The Dallas Wings will play every 2027 home game at American Airlines Center, moving downtown while the Memorial Auditorium renovation runs late.
The Dallas Wings will play every 2027 home game at American Airlines Center. Wings officials announced the move Monday, and playing the full home schedule downtown is expected to be a temporary arrangement.
American Airlines Center opened in 2001 and has served as home to the NBA's Mavericks and the NHL's Stars. The building holds about 20,000 for basketball.
The WNBA franchise signed a 15-year use agreement with the city of Dallas in 2024. That deal covers a renovated Dallas Memorial Auditorium, planned at about 10,000 seats and located a few blocks from American Airlines Center. Construction there has fallen behind. The renovation is part of the city's overhaul of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas.
"Today's announcement marks a pivotal step in the team's relocation to Dallas as well as our continued growth as a professional sports enterprise," Wings CEO and managing partner Greg Bibb said in a team release.
Construction is also underway on a $55 million performance center in West Oak Cliff. The Wings are scheduled to move in next April and practice there permanently.
Since moving to North Texas before the 2016 season, Dallas has played its home games and practiced at College Park Center on the University of Texas at Arlington campus, about 20 miles from downtown. The Wings have spent 11 seasons there. The arena seats 6,251. The franchise moved to Arlington from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where it had played since 2010 after 12 seasons in Detroit.
Dallas played two regular-season games at American Airlines Center in 2025. The June 27 game against the Indiana Fever sold out at 20,409, a franchise single-game record. That crowd was the largest for a WNBA game in Texas. It was the eighth regular-season game in league history played in front of more than 20,000 fans. The Wings went back to the arena against Indiana on Aug. 1 of that year.
Three more games were scheduled downtown this season. Dallas erased a 10-point deficit and beat Chicago 96-91 on July 12 in front of 13,236. The win was the franchise's first in the building. The Golden State Valkyries visit Friday, then Indiana returns Aug. 20
"American Airlines Center is proud to serve as the home of the Dallas Wings, and we look forward to being part of the continued growth and excitement surrounding women's sports," American Airlines Center general manager Dave Brown said.
The Stars intend to build a new arena in Plano, and the Mavericks said in June they were pursuing land at the former Valley View Mall site for an arena and entertainment district of their own.
Dallas entered Monday at 19-11 and fourth in the Western Conference. The Wings won 10 games last season, and their 19 wins this year are already the franchise's most since 2023. Wings coach Jose Fernandez was hired Oct. 28, four weeks after the team fired Chris Koclanes.
Paige Bueckers, the first overall pick in the 2025 draft, and Jessica Shepard both reached the All-Star Game in Chicago last month. Azzi Fudd, the first pick in this year's draft, and Arike Ogunbowale are also in the Dallas backcourt.
Dallas plays at Washington on Wednesday.
