If you’ve driven along Commerce Street just west of downtown Dallas, you’ve likely noticed construction activity across the Trinity River.

The work marks the beginning of Harold Simmons Park — a $350 million project aimed at transforming the Trinity River corridor into a major recreational destination in North Texas.

The park’s first major feature, known as the “Play Cove,” is already taking shape, though much of it is being built overseas.

Tony Moore, CEO of the Trinity Park Conservancy, said the Play Cove will include six massive, two-story towers connected by suspension bridges, creating an immersive play space for visitors. While the site in Dallas is still in early stages, those towers are currently under construction in Germany, where designers were selected for their engineering expertise and craftsmanship.

“They’re about two stories high, connected by bridges, so you can walk from tower to tower,” Moore said. “We wanted the very best.”

Once completed, the towers will be shipped to Dallas and installed as the centerpiece of the park’s first phase.

The broader vision for Harold Simmons Park also includes a significant investment in green space. Nearly 2,000 mature trees will be added to the site, with many already selected and waiting in nurseries until construction progresses. Existing trees will also be preserved and protected.

Project leaders said the goal is to open part of the park as soon as possible, giving residents access while construction continues on future phases.

After years of planning, Moore said seeing work finally begin is a milestone moment for Dallas.

“This has been a long time coming,” he said. “Dallas has been waiting for this.”

If construction stays on schedule, the first phase, including the Play Cove, is expected to open by the end of 2028.

A “super clean and confident” performance from Belinda Bencic earned her an upset of one Top 10-ranked American at the Miami Open on Monday night — and she’s hoping that form carries over into another in less than 24 hours.

Miami: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The No. 12 seed led nearly wire-to-wire in a 6-2, 6-2 thumping of No. 6 seed Amanda Anisimova to put her through to a 12th career WTA 1000 quarterfinal, and second in Miami after she reached the 2022 semifinals. She’ll face another Florida resident, No. 4 seed Coco Gauff, on Tuesday night in the hopes of matching her tournament best from four years ago.

Bencic had good reason to praise her play against Anisimova, in a match that was projected to be a late-afternoon affair but ended up taking the court at 9 p.m. after three of the four matches preceding it on Grandstand stretched to three sets. She landed 87% of her first serves, winning 72% of those points, and hit 19 winners in 14 games to break a 2-2 head-to-head tie against the two-time Grand Slam singles finalist.

She saved the only break point she faced, too, which came when she was already ahead 6-2, 4-1. 

Bencic next looks to complete a personal Sunshine Double of sorts against Gauff as she eyes back-to-back Top 10 victories on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

Though the American has won four of their previous six meetings, Bencic’s most-recent win came in the Round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open last year.

More to come…

MARIETTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The U.S. men’s national team is using Atlanta United’s training ground in Marietta to prepare for two friendlies that will help shape the final roster for this summer’s World Cup.

Stars in camp include Christian Pulisic, Tim Ream and Patrick Agyemang. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino faces key decisions as the group narrows ahead of a roster deadline in May.

“This is part of the job you do. With national team it’s always going to be competitive. You’re competing against a lot of top guys, and all those guys are really good players,” Agyemang said. “It’s a great feeling to be in the mix. You want to keep working hard to hopefully be selected.”

The U.S. enters the spring window after a strong fall slate where they went 4-1-1 with wins over teams such as Japan and Uruguay. The goal of March camp, outside of a final roster, is to have a launch pad into the summer.

“It’s actually really easy now because guys come in and everybody knows what the expectations are,” Tim Ream said.

Both friendlies will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, giving the U.S. a look at a potential World Cup venue in Atlanta. If the Americans advance to the semifinals, they could return to the building — expected to be referred to as Atlanta Stadium during the tournament.

“Good stadium to play in. Two really high-level games. Looking at both these games to try and continue on a good pathway to the World Cup,” Ream said.

The U.S. will play March 28 and play Portugal on March 31.

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