Click Thompson
The PBR World Finals will move to Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena in May.
Fort Worth may not be welcoming the Super Bowl or building facilities to compete with Jerry World (yet, anyway), but the city is making strides when it comes to establishing its identity in the realm of sports.
2022 is shaping up to be one of the biggest sports years the city has ever seen. Between NCAA championships, March Madness, and annual rodeo competitions, Fort Worth is also welcoming the biggest event in professional bull riding, the PBR World Finals, set to take place May 13 – 22 at Dickies Arena. That’s on top of annual mainstays like the Charles Schwab Challenge and Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, plus the newly launched Panther City Lacrosse Club, the city’s first franchise in the National Lacrosse League.
Fans have the Fort Worth Sports Commission to thank for playing a large part in that growth. The new commission is a division of Visit Fort Worth, which last year created a 501(c)(3) to raise community support for even more initiatives such as hosting events and giving local kids more access to sports.
But beyond the fun and games, if you will, bigger sporting events also translate to a greater economic impact — a multimillion-dollar impact, in fact, as teams and fans alike flock to Fort Worth, stay at our hotels, eat at our restaurants, and take in everything else there is to see and do around town. In 2021, the Sports Commission counted more than 40 events responsible for an economic impact worth more than $100 million.
The commission hopes the city will bear similar fruit in 2022. Equestrian events alone at Will Rogers Memorial Center account for about $70 million. The PBR World Finals, at its previous home in Las Vegas, brought north of $20 million to the city, and Fort Worth anticipates its impact to fall within a similar range.
“We’re focused on leveraging the assets we have, the best way possible,” Sports Commission director Jason Sands says. “Dickies Arena has really opened up the door for us to host a lot of high-profile events. Our goal is to show these national governing bodies that when they come to Fort Worth, they’ve got a home here. Their business, their event, can thrive and grow year over year.”
Sands says the Sports Commission’s intent is threefold: There’s the economic growth, for one, but also promotion of the city’s image (through national broadcasts, for example) and impacting the local community through programs like Readers Become Leaders, a partnership with the NCAA that encourages Fort Worth Independent School District students to read books for prizes.
Next steps for the commission include putting together a board of directors and building resources for local student athletes, such as a new youth sports facility, Sands says.
“We’re making sure we’re putting Fort Worth on the map through the power of sports,” he says.
John and Allison Cheng, courtesy of USA Gymnastics
Simone Biles at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Dickies Arena in 2021.
Sports Highlights for 2022
American Athletic Conference – Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships
March 7 – 10 (Women’s), March 10 – 13 (Men’s), Dickies Arena
Estimated economic impact: $6 million (total for both events)
NCAA Basketball 1st and 2nd Round
March 17 and 19, Dickies Arena
Estimated economic impact: $7.2 million
NCAA Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Championships
April 14 and 16, Dickies Arena
Estimated economic impact: $5.4 million
Sports ETA Annual Symposium (sports tourism conference)
May 2 – 5, Fort Worth Convention Center”
Estimated economic impact: $1.6 million
PBR World Finals
May 13 – 22 (Dickies Arena: May
13 – 15 and May 19 – 22)
Estimated economic impact: Over $20 million in Las Vegas, with similar impact anticipated for Fort Worth
Equestrian events
Year-round, Will Rogers Memorial Center
Estimated economic impact: More than $70 million from 25 events held annually
