At a crucial time when women’s sports are in dire need of support, it’s heartwarming to see fans showing their enthusiastic interest in the WNBA as the Dallas Wings have become the latest team to sell out their season tickets. This is the team’s ninth year of existence and the first time in franchise history, that they sold out its season ticket memberships for the 2024 season.
This announcement came on Monday, April 22. The news stated that season ticket holders will account for nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside College Park Center on the campus of UT-Arlington. All of the remaining seats have been approved for purchase as either single-game, group, or flex plan tickets. The Wings have also revealed that their ticket revenue has risen by 220% this year, which includes season ticket sales and a 1,200% surge in single ticket sales. Future Dallas Wings season ticket holders must add their names to a waiting list. Membership of the waiting list comes with presale access to 2024 WNBA playoff games and the chance to purchase discounted tickets for certain 2024 regular-season games.
Dallas Wings CEO Greg Bibb is ecstatic about the record-breaking news.
“Regarding individual ticket sales, it was the best day our franchise has ever had,” said Bibb.
This increase in ticket revenue can be attributed to the excitement surrounding women’s basketball as well as the anticipation of Indiana Fever’s first overall pick, Caitlin Clark. The Dallas Wings have a preseason game scheduled against the Fever on May 3, and the ticket prices have increased significantly. WFFA news has confirmed that ticket prices for an upcoming event are now firmly set between $700 to $1,100, with the lowest price being just under $110 as per various ticket purchasing outlets.
The Dallas Wings didn’t accidentally schedule this game. According to Wings CEO, this was a calculated decision. Bibb informed WFAA, a television station licensed to Dallas, that the franchise strategically scheduled the preseason game against the Fever before the WNBA draft, hopeful that Clark would go to Indiana with the No. 1 overall pick. The strategy worked successfully.
“We have seen incremental gains in business growth every year since 2020, and what’s happened in the NCAA has been an accelerant to that growth,” Bibb said. “We structured our ticket sales accordingly and waited later in the calendar year to go on sale with them to create a pent-up demand post-draft.”
Wings fans can catch another high-profile player when the team takes on Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky in back-to-back games on May 15 and May 18.
The Dallas Wings have garnered a lot of attention lately, with a surge in demand for season tickets. As a result, the franchise is considering moving to a larger arena to accommodate more fans. Even before the news of the sold-out tickets, the Wings had been discussing a possible relocation from Arlington to a convention center arena in Downtown Dallas.
According to a City of Dallas draft resolution, the council is scheduled to vote on a proposal this week that would authorize a 15-year lease agreement for the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, which is a part of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center located downtown.
As part of a larger redevelopment, the auditorium is planning to be renovated and completed by 2026. That will include the construction of a new convention center.
The city has proposed an agreement that offers $19 million in incentives to a professional sports franchise for relocation. The lease agreement allows the tenant operation between April 15 and November 1, in alignment with the WNBA league calendar.
On Sunday, Jaime Resendez, a member of the Dallas City Council representing District 5 in Pleasant Grove, expressed his anticipation for the council’s Wednesday resolution discussion to NBC 5.
“Having a WNBA franchise in downtown Dallas would promote gender equality in sports by providing a prominent platform for female athletes to showcase their talent and athleticism,” Resendez said.
The Dallas Wings relocated to Arlington in 2016, having previously played as the Tulsa Shock for five seasons. Currently, they play their home games at the College Park Center, which is located on the University of Texas at Arlington campus and can accommodate around 7,000 seats. If approved, their new home, Dallas Memorial Auditorium, will accommodate nearly 10,000 people.
“Women’s basketball has captured the nation’s attention like never before, and both the WNBA and the Wings are experiencing an unprecedented surge in popularity. The City of Arlington, the University of Texas at Arlington, and College Park Center continue to be wonderful partners, and we look forward to continuing that relationship during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The City of Dallas’s proposal offers a fitting, world-class stage for our remarkable athletes and devoted fans and we look forward to commenting further at the appropriate time,” said Bibb.
In the 27 years of the WNBA’s existence, the Dallas Wings are only the third team to sell out-of-season ticket memberships. On Monday, the Atlanta Dream also announced that they sold out of season tickets and broke their previous record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign.
“Excitement around women’s sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta,” Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. “We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet.”
Before the announcement from the Dallas and Atlanta franchises, the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces became the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment back in early March.
As of now, there is no news on the Indiana Fever ticket sales, but the surge in sales across the WNBA and the high demand to watch Clark play suggest that the Fever might be the next team to sell out their season tickets.
The WNBA pre-season begins on May 3rd with the Dallas Wings facing the Indiana Fever at 7PM in the College Park Center.
