The agreement upset FC Dallas, which currently operates a soccer facility that will now be leased by Atlético Dallas.
DALLAS — Dallas City Council unanimously approved an incentive deal for a new professional soccer team to play games at the Cotton Bowl Wednesday, despite objections against part of the proposal from the man who helped bring the World Cup to Dallas.
Atlético Dallas, a United Soccer League (USL) team based in Garland, will play its home matches at the iconic 92,000-seat stadium in Fair Park for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 seasons.
But its rental of the city-owned MoneyGram Soccer Park in Northwest Dallas as part of the deal led to dissent from FC Dallas, the park’s current operator. Members of the club’s management told City Council they felt blindsided by the city’s termination of their contract three years before it was set to expire.
“We have programmed MoneyGram Soccer Park to be one of the finest soccer parks in the world,” said FC Dallas President Dan Hunt in remarks to the City Council. In addition to his role at FC Dallas, Hunt serves as one of the co-chairs of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee Board.
“I hope we don’t live in a world where ‘I don’t care what you did for me yesterday because it’s today’ and this is kind of how this is feeling right now,” Hunt later added in an interview.
Dallas Park and Recreation Director John Jenkins said his staff asked FC Dallas to renegotiate the terms of their deal to pay for expenses like utilities at the park and guarantee a minimum annual revenue, but they declined.
“You didn’t think was this city, this council, this park board, and my staff were going to go out to find another viable option because you thought we wouldn’t have it in us?” Jenkins said of FC Dallas. “They have been a good partner, I will admit that. But they did not meet my requirements.”
FC Dallas said it did not know there was another bidder interested in the MoneyGram contract and has since submitted a revised lease proposal, which Jenkins said still did not measure up to the Atlético deal.
As part of the incentive for Atlético, one of the City’s obligations would be to purchase 2,500 tickets at $20 each for 20 games from the team as part of the Mayor’s Youth Sports Ticket Program.
The team will pay Fair Park $12,500 per game and at least $1 per ticket sold and will also pay at least $100,000 per year to rent MoneyGram Park.
“This is a huge win for our city, this is a huge win for South Dallas and this is a huge win for West Dallas,” said Council member Adam Bazaldua. “Business is business and we have to leave feelings aside.”
Hunt said he was “disappointed” in the outcome of the vote. He said it was too soon to determine whether FC Dallas would take legal action, but a lawyer representing the team told Council members that the team had filed a “protest” to its contract termination.
Atlético Dallas said it has entered into a professional services partnership with Pioneer Sports & Entertainment LLC, a national leader in soccer operations, though Pioneer Sports is not mentioned anywhere in the resolution.
“Their proven success in facility management will ensure high-quality programming and continuity for existing users,” Atlético Dallas officials said of Pioneer Sports & Entertainment LLC.
Atlético Dallas is also in talks with the City of Garland on a potential $70 million training facility, headquarters and youth soccer complex located on 65 acres at the intersection of President George Bush Turnpike and Holford Road.
Atlético Dallas said “training facilities will be in Garland at Holford Road and President George Bush Turnpike” and “together, these two cities will help usher in a new era of professional soccer to Dallas County.”
The Garland City Council will vote to finalize that agreement on June 17, Atlético Dallas officials said.