When the Dallas Regional Chamber totes up its wins, it can add sports business to the tally sheet. That industry has generated another No. 1 ranking for North Texas, a region that’s already pacing the field in corporate relocations, jobs, and productivity.

At the DRC’s 2025 annual meeting last Thursday at Arlington’s Globe Life Field—home of the 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers—nearly 900 business leaders gathered to hear about a year of chamber gains and glean some insight into the next big plays.

“We’re a little bit like Luka Dončić,” Dale Petroskey, the chamber’s president and CEO, told the crowd clustered in seats along Globe Life’s third-base line. “We’re the point guard who sees the floor better than anybody else and gets the ball into the hands of the player that can score the easiest.”

That strategy helped the chamber distribute 32 new corporate headquarters among 97 business relocations across 31 regional cities in 2024. Site Selection magazine recently took notice, ranking Dallas the top city for corporate relocations in the country last year. 

The 2024 relocations brought the area’s 15-year total to 284 headquarters across 33 cities, Petroskey said. Through them all, he added, the chamber has acted as an “honest broker,” ensuring balance across the region.

“When a company from California is interested in moving here, we ask them what they’re looking for,” he said. “The best fit might be Arlington, it might be Plano, it might be Frisco, it might be Irving, it might be southern Dallas County. We have lots of great options.”

Dale Petroskey, president and CEO of the Dallas Regional Chamber, told attendees at the annual meeting that the DRC is like “the point guard who sees the floor better than anyone else.” [Photo: Joseph Haubert/DRC]

The strategy aligns with three key chamber priorities: building talent pipelines, shaping policy to “keep the Texas economic miracle alive,” and narrowing opportunity gaps across the region. The results show in the headlines, Petroskey said, with the Dallas-Fort Worth economy leading in a number of areas, including sports business.

In 2023, Sports Business Journal ranked Dallas-Fort Worth No. 1 on its list of the country’s Best Sports Business Cities. The publication lauded the area’s multiple major league teams, progressive team owners, world-class sports venues, college bowl games, robust attendance metrics, corporate sponsors, and business-friendly environment.  

“We’re a big league city every day, in every way,” Petroskey said, citing the region’s full roster of major league teams, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, and WNBA. Frisco recently added the headquarters of PGA of America, and North Texas has even attracted professional cricket, the world’s second-most popular sport.

In 2026, the region will be one of 16 host cities for the FIFA World Cup, hosting nine matches and, most likely, the tournament’s international broadcast center.

“I like to say if you’re a member of the Dallas business community, you’re already on the winning team,” Petroskey said.

Farewell from a unicorn who ‘made us all better’

Cynt Marshall, the chamber’s 2024 chair, said DRC wins last year included a first-of-its-kind Disability Inclusion Toolkit and the inaugural Convergence AI Dallas Conference. [Photo: Joseph Haubert/DRC]

Former Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall followed the DRC CEO onstage, capping her year as chamber board chair with her own unique energy. Petroskey thanked Marshall for leading the organization last year, calling her a “unicorn” who “made us all better” en route to becoming “the most dynamic CEO in town.”

Marshall, for her part, thanked other chamber members and ticked off a list of the DRC’s 2024 accomplishments.

Among them: a “D.C. Fly-In,” where chamber members met with congress members and federal agencies; the first-ever “Dallas Regional Days,” which showed off the region to state legislators; “Vision Tours” spotlighting Southern Dallas County; a first-of-its-kind Disability Inclusion Toolkit; and the first-ever Convergence AI Dallas Conference.

“Ready, set, go, it’s all yours!” Marshall said, passing a figurative baton to incoming chamber chair Jim Springfield. He is president of Richardson-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, which was the annual meeting’s presenting sponsor.

Game plan for the 89th Texas Legislature

2025 DRC Chair Jim Springfield said spending for infrastructure—for energy and broadband, but especially for water—will top the list of chamber priorities during the 89th Texas Legislature. [Photo: Joseph Haubert/DRC]

Springfield is stepping into the role at a key moment, Petroskey had said, noting that the insurance executive “knows his way around the legislative process.” 

That’s a good thing, because achieving the chamber’s priorities during the 89th Texas Legislature, which kicked off last week in Austin, is apt to be challenging. 

The Dallas region is growing fast, by 400 people a day, Springfield told the crowd. As a result, he said, the DRC’s No. 1 goal this legislative session will be allocating dollars for infrastructure—including for energy and broadband, but especially for water—to keep pace with all the growth.

