Grand Slam
Dallas dominates Texas cities in study of best sports cities
Dallas is the champion among the best sports cities in Texas, according to a new study by personal finance website WalletHub.
In the WalletHub study, which looks at data for 422 U.S. cities, Dallas ranks ninth. WalletHub scores each city based on more than 50 key metrics — from team performance to average ticket price — tied to the five biggest sports in the U.S.
The study gives the most weight to football, followed by baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer. Both professional and college sports are included.
In the field of football, Dallas comes in at No. 4 among the 422 cities. Other rankings for Big D: 11th for basketball, 14th for soccer, 18th for hockey, and 128th for baseball. Put it all together, and the Cowboys, the Mavericks, FC Dallas, and the Stars lift up Dallas in this study, while the Rangers weigh it down.
Among other major cities in the state, Houston appears at No. 15 overall; San Antonio, No. 30; Austin, No. 75; and Fort Worth, No. 147.
Other Texas cities on the list include Arlington, No. 90; San Marcos, No. 160; Prairie View, No. 190; Denton, No. 221; University Park, No. 262; Frisco, No. 368; and Round Rock, No. 373. Round Rock is the lowest-ranked city in Texas.
For comparison’s sake, the WalletHub rankings differ substantially from rankings published in 2016 by sports website Fansided. Among 30 cities, Dallas ranked seventh; San Antonio, 12th; Houston, 24th; and Austin, 28th.
Here are the top individual showings in the WalletHub study for each of the Texas cities we’ve listed:
- Dallas — No. 4, football
- Houston — No. 9, soccer
- San Antonio — No. 4, basketball
- Austin — No. 35, baseball
- Fort Worth — No. 87, football
- Arlington — No. 5, baseball
- San Marcos — No. 152, baseball
- Prairie View — No. 74, football
- Denton — No. 147, basketball
- University Park — No. 151, football
- Frisco — No. 277, baseball
- Round Rock — No. 286, baseball