The Australian Open 2024 is finally over and tennis stars are moving on to their next destination – The Dallas Open. The Texas-based tournament was only revived in 2022, 39 years after it was previously held in 1983. In its third year this year, after its return, The Dallas Open is already undergoing some massive changes next year. One big change is shifting its stadium from the Ford Facility Center in Frisco, Texas.
The Dallas Open is an indoor hard-court ATP tour tournament for men. It is currently an ATP 250 event, which is also definitively changing into an ATP 500 event from 2025. Besides Dallas, Doha and Munich will also be upgraded to ATP 500 status as part of the OneVision strategy. But the bigger news remains to shift its base location from the Southern Methodist University complex. It relocated here from Uniondale, New York, where it was the New York Open. Now, in 4 years, it’s shifting again.
The Dallas Open official Instagram page shared the post regarding the announcement. A short video showed Wu Yibing and Reilly Opelka, winners of the previous two editions of the tournament. Former President George Bush made it to the video as well. This was to show his Dallas heritage.
View this post on Instagram
The future location, The Ford Facility Center in Frisco happens to be the “World Corporate Headquarters and Training Facility” of the NFL team Dallas Cowboys. It is a 12,000-seater stadium and the Cowboys just use it for their practice. This shift is a 25-minute drive away (26.5 miles) from the SMU in Dallas to Frisco, which is a part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area. It marks a new beginning and a healthy collaboration between Dallas Open and The Ford Center.
The Ford Center is a typical NFL ground, whose dimensions also match a soccer field and a Lacrosse field. Before tennis moved there, The Major League Lacrosse had also shifted one of its teams, The Rochester Rattlers moved there and became the Dallas Rattlers. Its name, The Ford only came into being in 2015 after signing a 10-year deal with the motor company for naming rights.
It is a 91-acre development and it cost $1.5 billion to construct in 2014 by the Manhattan Construction Company. It will also be one of the host cities for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The Dallas Open’s unprecedented move to Ford Center
Until now, the Dallas Open took place at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis complex inside the Southern Methodist University. After its move next year, it will take place at a Hellas Matrix Helix Turf inside the Ford Center. The SMU boasts of its guild hall, museums, libraries, and its erstwhile connection to the Union Methodist Church. But come February 3rd, tennis fans will also be taking trams, buses, and cabs to reach the campus for the Dallas Open this year. Some high-octane matches are definitely on the radar this year.
The tournament, this time around, consists of high-profile American tennis stars like Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, and Christopher Eubanks among others. Almost all of them are fresh out of the Australian Open, everyone will like to win this tournament here. It will also then bring the trophy back to the US from China, where Wu Yibing currently holds it.
