The top brass of Dallas Trinity FC, North Texas’ newest professional sports team, announced to the world Thursday its intentions to meet the growing demand for professional women’s soccer.
The team’s leaders also acknowledged some of the challenges that face the young franchise, which will begin play this summer in the eight-team USL Super League. One of the biggest hurdles: filling the iconic, 93-year-old Cotton Bowl.
“It will certainly be a big challenge, but we are very excited to be able to face it,” said Jim Neil, CEO and owner of Dallas Trinity FC, during the club’s presentation at Klyde Warren Park.
Dallas Trinity FC’s arrival on the local scene comes as women’s soccer has become a national passion.
The USWNT is the world’s most successful squad, winning four Women’s World Cup titles (1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019), four Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012), nine Concacaf W Championship titles and one Concacaf Gold Cup title.
Women’s sports are expected to become even bigger. Deloitte, a financial analysis company, forecasts that in 2024, for the first time, women’s elite sports will generate a revenue that surpasses $1 billion — a 300% increase on the industry’s evaluation in 2021.
“Women’s sports has been exploding for the last 20 years, but really big in the last 3 or 4 years,” Neil said. “Women’s sports have been exploding throughout the world and soccer is the most successful and most popular sport in the world.”
The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved a two-year, $592,000 subsidy for the operators of Fair Park to secure a contract with the USL Super League team to play home games. There is an option for the $296,000 annual subsidy to continue for a third season.
On April 24, the City Council approved a 15-year, $19 million deal for the WNBA’s Dallas Wings to relocate from Arlington to downtown Dallas. The proposal, which still has to be approved by the WNBA’s Board of Governors, would see the Wings play at Dallas Memorial Auditorium starting in 2026.
The USL Super League’s schedule has matches from August to December, with a midseason break that runs through January and then more games from February to May.
Neil hopes that in his first season, the team will be able to draw an average of 12,000 fans per game in a stadium with a capacity of 90,000 fans.
The challenge of creating an electric and exciting atmosphere for fans and players inside the stadium is Neal’s first big concern.
“It’s important that the stadium doesn’t look empty,” said Neal, who plans to concentrate all the fans in a section of the lower part of the Cotton Bowl.
Only the lower portion of the Cotton Bowl will be open for Dallas Trinity games, which will play their home games on Saturdays or Sundays and occasionally on Wednesdays.
The league hasn’t announced the schedule for its inaugural season.
Unlike the National Women’s Soccer League, which was founded in 2012 and currently has 14 teams, the USL Super League will play on the “fall-to-summer” soccer calendar traditionally followed worldwide. This will ensure that players can represent both their club and their national team and allow clubs to actively participate in the emerging global women’s transfer market.
Another difference is that the USL Super League does not have a draft, which means that the owners of each team are free to sign the players they want to have in their clubs.
Dallas Trinity FC will play under the primary colors of sunrise maroon, prairie gold and live oak green.
The colors were inspired by the city skyline and the Trinity River. The team’s shield is a Pegasus.
Another challenge that Dallas Trinity FC and the USL Super League will face in their first season will be name recognition.
Introducing Dallas Trinity FC — representing the tradition of sport, the connectivity of culture, and the past, present, and future of our city.#newbootsintown #DTFC #TrinityFC #uslsuperleague pic.twitter.com/gQjN5x6M0v
— Dallas Trinity FC (@dallastrinityfc) May 9, 2024
“The biggest challenge is getting the word out,” said USL Super League President Amanda Vandervort.
“We want to make sure people know what we’re building. We want fans to take this as a great opportunity to come out and support their professional women’s teams,” Vandervort said.
The USL Super League is not intended to rival the National Women’s Soccer League, Neil said.
“We aspire to be as competitive and as talented as the NWSL.” Neil Said, “Think about what’s going on in America right now. There are 101 men’s professional teams but only 22 women’s professional teams. There’s tremendous potential to meet the growing demand for the women’s game.”
Neil, a successful real estate businessman, co-founder and CEO of Churchill Capital Company, believes that this was the right moment to enter the world of women’s professional soccer.
“Women’s soccer is the most successful women’s sport in the world, and if women’s soccer is going to be successful in the world, there needs to be a team in Dallas,” Neil said.
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