Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena could be getting a new name.
Bluestar Alliance, which bought the Dickies brand from VF Corp. for $600 million last year, indicated to Trail Drive Management Corp., the arena’s manager, that it doesn’t want to be the venue’s naming rights partner anymore.
“Which breaks my heart to be honest with you, because it was such a perfect fit,” Homan told KRLD 1080 radio podcast CEO Spotlight with David Johnson during a show that aired on June 1. “So I imagine we’ll be looking for a new naming rights partner here in the coming months or year.”
Homan confirmed Bluestar’s position to the Report during a brief interview Tuesday at Fort Worth City Hall, where he presented to the City Council a proposal to outsource management of the historic Will Rogers Memorial Center to three nonprofits, including Trail Drive.
He added that there have been ongoing discussions with Bluestar but declined further comment, deferring instead to a Trail Drive news release stating it would seek payments owed by VF and Bluestar in arrears.
Trail Drive filed suit in a state district court in Fort Worth against VF, Bluestar and related entities, alleging a plan to “dump obligations” owed to Trail Drive.
VF and Bluestar did not respond to requests by the Report for comment Wednesday.
Asked by Johnson whether it was likely the arena naming rights would generate a lot of interest, Homan said, “I think they will.” He added that as a nonprofit manager, the arena can be patient.
“It’s about finding the right partner here, and I think that’s something that’s going to be really important for us,” Homan said.
Dickies Arena opened in 2019, filling a void on the western side of the metroplex for a multipurpose arena that can hold everything from rodeos to concerts, high school graduations and sporting events.
The arena can seat up to 14,000 depending on the type of event. It is smaller than American Airlines Center, but that arena has to block out a big part of its schedule for Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars games. That opens opportunities for Dickies, Homan told the podcast.
Homan said his original expectation for Dickies was 20-30 concerts annually. “This year, we’re going to end up with close to 62 concerts,” he said. “That’s amazing.”
Williamson-Dickie, the venerable workwear maker that started in 1922 in Fort Worth, has been the arena’s only naming rights partner. When the company committed to the agreement, CEO Philip Williamson said the arena would “redefine what local entertainment means to our neighbors in Fort Worth,” Trail Drive noted in its release.
VF Corp. bought the Dickies brand in 2017 and subsequently sold it to Bluestar, a New York brand management company.
Though Trail Drive declined to say how much the companies owe or define the nature of the dispute, it indicated the matters “will have no impact on arena operations, event bookings, and financial health. Further, interest from sponsors, entertainers, presenters, and patrons has never been stronger.”
Trail Drive and Dickies have never disclosed the terms of the naming rights agreement.
The release also took care to separate the dispute from Trail Drive’s relationship with the Williamsons, who continue their legacy of involvement in Fort Worth.
“The Williamson family holds the deep respect and gratitude of all of us at Dickies Arena, as well as the Fort Worth community at large,” the release said. “Their immeasurable impact on our city spans over a century and touches nearly every dimension of civic and community life.”
Editor’s note: Bill Meadows, president and co-chair of the Fort Worth Report Board of Directors, is a board member of Trail Drive Management Corp. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Scott Nishimura is a senior editor for local government accountability and a Fort Worth City Hall reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at [email protected].
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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