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U.S. Gymnastics Championships come to Fort Worth ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics

Gymnastics Championships, Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles

Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles at the 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Dickies Arena.

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For the country's top gymnasts, the road to the Paris Olympics will run through Fort Worth next year: The 2024 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships will take place at Dickies Arena, May 30-June 2, 2024.

The four-day men's and women's competition will crown national champions and determine the members of the U.S. National Team who will then compete at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Minneapolis, June 27-30, 2024.

According to a release from the Fort Worth Sports Commission (part of Visit Fort Worth), more than 150 athletes and tens of thousands of fans are expected to attend.

"Tens of thousands" might be a lean estimate considering the bold-face names expected to compete: Tokyo Olympic medalists Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey; 2016 Olympic champ Gabby Douglas; and U.S. rising superstars Skye Blakely, Shilese Jones, Leanne Wong, Konnor McClain, Kayla DiCello, Zoe Miller, Joscelyn Roberson, Katelyn Jong, Lexi Zeiss, Tiana Sumanasekera, and more.

This will be the second straight Olympic year for Fort Worth to host the national championships. They were also contested at Dickies Arena in May 2021 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics; Biles won her seventh national title at the meet.

“With the incredible success of the 2021 championships, we are excited to return to Fort Worth,” USA Gymnastics chief programs officer Stefanie Korepin says in the release. “The Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships will offer fans an early look at the athletes who ultimately will compete to make the 2024 Olympic team.”

Not only did Fort Worth host a successful 2021 competition, but the city is a convenient location for many of athletes and coaches. Texas has become a powerhouse state for elite gymnastics, with many of the world's top athletes now training at World Champions Centre in Spring (Biles' home gym, owned by her family); World Olympic Gymnastics Academy, or "WOGA," in Plano (owned by Olympic champ Valeri Liukin, father of 2008 gold medalist Nastia Liukin); and Texas Dreams Gymnastics in Coppell (owned by Olympian Kim Zmeskal and national team member Chris Burdette).

Dickies Arena also hosted the 2022 NCAA Gymnastics Championships and the Biles-led Gold Over America Tour following the Tokyo Olympics.

“We truly value our partnership with USA Gymnastics and we couldn’t be more excited to host this prestigious championship and welcome the best gymnasts and fans in the country to experience all Fort Worth has to offer,” says Jason Sands, executive director of the Fort Worth Sports Commission, in the release.

Tickets to the 2024 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships will go on sale later this year, organizers say.

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Party Is Over

Party City chain to close all stores including 9 in Fort Worth

Party City

A chain of stores where the party is always going on is closing down: Party City will close all of its stores and has initiated layoffs, effective immediately. According to CNN, CEO Barry Litwin told corporate employees that Party City has to “commence a winddown process immediately,” and that Friday would be their last day of work for the company.

However, the actual store locations, including those around North Texas, will be open until February 28.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, Party City is largest party goods retailer in the U.S. — the go-to destination for every type of celebration, with more than 700 company-owned and franchise store locations across North America selling home decor, candles, balloons, wrapping paper, tableware, bulk candy, baking supplies, and more.

A typical Party City store ranges in size from 10,000 to 12,000 square feet and carries approximately 30,000 items. Halloween accounts for as much as one-quarter of yearly sales, but they celebrate all seasonal holidays, from New Year's Eve to the Fourth of July to Father's Day to Super Bowl Sunday, and offer a wide array of merchandise for birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, wedding and bridal showers, and baby showers.

Party and costume merchandise has become more competitive in recent years, with companies like the budget-focused Spirit Halloween expanding beyond its Halloween pop-ups into “Spirit Christmas” stores, as well as competition from Amazon and other online retailers.

In 2023, the chain filed for bankruptcy, then emerged with a plan that included transitioning into a privately held company and canceling nearly $1 billion in debt. At that time, there were approximately 800 U.S. stores.

There are 64 stores in Texas, with 9 in the Fort Worth area, as follows:

Arlington
Burleson
Denton
Euless
Fort Worth
Hurst
Lake Worth
Mansfield
Watauga

Dallas-Fort Worth stores have already started sales between 5 and 50 percent off.

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