Don’t Mess with Texas: More About Fort Worth, the New Host of the CrossFit Games
Don’t mess with Texas.
It was announced on Tuesday that after six years in Madison, the CrossFit Games are making the move to Fort Worth, TX. The Games will be held at the Dickies Arena from August 8-11, 2024, and many people are wondering what we can expect from this new location and how its hometown charm will be woven into the identity and programming of the CrossFit Games.
Some Quick Facts:
- Fort Worth is the fifth biggest city in Texas in population and was originally established in 1849 as an army outpost.
- It’s the center of the Texas longhorn cattle trade.
- The city is full of universities and college life–home to Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan, and more.
A City of Cowboys and Culture
- There is a twice-daily cattle drive at the Historic Stockyards downtown.
- The city has a total of 263 parks and a total park acreage of just over 11,000.
- The local Trinity River has over 100 miles of trails.
- It is considered the museum capital of the Southwest.
Dickies Arena – The Main Venue
The Dickies Arena will be the home base for the Games, replacing the 10,000-seat Alliant Energy Center. Dickies Arena has 14,000 seats and opened in 2019, hosts concerts and events, and is the home base for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Stock Show Rodeo.
- By the numbers:
- There are three standard levels of seating (plaza, suite, and gallery) plus floor seating.
- There is also a 98,000-square-foot exhibit arena attached.
- An almost five-acre outdoor plaza is nearby, which can accommodate around 2,000 people.
- The arena houses the second-largest contiguous indoor center-hung video board, so no matter your seat, you will be able to see the action.
The arena is part of the Will Rogers Memorial Center Campus, which is located about three miles from Fort Worth’s Downtown District. The Campus is about 120 acres and includes the Will Rogers Coliseum, Will Rogers Auditorium, another exhibition hall, and an Equestrian Center. This gives the CrossFit Games tons of space to play with.
Other Potential Venues
But wait, there’s more. Outside of Dickies Arena and The Will Rogers Memorial Center Campus, Fort Worth has plenty of other spaces that could be great for fitness.
- Farrington Field
- A full-size football field located a 20-minute walk away from Dickie’s Arena with bleacher-style seating.
- Tons of nearby parking.
- Trinity River Trail System
- Farrington Field is connected to the River Trail System and is a great starting point for a biking or running event.
- There are several launch pads along the river for paddle boarding.
- The system includes Marine Lake, a small urban lake that allows fishing, swimming, kayaking, and sailing.
- TCU
- A 10-minute drive from Dickie’s Arena, the TCU Campus spans 302 acres.
- The Campus is home to many athletic facilities, including both an indoor and outdoor aquatic center.
According to the Fort Worth Sports Commission in a previous bid for the CrossFit Games from 2021, the total estimated venue expense would be $787,000. Add in additional enhancements and hotel rebates, and the total Fort Worth package value was estimated by the Commission to be $1,082,000.
However, also according to the 2021 proposal, the final venue cost to the CrossFit Games would be zero due to a state reimbursement and rental in-kind donations. Although the only information we have to draw from stems from the 2021 document, it’s not unlikely that a similar deal was on the table this time around.
What do we still not know?
Even with the announcement, there are still tons of questions left unanswered:
- What happens to Masters, Age-Group, and Adaptive Divisions?
- The dates listed do not account for these divisions, and we don’t know what that means for them competition-wise
- How will CrossFit deal with the aggressive Texas heat?
- The city is hot and humid, with August the hottest month of the year, with the average high temperature just shy of 100
The bottom line: The location reveal of Fort Worth is the first in a series of announcements from CrossFit on the season. This is one piece of the puzzle and with each additional announcement the full picture of the 2024 CrossFit Games will start to come into focus.