You’ve probably heard the saying “Everything is bigger in Texas.” Well, it’s true. Let’s take Dallas, for instance, the number-five-ranked city in my book, 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live.
Dallas is not only home to the Dallas Cowboys—one of the most well-known sports franchises—it has great southern weather, a major airport providing numerous flights in and out of the city, and top-shelf venue spaces for hosting sporting events for your clients and customers.
Being the ninth-largest city in the U.S., Dallas is home to one-quarter of the population of Texas and serves as the economic epicenter of the 12-county metropolitan area that is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. Downtown Dallas is easily accessible and characterized by urban renewal, heavy retail, restaurants, and nightlife that will carry incentive groups into the wee hours of the morning. Of the numerous districts in downtown, the Arts District is for those interested in performing and visual arts, the West End Historic District is famous for being the location where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and many other entertaining districts are sure to pique the interests of everyone.
If you’re looking for authentic Southern barbeque, Dallas is the place to be. Renowned for its barbeque and Tex-Mex cuisine, Dallas’ own Fearing's restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas was named the best hotel restaurant in the U.S. for 2009 by Zagat.
A major part of Dallas residents’ culture is sports. The city is home to professional teams such as MLB’s Texas Rangers, NFL’s Cowboys, NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, NHL’s Dallas Stars, the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League, and Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas. Fair Park holds some of the most notable events in the “Big D,” such as the annual State Fair of Texas, as well as the Red River Shootout—the college football showdown between University of Texas’ Longhorns against the University of Oklahoma’s Sooners.
The Red River Shootout is considered one of the greatest and most intense rivalries in sports and is also named one of the top 100 sporting events to see live in my book. Dallas will also host the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. The All-Star Game is one of the most fun sporting events every year, showing off the dazzling skills of basketball’s finest.
The only thing that Dallas lacks is a central location for fans to congregate, and its track record for hosting major sporting events is not miles long. But the city will play host to the NFL’s Super Bowl in 2011.
Incentive online columnist Robert Tuchman is president of Premiere Corporate Events, a division of Premiere Global Sports www.pcevents.com, and author of 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live. He can be reached at rtuchman@pcevents.com or www.100sportingevents.com.
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