Wings CEO and president Greg Bibb speaks as the Dallas Wings and the City of Dallas had a groundbreaking at the site of the team’s new practice facility at Joey Georgusis Park, in Dallas, Texas, Friday, September 26, 2025.
Anja Schlein/Special Contributor
As two Dallas sports franchises plan their departures from downtown, another still doesn’t know its move-in date, and its CEO says there hasn’t been an update in months.
The WNBA’s Dallas Wings are still waiting on a renovated Memorial Auditorium in downtown that was supposed to open for the 2026 season before construction delays resulting from the city’s bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s International Broadcast Center.
The Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars, meanwhile, have a clear path forward. The NBA’s Mavericks are set to build a new arena at the old Valley View Mall site in North Dallas, and the NHL’s Stars are bound for The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano.
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“I’m happy for the Mavericks. I’m happy for the Stars,” Wings CEO and managing partner Greg Bibb told The Dallas Morning News last week, reflecting on the recent shifts in the Dallas-Fort Worth sports landscape. “I just want to remind city leadership and I guess everyone else that the Dallas Wings made a commitment to downtown over two years ago.”
Bibb said he is meeting with city officials at the end of this month, but the Wings last received a formal update about the Memorial project during a design review in December, despite aggressively pursuing the city for an update in the months since.
City spokesperson Rick Ericson told The News in an email Tuesday that Rosa Fleming, director of convention and event services, spoke to Bibb about Memorial Auditorium two weeks ago and speaks to the Wings weekly regarding the construction of their new practice facility in Oak Cliff.
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“Rosa’s team is currently working with the construction manager at risk and the design team to refine the design for Memorial,” Ericson wrote. “They will meet with the Wings later this month to review the design work, and she’ll have an update after that meeting.”
Bibb reiterated Tuesday in a statement to The News that outside of him reaching out in hopes of scheduling a meeting, there has been no formal discussion on Memorial Auditorium since December.
“We have not seen a revised design, budget or timeline,” he wrote.
In April 2024, the Wings signed a 15-year, $19 million use agreement with the city to move to Memorial Auditorium. The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center being named host of the 2026 World Cup’s International Broadcast Center set up a 2027 move-in date. City officials have since pushed the date to 2028.
Related: Dallas Wings must build own practice facility after city delays, cost overruns
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Along with agreeing to a one-year delay on the arena project, the Wings also had to scrap initial plans with the city for a new practice facility to be built adjacent to Memorial Auditorium. The organization is now building a facility at Joey Georgusis Park with $52 million of city money and $27 million of its own.
American Airlines Center merely a short-term option
The Wings, bolstered by stars such as Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Arike Ogunbowale, have continued to practice and play home games at UT-Arlington’s College Park Center amid the delays. While the practice facility should be complete by this time next year, questions remain on where the Wings will make their gameday home in 2027.
Bibb said the organization has engaged in conversations about playing the 2027 season at American Airlines Center, but a deal has not been finalized and those discussions are advanced.
The Wings played two games at AAC in 2025 and have three contests scheduled at the venue for the 2026 season.
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Bibb said playing at the venue for a full season compared to a few games would present complications.
Related: Moving Dallas Wings to American Airlines Center not a viable option, CEO says
“The AAC and the Mavericks have been gracious in allowing us to use space that otherwise would not be available, such as the Mavericks locker room,” Bibb said. “That’s doable when you’re playing a couple of games in the middle of summer.
“But when you’re contemplating an entire season — a season that overlaps NHL, NBA on both the frontend and the backend — utilizing shared space becomes much more difficult.”
The team would also have to contend with other events at the venue, such as concerts.
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Should they move into AAC for the 2027 season, the Wings will have to identify space that the team can use for player facilities that meet WNBA league standards.
“We’re working through those things now. I’m confident we’re going to come up with solutions and we’ll play the ‘27 season at AAC,” Bibb said. “Anything beyond that, though, becomes significantly more problematic.”
What’s next?
As the Mavericks move north and the Stars relocate out of the Dallas city limits, Bibb still has sights set on downtown Dallas.
“We have an agreement we signed. We’re 100 percent committed to meeting the obligations of that agreement and remain excited about the prospect of playing in a renovated Dallas Memorial Auditorium in downtown Dallas,” Bibb said in response to a question about shopping around for a space in other D-FW municipalities.
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Bibb conceded the Wings agreed to the delay until 2027 and the additional delay until 2028.
“But if it’s not going to be ’28 … we need to know sooner rather than later,” Bibb said. “We’re a WNBA team. There’s not a lot of options in terms of where you go and where you play, and if ‘28 is not a reality for us, there’s a lot to be discussed at that point.”
The moves the Mavericks and Stars made were in part an attempt to capture additional revenue. Bibb said the Wings have similar ambitions.
Related: Why the Mavericks and Stars say American Airlines Center is obsolete
College Park Center, designed for a Division I athletic program and opened in 2012, doesn’t have the premium amenities WNBA fans expect or the amenities needed to generate revenue currently demanded by the business.
Bibb said a move to Memorial Auditorium creates additional inventory in terms of seats and hospitality elements, adding the agreement with the city provides shares on revenues through parking, food and beverage and other avenues that the Wings don’t have at UTA.
“The economics of the deal that we negotiated were exciting for us and necessary for us as I looked forward back then to what the WNBA was going to become,” Bibb said. “Candidly, I was right. We have a new CBA. The business has exploded.”
The Wings and a renovated Memorial Auditorium initially fit into city plans for its multi-billion dollar convention center redevelopment project and the revitalization of downtown Dallas. Bibb said he believes the Wings can still be a key part of that vision.
“We believe that we can be additive to downtown,” Bibb said. “We’re excited to be a part of the redevelopment of the convention center district. But obviously, we need a building that we signed up for to be delivered.”