The Dallas women's professional soccer team plays at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Fair Park.
DALLAS — The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved a plan to have a women's professional soccer team play in the Cotton Bowl for the next two years.
The DFW-based USL Super League team will be North Texas' first professional women's soccer team.
“What a special moment to be making history for women right now in the Cotton Bowl,” team president Charlie Neal said. “It’s very rewarding, especially for the young girls who play soccer in this city.”
The City Council approved providing the team with a stipend of up to $296,000 per year for two years. The funds will be used for security, venue preparation and other costs associated with hosting the game at the stadium, according to a memo obtained by WFAA.
Mayor Eric Johnson told the City Council after the vote, “There's a lot of turmoil around Dallas and it's because of your actions.'' He “gives the accurate impression that Dallas is willing to make a deal.”
“Dallas is excited to bring a women's professional soccer team to our city, and in just a few months, they will be hosting a game at the Cotton Bowl, just a 10-minute drive away,” said Dallas City Councilman Chad West. I'm very excited to see it.” “This news means a lot to many soccer fans, especially young girls like my 8-year-old daughter who has been playing soccer since she could walk. For her, it means that women's professional sports are getting the spotlight they deserve. It means to bathe.”
The team said on its website that the Dallas organization is led by the Neal family. The Neal family and USL Super League President Amanda Vandervoort will hold a press conference Thursday at Klyde Warren Park in Dallas to announce the team name and logo.
Jim Neal, CEO and family patriarch, said: “We are fully committed to having games in August.”
Read the full interview with Jim and Charlie Neal here.
The USL Super League will begin its inaugural season with a total of eight teams. The remaining seven are:
According to a USL Super League press release, the following cities, whose names are listed on the USL Super League website, are scheduled to join the league next season:
The Dallas-based team is unique in that its venue is significantly larger than teams in the league. Brooklyn, Lexington, Spokane and Tampa Bay will all play in venues with a capacity of less than 10,000 people. Carolina will play in front of 10,500 people.
The Cotton Bowl seats 92,100.
The USL Super League club's arrival comes as the Cotton Bowl is undergoing $140 million worth of renovations. According to a memo obtained by WFAA, games will be held on the opposite side of the stadium from construction work, and that schedule should not be affected.
The season will open on Friday, Aug. 16, the city announced in a release. According to a USL Super League press release, the league will run on a “fall-to-summer” soccer calendar, which is traditionally done around the world.
Attracting and retaining professional sports talent in Dallas has become a key focus of city officials, including Mayor Eric Johnson, in recent years. Johnson created the City Council's Task Force on Professional Sports Recruitment and Retention in hopes of attracting more sports franchises to the city in 2022.
The new soccer team will be the second professional women's sports team to be established within the last month in Dallas. The Dallas Wings are scheduled to move from Arlington to downtown Dallas Memorial Auditorium in 2026.
“Rest assured, this is not the end of the world in sports,” Johnson said at Wednesday's City Council meeting. “We still haven’t seen the best outcome on this.”
