Connect with us

Dallas, TX

Dallas’ $55 million spend for the WNBA’s Wings deserves a closer look

Published

on

Dallas’  million spend for the WNBA’s Wings deserves a closer look


With the rising stardom of standout athletes like Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, women’s basketball is experiencing a well-deserved surge in popularity. We cheered on a deal by Dallas City Hall to bring the Dallas Wings to the convention center downtown, but we have questions about a recent City Council decision to spend $55 million on a training facility for the Wings somewhere else.

The Wings are clearly having a moment. Earlier this year, the team selected Bueckers as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft. The team sold out season ticket memberships for the 2025 season in November, even before it drafted Bueckers. This marks the second consecutive year the team has sold out of season tickets.

This excitement deserves support, but support doesn’t have to mean a blank check. A publicly funded practice facility in west Oak Cliff warrants some skepticism, given its $55 million price tag and the source of funds.

City officials signed a deal with the Wings last year to move the team to the Memorial Auditorium in 2026 as part of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center redevelopment. Part of the deal was to provide training facilities adjacent to the auditorium.

Advertisement

Opinion

Get smart opinions on the topics North Texans care about.

Delays with the redevelopment of the convention center pushed the Wings’ move from Arlington to downtown Dallas to 2027. Under the team’s contract, the city must provide a practice facility by the 2026 season. However, since the convention center won’t be finished by then, the Dallas City Council proposed alternative locations for the practice facility.

But all of a sudden, the council was staring at a plan to build a new practice facility in west Oak Cliff, eight miles from downtown. The council approved the new facility 12-2.

City staff said in a memo that the $55 million facility will be built with “private and economic development funds” and the Convention Center Construction Fund.

Advertisement

City officials said the new facility will also include a trail, soccer fields and space for local leagues. We’re not opposed to that, but it’s also fair to ask whether this kind of spending reflects the most responsible use of city funds intended for a downtown revitalization project. Could the city not offer an existing facility as practice space while the convention center is under construction? Is the city scaling back the auditorium overhaul or other parts of the convention center project to account for the $55 million going elsewhere?

All of this comes on the heels of a briefing at City Hall where city staff couldn’t give the council a clear answer on the approximate cost of the convention center.

Dallas has wisely jumped at the opportunity to position itself as a leader in women’s sports. We are rooting for the Wings’ success, but the council owes residents a better accounting of its spending decisions.



Source link

Advertisement

Dallas, TX

FOX’s Kasper Schmeichel compares England to Dallas Cowboys, so who are their other sports analogs?

Published

on

FOX’s Kasper Schmeichel compares England to Dallas Cowboys, so who are their other sports analogs?


FOX Soccer analyst Kasper Schmeichel came prepared for this year’s World Cup on American soil.

Advertisement

The former Danish goalkeeper may not be from around these parts, but that didn’t stop him from dropping an eerily accurate comparison between two overconfident but long-suffering sports programs.

With England and Croatia warming up inside AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, Schmeichel decided he would roast two fanbases with one stone, comparing the Cowboys to the Three Lions with a hilarious one-liner.

Funny, but also painfully true if you’re a supporter of either team.

COWBOYS LEGEND DIGS DEEP INTO THE TEAM’S MISSING ‘FIBER’ THAT’S RESULTED IN SUPER BOWL DROUGHT

I made a comparison last week between the English national team and Notre Dame, but Schmeichel got me thinking, who are the sports analogs to England from the four major North American leagues (NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA)?

Advertisement

Today, I will be doing exactly that, including giving a slightly better NFL comp than the Cowboys (shocking, I know).

Without further ado, let’s piss off our neighbors from across the pond.

FROM 4 STRAIGHT SUPER BOWL LOSSES TO JOSH ALLEN’S PATRICK MAHOMES PROBLEM, BILLS MIGHT BE CURSED

NFL – Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears helmets are displayed before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nev., on Sept. 28, 2025. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)

While the Dallas Cowboys are a fine comparison for the English national soccer team, I think I can do one better.

Advertisement

Schmeichel mentioned that England “won it once and have never stopped talking about it,” and although the second part of that statement applies to both, the Cowboys are five-time Super Bowl champions, having won it most recently in January 1996, a good three decades after England.

If you really want a team that more accurately mirrors the hard luck of the English, it would have to be the Chicago Bears.

3 HISTORIC NFL FRANCHISES FIND THEMSELVES IN SAME BOAT SINCE TURN OF THE CENTURY

They have one Super Bowl win to their name, which came 40 years ago, and really don’t have much else to show for it.