“A long-term funding plan for water projects is critical,” Springfield said. “In November 2023, Texans voted to establish the Texas Water Fund and make a $1 billion down payment toward Texas’ estimated $154 billion of water needs. So, a billion is a lot of money, but not compared to $154 billion. There’s a lot more yet to do.”

The Legislature is working this biennial session with a sizeable budget surplus, which, ironically, the chamber believes may complicate its push for infrastructure spending.

“With a budget surplus, it’s very hard to allocate specific funds,” Rebekah Chenelle, the chamber’s vice president of public policy, told Dallas Innovates at a reception following the meeting program. “So, when we do make that ask to invest in infrastructure, we’re going to face many hurdles with that ask.

“It’s actually easier when there’s not a budget surplus, because legislators can just say, ‘There’s no money in the budget.’ But when there is a surplus, those funds have to go to a specific place,” she said. “And deciding where they go is hard for the Legislature to do. So, it’s up to us to educate and make them understand where it needs to go.”

DRC staffers like Chenelle, the organization’s contract lobbyists—and Springfield—will be in the state capital to do just that on Feb. 4, during the chamber’s “Austin Fly-in.”

But infrastructure will be just one piece of the DRC’s legislative agenda, Springfield said in his remarks.

In addition, the chamber will “advocate for better access to affordable healthcare options for both employees and employers,” he said. “We also want to see the Dallas region continue as a leader of the economy of the future. With Dallas as home to ARPA-H, the federal hub for healthcare innovation, we’re positioned to become a biotech powerhouse. So, we’re championing state support to help North Texas continue to compete with other top regions in this fast-growing industry. We’re also ready to advocate for smart, forward-thinking policies that will allow innovation, such as artificial intelligence, to thrive, while ensuring an infrastructure that can support it.”

Other chamber priorities this session will include “balanced” taxes, safe communities, and workforce training.

[Photo: Joseph Haubert/DRC]

Putting up a united front

It was fitting that the DRC’s annual meeting was held at Globe Life Field, because the highly anticipated centerpiece of the meeting was a “Playmakers’ Panel” discussion about North Texas sports business.

In remarks introducing the panel consisting of five local sports executives, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said that while he’s proud of his city—he joked that he prefers to call North Texas “DFWA”—no one city in the region stands alone.

“Arlington can’t be who we are today, Dallas can’t be who they are today, Fort Worth can’t be who they are today… if we don’t work together,” Ross said. “Here in North Texas, there is no better community than what we have going on when it comes to working together.”

The mayor then introduced the panelists, calling them “some of the most influential leaders in sports business—not just in North Texas, but in the world.”

The panel members were Neil Leibman, president of baseball operations and COO for MLB’s Texas Rangers; Charlotte Jones, chief brand officer and co-owner of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys; Gina Miller, VP of broadcasting, media, and communications for pro soccer team FC Dallas; Greg Bibb, CEO and managing partner for women’s pro basketball team the Dallas Wings; and Rick Welts, CEO of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

The discussion was moderated by Chuck Morgan, the Rangers P.A. announcer and the club’s EVP for ballpark entertainment, promotions, and production.

Here are a few of the panelists’ key observations:

“Playmaker’s Panel” member Gina Miller of FC Dallas said that “sports is woven into the fabric of what we do here in North Texas.” [Photo: Joseph Haubert/DRC]

Miller, on what makes DFW such a sports powerhouse: “Sports is woven in the fabric of what we do here in North Texas. We don’t have beaches and mountains—and I say that as a Dallas native. We don’t have that; we have sports. We have Friday Night Lights. We have Chuck Morgan saying, ‘It’s time for Rangers baseball.’ We have AT&T Stadium, the Dallas Wings, the Dallas Mavericks. There’s so much here in this market to celebrate, and it’s what we do from the time that we are born. I just see the entire community, from the fans to the corporate partners, get around what it is we’re doing from a sports perspective and support it, champion it, celebrate it, participate in it. That’s what’s so exciting.”

Despite last year’s disappointing season, panelist Neil Leibman of the 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers said, “We will be competitive—and we will win this year.” [Photo: Joseph Haubert/DRC]

Leibman, on capitalizing on the Rangers’ 2023 World Series win to build fan engagement and grow business: “The saddest day last year was the last day of the season, when we gave away our title as the reigning World Series champions. We intend to capitalize on that again, but how? Winning certainly helps. We had a parade where we expected to have 300,000 people show up and, instead, we had over 700,000 people. In addition, we took the commissioner’s trophy and put it on tour, and a number of people and businesses asked us to bring the trophy to their business.

