Women's Basketball News

Dallas Wings new women's basketball stars get warm welcome from city

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and Dallas Wings No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers

The Dallas Wings No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers brings big hopes for fans in the 2025 season

Photo courtesy of WNBA

The newest members of women's basketball team the Dallas Wings are already making waves: Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, and her fellow new recruits were welcomed by a press conference at Dallas City Hall on April 23 — part of the Dallas Wings' official introduction of the rookie class.

According to a releasae, Dallas Wings draftees Paige Bueckers, Aziaha James, Madison Scott, JJ Quinerly, and Aaronette Vonleh were welcomed by Mayor Eric Johnson and City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, and gifted with cowboy hats by the City of Dallas Economic Development Corporation.

The team will start the 2025-2026 season playing at the Memorial Arena in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Their home arena is College Park Center on the UT Arlington campus, with one exception: They'll be playing their June 27 game against the Indiana Fever, featuring superstar Caitlin Clark, at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Fans will have to pony up the big bucks for that epic game, with the price for two tickets starting at $255, although the upper 300 level has not yet been opened for sale. Those wanting to sit near the floor behind the baseline will run themselves a pretty $1,205 for two seats.

After Clark joined the WNBA in 2024, almost half of the other teams in the league moved their home games against the Fever to larger arenas. All of the other Wings home games are currently scheduled to take place at College Park Center.

If all goes as planned, 2025 will be the last season for the Wings at that venue. In 2024, the team announced plans to move to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas Memorial Arena in Dallas, starting with the 2026 season.

Bueckers joins the Wings after closing out her college career by winning her first national championship, with Connecticut dominating the previous champions, South Carolina, 82-59. She's considered by many to be the league's next superstar.

The 2025 Dallas Wings season comes with much anticipation. Since the end of the 2024 season, the Wings have revamped their front office, which included the hiring of Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Curt Miller and Head Coach Chris Koclanes. In addition to the 2025 WNBA Draft Class, Miller made significant roster moves during free agency which included signing reigning WNBA Most Improved Player DiJonai Carrington, 2022 All-Rookie Team pick NaLyssa Smith, former Wings guard Tyasha Harris and 2020 All-WNBA Second Team member Myisha Hines-Allen.

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The Joke Has Landed

New comedy club at Toyota Music Factory in Irving gets set for laughs

Photo by Anna Dolmany

This is the fifth Punch Line location.

It's almost time for Punch Line Irving to open its doors, and Dave Chappelle is at the ready. The famous comedian will christen the new comedy club with four sold-out shows on December 17 and 18, but there's plenty more funny business in store for 2026.

First announced in November, this is Punch Line's fifth location — and second in Texas, the first opened in Houston in 2024 — and it's taking up residence at the Toyota Music Factory. The 240-seat club plans to host more than 350 shows and private events annually, featuring a blend of high-wattage celebrity and homegrown talent.

Its decor nods to the brand's belief that comedy is a sport, with feature wall showcasing punching bags and boxing bells signed by "heavy hitter" performers.

The menu also echoes the theme, with such cocktails as the Bellringer (bourbon, lemonade, and Liquid Death half-and-half iced tea), Ringside Ranch Water (blanco tequila, hibiscus, lime, and soda), and the Espresso All-Star, their take on the espresso martini. Food includes Punch Line favorites like the Mic Drop Burger, Punch Line Nachos, and Homemade Punch Pop Tarts in bourbon apple or strawberry cream.

There is also a second, more flexible space outside the main showroom called The Callback Bar that's designed to host smaller performances, as well as a furnished patio.

Punch Line Irving The Callback Bar.Photo by Anna Dolmany

Photo by Anna Dolmany

This is the fifth Punch Line location.

The talent gets treated as well as the audience, with a private comics lounge in place of a traditional dressing room. Designed as a shared gathering space, it sports a custom media wall showing the live-show feed, a dressing table, a private ensuite restroom, and a hospitality station.

Punch Line makes it a point to support the local comedy scene, and its Irving location will be no exception. Twenty-five cents from each ticket at participating shows benefits Comedy Gives Back, a nonprofit organization providing financial grants and resources to stand-up comedians in need. The club also hosted its first open mic on December 9 to welcome the community, with participating comics donating nonperishable items to the North Texas Food Bank.

Don't fret if you didn't snag tickets to Dave Chappelle — big names like Leslie Jones, Tone Bell, Pete Holmes, and Christina P. all have shows scheduled in the first few months of 2026 and tickets are on sale now.

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