Fans stand up for the T-shirt toss during a game against the Minnesota Lynx on May 16 at College Park Center.
File photo / Samarie Goffney
The Dallas Wings have played at UTA’s College Park Center since their move to Texas in 2016, but in 2024, the team signed a deal with the city of Dallas to eventually move to its namesake town.
Plans were made to renovate the Dallas Memorial Auditorium into a basketball arena, set to open in 2026. Then, the arena’s opening was delayed to 2027. Eventually, the date was pushed back again to 2028.
An agreement said that if the auditorium wasn’t finished on time, the Wings would temporarily play in the American Airlines Center, starting in 2026. Despite this, the team has played at College Park Center this year.
Outlets spent the whole season waiting for an eventual announcement that the team would make the move to the home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and NHL’s Dallas Stars. Even head coach Jose Fernandez seemingly let slip before the season that the team would move to the 20,000-seat downtown arena.
Eventually, in August, just before the second of the team’s three games at the American Airlines Center in 2026, it was officially announced that the team was in its final season in Arlington and would move to Dallas in 2027.
For some fans, the move means the team they’ve watched play nearly every home game for 11 seasons will be harder to see in person. For others, it means the team they’ve recently grown to love will be easier to see.
Jodi Conner and Susan Watson, both Euless, Texas, residents in their 70s, said they’ve been Wings season ticket holders for half a decade and have been to every home game. The pair said that’ll likely change after the move.
“We have to find out if the train runs, because driving in Dallas at that time of day, we hate it,” Watson said.
Decatur, Texas, residents and season ticket holders Sheryl Adair, 62, and Tricia Johnson, 52, similarly said that while the drive to Arlington is already far for them, driving to Dallas would likely double the journey.
“We live so far. I mean, this is not bad, but going to Dallas is going to be too much, and traffic is getting worse and worse,” Johnson said.
“It would be devastating because we’ll still be fans, and we’ll watch it on TV, but we won’t get to come.”
Even some excited by the move say the temporary home may not be a good fit. Dallas County resident Cathy Brownlee, who’s held Wings season tickets since 2016, said that while she’s excited about the team playing in the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, she despises the American Airlines Center.
Plano resident Paula DeAnda, 26, holds up a sign dedicated to rookie guard Paige Bueckers during a game against the Minnesota Lynx on May 16 at College Park Center.
File photo / Samarie Goffney
“We’re really excited about moving to the auditorium, but the American Airlines Center is an awful place to see games or concerts or anything else,” Brownlee said. “The seats are terrible. They’re too close for anybody that’s over 5’5”.”
Not everyone dislikes the idea of the Wings playing in Dallas. Some, like 26-year-old North Dallas resident Keenan Parker, said that moving somewhere with more access to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system will be a positive for the team.
Others, like 20-year-old Schulenburg, Texas, resident Mileidi Cortez, said the team moving to the bigger city will help expand an already expanding fan base.
“It’ll bring more fans because they’re moving to a stadium that more people are familiar with, but I think it’ll be a good move for them,” Cortez said. “I’m excited. I’m happy for the team.”
Even some who are from Arlington, like 48-year-old Dana Jones, said they’re sticking with the team no matter where in Dallas-Fort Worth the home arena is.
“I’m just a Wings fan,” Jones said before the team’s first game in Dallas this year. “Even though Arlington is closer for me, it’s like seven minutes from my house, I would absolutely travel the half hour to come here.”
College Park Center has been the home of the Dallas Wings since 2016.
File photo / Samarie Goffney
Many Wings fans agree with Jones’ sentiment. For one reason or another, the move won’t mean a change in tendencies for a lot of them, just a change of which highway exit to take.
Even for the team itself, according to Fernandez, there are only two main differences between American Airlines and College Park: the capacity and the location.
“I live right on the border of Midlothian and Waxahachie,” Fernandez said after the first game in Dallas this season. “I like it out there. It’s quiet. The dogs are running around. I got here quicker today.”
The Wings play their final two regular-season games in Arlington at 7 p.m. Sept. 17 against the Los Angeles Sparks and at noon Sept. 19 against the Phoenix Mercury.
@TyRoland06