Dallas will be home to a new professional soccer team. Wednesday, the city council will decide whether a sports team can use the 90,000-seat Cotton Bowl in Fair Park.
Leaders for the DFW team of the USL Super League professional women's team will hold an event on Thursday at Klyde Warren Park to detail their plans. They aim to start playing by the summer. In city records, the deal council will vote on Wednesday will also allow a team to start playing in the summer.
A flyer for the "Brand Reveal Celebration for Dallas' First Women's Professional Soccer Team" states the CEO of USL Super League Dallas, Jim Neil, and the President of USL Super League President Amanda Vandervort will give remarks.
A spokeswoman for the city did not confirm the two items were related but said more details would become available at the city council meeting on Wednesday.
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Slick promotional videos are already online touting a new women's team in Dallas, featuring the city's skyline prominently in the videos.
The voice-over says the USL Super League is, "Built for the future of women's soccer, bridging the journey from youth to pro, connected to the global game."
Wednesday, according to the city council agenda and associated documents, city leaders will vote on a nearly $600,000 two-year agreement. The paperwork says a pro-sports team wants to play in the Cotton Bowl and the Fair Park operator, Oak View Group, has negotiated an agreement with the team to start their season this summer.
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The USL Super League season also starts this summer.
The sports and entertainment market in North Texas is already jam-packed. What will this new team need to succeed?
"You have to have an owner that’s willing to lose money, quite frankly. No one starts a team and makes money right away. That just doesn’t happen. And you’ve got to be committed," said longtime Dallas Mavericks radio broadcaster Chuck Cooperstein, who's seen his fair share of team ideas come and go over his forty-year career.
Cooperstein tells NBC 5 that using the Cotton Bowl for professional soccer has pros and cons. The pros: it's available, soccer ready, and says the field and operators are "fantastic." The downside? It's big. Really big. Even if soccer games dramatically overperform at 20,000 people attending, the 90,000-seat stadium will still be mostly empty. That appearance may hamper the fan and athletic experience.
However, Cooperstein says this is the best time in years to make a run at a women's professional sports team. The Caitlin Clark effect" has supercharged the WNBA and women's World Cup soccer has been increasing the sports viewing numbers and jersey sales.
North Texas had three high school girls' soccer teams win state championships this Spring: Prosper ISD in 6A, Frisco-Wakeland in 5A, and Celina ISD in 4A.
“Knowing that women’s sports is on a run right now - I mean - they’re on a real run with the women’s world cup team that's been incredibly popular," said Cooperstein, "There’s a lot of juice in women’s sports right now and it will just be interesting to see if they are able to capitalize on it.”
The Cotton Bowl at Fair Park is also undergoing more than $100 million in renovations set to be completed by the state fair in 2025.
