Map of Joey Georgusis Park by Gensler. Photo courtesy of the City of Dallas.
Dallas Trinity FC’s CEO Jim Neil and president Charlie Neil presented an overview of their last two seasons to the city council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Professional Sports Recruitment and Retention Monday afternoon.
The overview highlighted the wins of the new women’s sports team, such as breaking the record for the number of attendees at a women’s professional sporting event in the state of Texas. But they also highlighted a lack of facilities.
Currently, Trinity FC practices at The Hockaday School in Preston Hollow.
“We really love our partners, but we’re confined to district hours,” Charlie Neil said. “We’re confined to strict hours when their campus is open. We’re confined to no locker room, no training center, no treatment area, nothing.”
He then detailed the back and forth that Trinity FC players experience in their day-to-day, highlighting the separation of housing from the field.
“It’s not a professional experience,” he said. “These players are believing in us. They’re putting their faith in us. But we also need to show and demonstrate as a community that we’re reinvesting in them, because they put a lot of faith and investment in us.”
The proposed solution? Joining the Dallas Wings at Joey Georgusis Park.
In the presentation, Charlie Neil said that Trinity FC envisions partnering with the Dallas Wings and having a focal point for women’s professional sports in West Oak Cliff. He added the potential economic impact and benefit of reinvesting in our women because these fields could “unlock brand new tournaments, clinics, concerts, events, festivals, you name it.”
“There’s so much opportunity to be had with Joey G. Park,” Charlie Neil said. “We hope we can continue to work with the council and figure out a way to make that a reality.”
The committee questioned the costs, with District 9 Council member Paula Blackmon stating money is tight, but members also highlighted the importance of supporting women’s sports.
“We constantly hear about men’s sports in this city,” District 1 Council member Chad West said. “We have a responsibility as a council and as leaders in Dallas to treat our women who are professional athletes with the same amount of respect and give them the same spotlight.”