“It was really exciting, and the desire to win again was heightened. Every day, lest we forget, we need to have the best entertainment every time someone shows up, and Chuck [Morgan] is a big part of that. Guest Services is critical, and having great food and concessions in the wonderful ballpark all contributes. So yes, there is a hangover. We miss being the World Series champions. We hope to get back there again next year, and we thank everybody here for supporting us and standing behind us despite last year. We will be competitive—and we will win this year.”

Panelist Greg Bibb of the Dallas Wings called the WNBA—the women’s pro basketball league the Wings compete in—“a 30-year overnight sensation.” [Photo: Joseph Haubert/DRC]

Bibb, on opportunities for the growth of women’s sports as the Wings prepare to move in 2026 from UT Arlington’s College Park Center to Memorial Arena at Dallas’ Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center: “We were fortunate in that when the team arrived in North Texas in 2016, it was a very different time. There weren’t a lot of folks that were welcoming professional women’s sports teams to town and helping them get off to a good start. But the city of Arlington did that and UTA did that and College Park Center did that, and we’ll forever be grateful for the time that we’ve had here. For us to move just creates an entirely different opportunity at a time when we have this great convergence of all the things we’ve been talking about today relative to North Texas: this really explosive growth moment for women’s sports, which is really a convergence of a lot of things from a societal perspective, from a corporate perspective, and otherwise.

“We’re just fortunate to be in the moment right now. I do want to mention, too, that we’re a 30-year overnight sensation. There was a lot of energy, time, work, and sacrifice made by a lot of people to keep the WNBA alive when it was not an easy decision to do so. There was a very small group of three, four, or five people who took the idea of a women’s professional basketball league and turned it into reality. And one of those people is sitting to my left. [Rick Welts] is literally the godfather of the WNBA. So, to have Rick in our market now is a tremendous honor.”

Panel member Rick Welts of the Dallas Mavericks, who’s called the WNBA’s godfather, said the Wings are “opening eyes to a whole new generation of fans.” [Photo: Joseph Haubert/DRC]

Welts, following up on Bibbs’ remarks: “I love [Bibbs’] description, because I say all the time that the WNBA is a 28-year overnight success, right? People forget the struggles we had, and the determination it took from the operators from the NBA supporting it to realize what we have today. But we had some moments along the way where we thought, ‘OK, this is not [just] a moment in women’s sports—this is a movement, and this is here for good.’

“So, every day I wake up and see the success of your team, and the WNBA. And I’m on the board of the NWSL’s women’s soccer team in the Bay Area. What you’re doing is important. You’re opening eyes to a whole new generation of fans who look at women’s sports in a very different way. And the pipeline of talent! It’s not just about Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, but the pipeline of talent in college basketball now that is going to continue to captivate national audiences and then show up on your roster. So, congratulations. It’s a thrilling thing to observe.”

Panelist Charlotte Jones of the Dallas Cowboys said, “Sports is not just a passion. It’s a culture for our community.” [Photo: Joseph Haubert/DRC]

Jones, on contributing to the broader DFW sports ecosystem while creating a unique identity for the Cowboys: “Our whole metroplex has room for everybody. I think that we have such an incredible community that has such a huge appetite for sports, that we find that everywhere we are—and as we go from one season to the next season—one team hypes up the next upcoming. People just don’t want a void in sports, so they naturally gravitate to the next thing. And I think our media is so excited to talk about our sports, that it gives us all life throughout the year, in terms of being able to know what is happening and being connected.

“Sports is not just a passion. It’s a culture for our community, and it’s a lifestyle. It is what our fans do. They identify and become [more invested in] our community. I think the greatest thing that we do as individual teams and together is: We are a place of unity. On any given Sunday, or any night out here [at Globe Life Field], it’s a place where all walks of life come together—every generation, every culture. Everyone there forgets their differences. They’re here together to support each other and their team. That is why our community is so strong. I have always believed that it is sports that saves our country.”

Capping the discussion, Jones had some advice for Welts, who’d only been the Mavs CEO for a few weeks. Jones recalled that when her father Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989, “the first day that we got here, Mayor Annette Strauss gave us one piece of advice that has never been more true. The mayor said, ‘If you love Dallas, it will love you back.’ So Rick, those are my parting words for you: We … will … love … you … back.”   

Quincy Preston contributed to this report. 

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