Room for more than boots at new Texas gem

Dickies Arena is designed for rodeo but will host NCAA basketball and gymnastics events as well as concerts.HKS

Spending more than a half-billion dollars building an arena in a market that already has more than a dozen venues capable of hosting sporting events and concerts may seem risky, but this is not Forth Worth’s first rodeo.

After spending the past 83 years at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo this fall will move around the corner to the $540 million Dickies Arena.

And although its primary tenant will be a 23-day event that attracts approximately 1.2 million boot-wearing fans annually, this high-end, high-tech venue is no cowpen.

Matt Homan, the arena’s president and general manager, has already secured a number of non-rodeo events, including the 2022 NCAA men’s basketball first and second rounds, NCAA women’s gymnastics championships (2020-22) and the American Athletic Conference men’s basketball championships (2020-22). TCU men’s basketball will play USC on Dec. 6 as part of a two-year agreement between the two schools. Tickets for the Nov. 22 George Strait concert — the venue’s first event — sold out within 30 minutes when they went on sale last month.

Inside the building, all 36 of the 16-seat suites have been leased at $107,000 per year, with a majority of the contracts under 10-year commitments, according to Homan. Four other suites can be combined into two party suites.

In addition, all 215 rodeo boxes and most of the 32 loge boxes are sold, and sales of 2,600 club seats will begin this spring. All told, more than 40 percent of the 9,300 rodeo capacity will be already-reserved premium seating. The arena will seat 13,300 for basketball.

The main Mitsubishi video board will boast 360-degree continuous display with more than 4,750 square feet of video space. Additionally, a 250-foot fascia board will run down each side, and a 1,100-foot display will make a 360-degree loop of the second level.

A grand entrance will greet fans when the arena opens in November.HKS

Homan anticipates having around nine founding partners, with Dickies, Chevrolet and Texas Health Resources already committed. Concessions will be handled in-house and will include 75 points of sale.

The venue, which is set up as a not-for-profit entity, became a reality after Fort Worth voters were asked in 2014 to decide whether to impose taxes to help fund it. They approved three user fees, each by a margin of more than 70 percent — an admission tax, at a rate not to exceed 10 percent of the ticket price; a tax on each stall or pen used by livestock during an event, not to exceed $20 per stall; and a parking tax of up to $5 per vehicle.

Public funding, which also includes proceeds from a mixed-beverage tax and various regional hotel room taxes, is capped at $225 million and no public money will go toward operations or maintenance.

The arena’s facade uses Southwest art deco elements, matching with Will Rogers, which will continue to serve as a major equestrian venue.

Homan moved to Fort Worth in 2015 before a shovel had even been put in the ground. He came from Philadelphia where he had run Wells Fargo Center for more than four years. He’s also had stints at the Iowa Event Center in Des Moines and at Colonial Life Arena on the campus of the University of South Carolina (his alma mater).