Also, having lived in the DFW area for the better part of a decade, I can confidently say Cowboys fans are a little too arrogant and cocky to be compared to the English.

Advertisement

Sure, England will say things like “it’s coming home,” but they are far more self-deprecating and aware of their faults, even nihilistic in some cases.

The Bears hang onto their history because they know things will inevitably go bad for them on the biggest stage.

Speaking of which…

NHL – Toronto Maple Leafs

Spencer Carbery, assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, looks on from the bench during the third period against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ont., on April 14, 2022. (Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs actually line up with England more closely than either fanbase would like to admit.

Advertisement

While the Leafs have a litany of Stanley Cups to their name, their most recent win was back in 1967, less than a full year after England won their first and only World Cup.

As far as expectations go, both constantly go into their respective tournaments with the weight of the world on their shoulders, only to come crashing down in the most horrific ways imaginable.

For the Leafs, it comes in the form of blowing big leads in the playoffs, while English fans and players alike can’t even hear the words “penalty kicks” without having a mental breakdown.

England and Toronto are both long-suffering cities, but their fans keep showing up expecting a different outcome.

Insanity? No, just sports fandom.

Advertisement

NBA – New York Knicks

Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks celebrates a three-point basket with Karl-Anthony Towns during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on June 5, 2026. (Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)

This one would have been an even better comparison if the New York Knicks hadn’t gone and won the whole damn thing this year, but these two sports teams are still eerily similar.

WHY THE KNICKS, DISRESPECTED BUT CLAWING BACK, TOUCHED A RAW NERVE IN NEW YORK CITY AND ULTIMATELY THE COUNTRY

Think of the Knicks’ 2026 NBA Championship run as a window into what it would look like if England captured a World Cup (on American soil, no less).

Before this year, the Knicks famously had not won a Larry O’Brien trophy in over 50 years, yet they were still considered one of the “blue bloods” of the NBA.

Advertisement

Decades of heartache didn’t change that; it only made their fans more insufferable, but their triumph earlier this month in the NBA Finals exorcised all those demons.

THE ATHLETIC BEWILDERINGLY CELEBRATES ‘ZOHRAN MAMDANI SPORTS SUMMER’ AFTER NEW YORK KNICKS WIN NBA FINALS

A win in the World Cup Finals would probably do the same for England fans, as you could probably feel that sigh of relief from the other side of the Atlantic.

MLB – New York Mets

New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto reacts after scoring a run on an RBI double by infielder Bo Bichette against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on April 2, 2026. (Robert Edwards/Imagn Images)

Hello again, New York.

Advertisement

The Big Apple certainly has its fair share of winners, but it also has plenty of franchises that are aching to make a trip back down the Canyon of Heroes, none more so than the Mets.

Year after year, the Mets are near the top of MLB in terms of spending, with little to show for their efforts.

WATCH THE WORLD CUP FINAL ON FOX ONE

They won a World Series back in 1986 and have been chasing that high ever since.

The common thread between England and the Mets (along with all the other teams on this list) is expectations relative to results, and it seems like the Mets are sort of a Schrödinger’s baseball franchise in that regard, expected to both compete for a World Series with their high-priced talent and flame out in spectacular fashion all the same.

Advertisement

FOX ONE’S NEW WORLD CUP VIEWING EXPERIENCE

England always has flashy players heading into World Cup play, but the results haven’t been there, and they’ve often been sent home in brutal fashion, offering a great parallel to the Mets’ clockwork-like midsummer swoons and late-season meltdowns.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Dallas, TX

Dallas Police Seize Glock Switch in Deep Ellum

Published

on

Dallas Police Seize Glock Switch in Deep Ellum


Guerrocastillo was taken into custody without incident and charged with Prohibited Weapon, a third-degree felony; Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon, a class A misdemeanor; Possession of Marijuana under two ounces, a class B misdemeanor; and Public Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.

“Foot patrols are a foundational part of policing, and our Deep Ellum Task Force officers are making great arrests and providing increased security by walking a beat,” said Deputy Chief Devon Palk, who is commander of the Central Patrol Group. “Having our officers on foot, on horseback, and in our new Polaris utility vehicle puts officers exactly where we need them during peak hours in the area.”





Source link

Continue Reading

Dallas, TX

Croatia fans rock cowboy style in Dallas parade ahead of match with England

Published

on

Croatia fans rock cowboy style in Dallas parade ahead of match with England


NewsFeed

Thousands of Croatia supporters turned downtown Dallas into a sea of red and white ahead of Croatia’s World Cup group-stage match against England. The parade featured cowgirls and groups in horse-drawn wagons and a 100-metre Croatian flag.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending