Dallas Sports Commission Celebrates a Decade Well Played

Dallas has been one of the hotbeds for sports in the United States for decades thanks in part to its professional sports franchises, but previous attempts at forming a dedicated sports bureau to promote the city had come and gone.

But when Visit Dallas established the Dallas Sports Commission in 2014, it did so with the plan of making it stick. And in the decade since its formation ­— celebrated with a November 12 gala marking “A Decade Well Played” — the Dallas Sports Commission has hosted 459 events worth $3.3 billion in estimated economic impact that have attracted over 6.25 million attendees.

“I’m not sure I would have anticipated this much growth or extended resume from the events that we’ve been able to bring in, but we’re on a very upward trajectory,” said Dallas Sports Commission Executive Director Monica Paul. “Sometimes when you’re starting things, people are a little skeptical, since versions of sports commissions had failed previously here. So to see the buy-in and the value that we do bring and how we work in collaboration with our partners, this is especially important to me and something that I’m very proud of.”

Between NFL and NHL Drafts, two WrestleManias and a CFP National Championship, there is one event that stands out to Paul as a moment where the DSC cemented its place in the industry: The 2017 NCAA Women’s Final Four, when South Carolina won its first national championship by beating Mississippi State. In that series, South Carolina scored at the buzzer in overtime of its semifinal to upset UConn and end the Huskies’ record 111-game winning streak.

“That Women’s Final Four was our first from the start of bidding to execution of the event,” she said. “Before that we worked on events, but they had already been awarded prior to us. Coming out of 2017, knowing we handled the process from start to finish, I thought ‘OK, we can be successful at this.’”

Dallas used that event as a springboard for the 2023 Women’s Final Four at American Airlines Center, which was the most-viewed Women’s Final Four weekend on record at the time and resulted in $40.3 million in estimated economic impact.

“[Before the Dallas Sports Commission] we didn’t have an entity that would assist with going nationwide and seeking out all the different sports events and conventions to come here,” said Corraina Anthony, Dallas Sports Commission volunteer and partner. “We had the hotel space, we had the volunteers, but we did not have the business.”

The level of business is thanks in large part to an organization that was spun out of Visit Dallas in 2014 and driven by Dave Brown, chief operating officer and general manager of the American Airlines Center and past chair of Visit Dallas. It was Brown that brought Paul into the industry in 2008 in a sports marketing position at Visit Dallas ahead of the DSC’s formation.

“I don’t know how the city would operate in terms of sports initiatives without the Dallas Sports Commission,” said Brown. “Prior to the Sports Commission, we had a lot of fragmented segments of the sports community that would go after big events on their own. Sometimes they were successful, but most times they weren’t.”

Before joining Visit Dallas, Paul had been established in the event organizer space organizing volleyball events. She also worked for multiple national governing bodies including USA Volleyball and USA Taekwondo and had a stint as competition director in Louisville in 2006 for the National Senior Games.

“I had the ability to look at it a little bit differently,” Paul said. “What it allowed me to do because of my background was take the service piece of it, which is important. One of the most important items of how we try to approach business is we have to be able to provide value to our clients. It’s not just about finding them the venue and finding them the hotels and getting the hotel contracts in line. It’s about how we can make this whole entire event and experience for our client and our spectators and our fans come together.”

The DSC’s primary focus has remained the same a decade later — bring in sports events that drive tax dollars and economic impact while positioning Dallas as a sports destination. That means not just the major national and international events, of which there have been plenty, but also youth and grassroots organizations.

“Having that in place from the very beginning, staying true to that, is important and allowed us to have some longevity and growth,” Paul said. “They’ve always been our partners, but now even more ambassadors for us as well, because they’re out speaking and actually selling our city, our region as a destination.”

The sports commission itself, when fully staffed, has 10 full-time employees with two interns in the office. Over its first decade, growth has been in the sales department from one person to three, plus increased emphasis on marketing and communications.

“There’s some staff members that have been here from the very beginning, even way before the beginning,” Paul said. “Then there’s some that stayed a while and have gone, but still remain in communication and follow what we’re doing, celebrate our wins along the way.”

The Dallas region is known primarily through its professional sports teams, iconic names such as the Cowboys along with title-winning teams in the NHL’s Stars, NBA’s Mavericks and MLB’s Rangers. Each of those teams also has been a supporter of the DSC.

“We’re very complimentary of one another,” Paul said. “I do not want to run a facility. I do not want to run a professional team. That is what our professional teams are. I’m not going to tell them how to do their business, but I need them as a partner. I need to be able to utilize their venue. I know what my lane is, we know our role as a sports commission in hosting these events and they are 50-50 at the table. I think all of our professional teams look at it as a partnership and win-win situations across the board.”

Celebrating a decade of its existence showcases what is also to come in the region. Dallas will host more matches than any city in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and is scheduled to host the 2030 NCAA Men’s Final Four at AT&T Stadium and the 2031 Women’s Final Four again in 2031. And there’s plenty more on its wish list.

“I want a FIFA Women’s World Cup at some point,” Paul said. “We’re a candidate host city for World Rugby World Cup in 2031 and Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2033. We have to get another Super Bowl in the future. We’ve got a major convention center project that hopes to be completed in 2029. So really that 2030 time period should be a good runway for us to get some of those major events and with new investment and facilities continue to grow our footprint.

“We’re in a market that a lot of people want to ensure that they have a presence in some form or fashion,” Paul added. “And not that I’m leaving anytime soon, but I do want to ensure that it has longevity for many, many, many years. I want it to be set up for long-term success.”