The Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association, the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball, the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League, FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, and the Dallas Wings of the Women’s National Basketball Association all call Dallas and the Dallas metropolitan area home.
Major collegiate sports teams in the Dallas area include the Mustangs of Southern Methodist University, which is located in the University Park neighborhood, and the Patriots baseball team of Dallas Baptist University, which is based in southwest Dallas. The University of North Texas Mean Green, University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks, and Texas Christian University Horned Frogs are located in neighboring cities Fort Worth, Arlington, and Denton, respectively. While there are a number of sports teams in Dallas, here are some of the top fan favorites!
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League are based in the nearby city of Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys have experienced significant success since entering the league as an expansion team in 1960, making it to eight Super Bowls and winning five of them. The Dallas Cowboys, also referred to as “America’s Team,” are the most valuable sports team in terms of money in the country, with a market value of almost 2.3 billion dollars. Additionally, they are the most valuable sports league in the entire planet. The Cotton Bowl, located in Fair Park in Dallas, served as the Cowboys’ home stadium from 1960 until 1971. The club competed at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas, from 1971 to 2008. The Cowboys moved to their brand-new, 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Arlington in 2009—the same year that Super Bowl XLV took place there. The college Cotton Bowl Classic football game has moved to AT&T Stadium after being played at the Cotton Bowl through its 2009 edition.
Dallas Mavericks
A basketball team that plays professionally, the Dallas Mavericks are based in Dallas, Texas. The Mavericks play in the Western Conference Southwest Division of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team shares the American Airlines Center with the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League, where they play their home games.
The Dallas Mavericks play in Dallas’ downtown. They currently play at the American Airlines Center, but their first venue was the now-demolished Reunion Arena. One title has been won by the Mavericks, who were led by superstar German-born player Dirk Nowitzki in the 2011 NBA Finals. The Mavericks have benefited from having one of the NBA’s largest fan bases, consistently placing in the top 5 in terms of attendance over the past few years. The Mavericks made the playoffs 12 times in a row from 2001 to 2012 and 15 times in 16 years from 2001 to 2016, with the exception of 2013, when they finished with an even 41-41 record and were eliminated as the 10th seed.
Dallas Stars
A professional ice hockey team called the Dallas Stars is situated in Dallas, Texas. They are participants in the National Hockey League’s Central Division of the Western Conference (NHL). The Minnesota North Stars, an NHL expansion franchise that was based in Bloomington, Minnesota, were established in 1967. The NHL gave authorization for the team to unite with the Cleveland Barons before the start of the 1978–1979 NHL season after the league authorized it since both teams had sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In the end, new ownership combined both franchises into one team, which was moved to Dallas ahead of the 1993–94 NHL season. Reunion Arena served as the Stars’ home arena from their relocation until 2001. The Stars have won eight division titles in Dallas and two Presidents’ Trophies as the NHL’s best club during the regular season; today, finishing fourth or lower usually ensures participation into the playoffs.
Texas Rangers
Home of the 2010 and 2011 American League Champions Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball, Globe Life Field is where the Texas Rangers play their home games. After moving to Arlington following the 1971 season, the organization, originally known as the Washington Senators, changed its name to the Rangers in 1972. The team played its home games at Arlington Stadium from 1972 until 1993. The Ballpark in Arlington, formerly known as the venue where the Rangers played their home games from 1994 to 2019, is now known as Choctaw Stadium. The team moved its home games to Globe Life Field in Arlington in 2020. The most prosperous seasons for the Rangers were 2010 and 2011, when they won the American League Championship and participated in the World Series.
If you are heading down to Dallas for a stay or perhaps are even moving that direction, you can be sure to find a number of great sports teams to celebrate along with the rest of the fans!