (OVG), the management firm for Fair Park, to make the Cotton Bowl suitable for the professional team, which amounts to about $18,500 for each game.
This decision says that the City Council has identified the Cotton Bowl and Fair Park as a priority for economic development in the southern sector.
The decision explained that a professional sports team wants to play their league games at the Cotton Bowl Stadium at Fair Park.
While the City has not confirmed which team might move into the stadium, it's expected that a USL Super League team could use the stadium if the resolution passes.
The USL Super League, a new women’s professional soccer league with eight teams, will start kick off in August 2024, and one of the teams listed is based in Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
A memo Information obtained by WFAA shows that the money given to OVG will be used for security, preparing the site, and any other expenses related to hosting the team, which is anticipated to play about 19 games at the stadium during the season.
The Cotton Bowl Stadium previously hosted a professional soccer team when FC Dallas played there from 1996 to midway through the 2005 season, with only two soccer events held in the stadium since then.
A lot of details about the potential USL Super League team are unknown, but the team is expected to announce the name, logo, and other specifics during an event at Klyde Warren Park on May 9, according to D Magazine.
Even though Cotton Bowl Stadium is undergoing renovations, the team would play on the opposite side of the construction and should not be affected, according to the memo obtained by WFAA.
Mayor Eric Johnson has consistently expressed his desire to bring more sports to the City. He previously called for the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, to move their team to Dallas.
The Chiefs were in Dallas from 1960 to 1962 before moving to Kansas City before the 1963 season.
Johnson’s call for the move came after a failed sales tax proposal to keep the team in Kansas City. The mayor noted that the team should move back because the “connections are deeply ingrained, and the history is rich,” reported The Dallas Express.
The desire for more sports in the City is not just limited to Johnson, as the Dallas City Council voted unanimously to allow the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA’s) Dallas Wings to move from Arlington to Downtown Dallas, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Even though the move is still awaiting approval from the WNBA’s Board of Governors, the team is expected to sign a 15-year lease to play home games in the Dallas Memorial Auditorium at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Center starting in the 2026 season.
