On the corner of Harley Avenue and Gendy Street in west Fort Worth is the highly anticipated, newly opened Dickies Arena — the new home to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s ProRodeo performances.
A state-of- the-art venue touted as an unprecedented mixture of concert hall acoustics coupled with sports amenities and flare, Dickies Arena is equipped to host events of all kinds, from live concerts to sports matches to community gatherings. “They’ve got so many ways to set up for concerts and basketball, it blows me away,” says Matt Brockman, communications manager for the FWSSR. In fact, since its completion in November 2019, the arena has hosted a handful of events including the Cowgirl Hall of Fame Induction, monster truck rallies, and two nights of George Strait live in concert. “It’s truly multipurpose,” Brockman says. “This spring, we’ll have two major gymnastics events — the NCAA women’s gymnastics finals and the USA gymnastics finals, which is a mandatory event for the U.S. Olympic qualifier. So, it’s pretty wild.”
“We are the anchor tenant of Dickies Arena. That’s why Mr. Bass, our chairman, made it that way. That was his intention; that was our intention. That’s the way it was planned, and that’s the way it is.”
The rodeo arena dimensions perfectly match those of the former coliseum, just with more seats, and premium box suites, surrounding it. While Will Rogers accommodated just more than 5,700 fans, Dickies allows for 9,300 to enjoy the rodeo performances. Plus, its equipped with all of the technology to capture the action. “Looking at all the bells and whistles, we now have 30 camera angles that we can use for both TV and the in-house feed,”
Brockman says.
Below the main plaza is a 98,000-square-foot exhibit space, with a 10,500-square-foot, climate-controlled exhibit hall at its center that can be transformed into a warm-up court for athletes, a small concert space, or a wedding reception venue. During the FWSSR, it will serve as an exercise arena with the surrounding square footage left available for exhibit booths and horse stalls.
