Dallas will be home to a new professional soccer team. On Wednesday, the City Council will decide whether sports teams can use Fair Park's 90,000-seat Cotton Bowl.
Leaders of the USL Super League Women's Professional Team DFW team will hold an event Thursday at Klyde Warren Park to announce details of their plans. The aim is to start playing by the summer. The agreement council, scheduled for Wednesday, is expected to vote on allowing the team to begin play in the summer, according to city records.
A flyer for the “Brand Launch Ceremony for Dallas' First Women's Professional Soccer Team'' states that USL Super League Dallas CEO Jim Neal and USL Super League President Amanda Vandervoort will give remarks.
A city spokesperson declined to confirm that the two items are related, but said more details would be available at Wednesday's City Council meeting.
A clever promotional video promoting Dallas' new women's team has already surfaced online, and the city's skyline is prominently featured in the video.
The voiceover states that the USL Super League is “created for the future of women's soccer, connecting with the global game and bridging the journey from youth to professional.”
On Wednesday, city leaders are expected to vote on a two-year agreement totaling about $600,000, according to the City Council agenda and related documents. A professional sports team wants to play at the Cotton Bowl, and Fair Park operator Oakview Group has negotiated a deal with the team to start the season this summer, according to documents.
The USL Super League season also begins this summer.
The North Texas sports and entertainment market is already crowded. What will it take for this new team to be successful?
“Frankly, you need an owner who is willing to lose money. Nobody starts a team and makes money right away. That's not going to happen. And you have to be committed,” Dallas said.・He was the Mavericks' radio caster for many years. Throughout his 40-year career, Chuck Cooperstein has seen team ideas come and go.
Cooperstein told NBC 5 there are pros and cons to using the Cotton Bowl in professional football. Pros: Available and ready for soccer, fields and operators are “great.” What are the drawbacks? It's big. It's really big. Even if the soccer game dramatically outperformed his 20,000-person crowd, the 90,000-seat stadium would still be mostly empty. Such appearances can interfere with fans and the sports experience.
But Cooperstein says this is the best time in years to be on a women's professional sports team. The “Caitlin Clark Effect'' dramatically increased her WNBA, and Women's World Cup Soccer increased sports attendance and jersey sales.
In North Texas, three high school girls soccer teams won state championships this spring. 6A Prosper ISD, 5A Frisco Wakeland, and 4A Celina ISD.
“We know that women's sports are in great shape right now, and I mean, we're in full swing with an incredibly popular women's World Cup team,” Cooperstein said. It will be interesting to see if they can take advantage of it. ”
Fair Park's Cotton Bowl is also undergoing a more than $100 million renovation, expected to be completed by the 2025 State Fair.
