Extended delays and significant cost overruns have continued to soil the Dallas Wings’ planned move to a new practice facility and downtown arena, but the WNBA team won’t accept a consolation prize from the City of Dallas.
Three Dallas City Council members want the city to consider moving the team into American Airlines Center, the home arena of the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars, for practices and games as a temporary and potentially long-term solution that would save taxpayers money and address the team’s immediate needs.
But the venue, which has lease agreements through 2031 with the Mavericks and the Stars and a busy event calendar, is not a viable option, Wings CEO and managing partner Greg Bibb told The Dallas Morning News on Friday.
“We love the American Airlines Center, but the AAC simply does not work as a practice facility venue,” Bibb said. “The arena does not possess the team-specific training elements our athletes need and deserve. I think there are good reasons both current AAC tenants do not practice in that venue.”
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Both the NBA and NHL franchises have actively explored options to leave AAC, which hosted two regular-season Wings games last year and is on the schedule for three more in 2026. The Wings currently play games and practice at UT-Arlington’s College Park Center.
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Bibb also said he does not expect AAC to be the Wings’ permanent gameday home, citing a 15-year agreement signed with the City of Dallas in 2024 that promised a renovated Memorial Auditorium by the start of the 2026 WNBA season. The city also committed to deliver a new practice facility in Oak Cliff by this spring.
“I’m confident the City of Dallas will do the right thing and honor the agreement signed with the Wings nearly two years ago,” Bibb said.
Council members Adam Bazaldua, Paula Blackmon and Paul Ridley filed a memo Wednesday asking the city to discuss moving the Wings into AAC. Bazaldua and Blackmon were among the 12 council members who voted yes last June to approve the Oak Cliff facility, while Ridley voted no.
Bazaldua has argued that the city may save money by having the WNBA team play and practice at existing facilities, as building new ones and delaying the projects increases costs. He rebutted Bibb’s statement that American Airlines Center would not work as a practice facility venue.
“Giving them any more tax dollars isn’t what I would personally call a viable option for the City of Dallas,” he told The News on Friday. “So are we at an impasse?”
Council member Chad West told The News he agrees with Bibb’s assessment about whether American Airlines Center is a viable option for the Wings.
“And I question the city’s legal ability to even require them to practice there, as the facilities are contracted to the Mavericks already,” West said. “We have a legal and moral obligation to the Wings and to our residents who love them to follow through with the facility Council promised when we all voted to bring them to Dallas.”
The City Council delayed a vote this week on a revised deal that would shift responsibility for the Oak Cliff facility to the Wings and cap the city’s total contribution at $57 million. Members had unanswered questions about why the facility is now estimated at $81 million, $27 million over budget, and delayed by at least a year.
Included in the city’s contribution under the proposed agreement is $54 million in economic development grants, $3.2 million in developer fees and $653,000 in delay reimbursements. The Wings would agree not to sue the city for the delays in exchange for the reimbursement and would act as the developer of the 70,000-square-foot facility at Joey Georgusis Park, covering the at least $27 million needed to complete the project.
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“The site has been cleared. The facility has been designed specifically for that space,” Bibb said. “We are ready to take over as the developer of the project and build a facility that will benefit the team and the community.”
The whole ordeal has been a headache for the Wings franchise, which selected superstar Paige Bueckers No. 1 overall in the 2025 WNBA draft and has another No. 1 pick this year. With women’s basketball on the rise, a landmark collective bargaining agreement in the works and the opportunity to build around Bueckers, the Wings have committed to capitalizing on the moment.
That doesn’t look like moving into AAC, but having their own place to call home, like the city promised.
“Dallas is good for the Wings and the Wings are good for Dallas,” Bibb said. “How our situation plays out will help other businesses — whether sports teams, for-profit enterprises or charitable organizations — better understand what it means to do long-term mutually beneficial partnerships with the city.”
Staff writer Everton Bailey contributed to this report.