Dallas city leaders are pitching to keep the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center after Plano voters rejected a venue tax measure that would have helped fund a new arena in the suburb.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, roughly 55 percent of Plano voters opposed Proposition A and about 45 percent supported it on Tuesday. The measure would have authorized taxes on tickets, event parking, hotel rooms, short-term car rentals and major-league teams using the venue to help pay off up to $700 million in city bonds for a roughly $1 billion arena at the Shops at Willow Bend site. Plano planned to own the arena and lease it to the Stars for about 30 years; the team’s current lease at the downtown Dallas arena runs through 2031.
Dallas City Council members Paula Blackmon and Adam Bazaldua said in a joint statement that Plano voters “have spoken, and they are not interested in footing the bill for a new Stars arena.” They added that “the City of Dallas stands ready to negotiate keeping the team within our city limits. Dallas is the team’s namesake, and we believe Dallas is where they belong.” Council member Chad West, who chairs the panel on professional sports recruitment, said negotiations with the Stars “aren’t finished” and that Plano’s outcome creates an opportunity to keep the team in the downtown core.
The Stars said they were disappointed but remain committed to the Plano project and to working with the city as it pursues other financing, including a project finance zone through the Legislature. Plano City Manager Mark Israelson said the financing approach must be reassessed before the City Council considers further action. The vote does not block an arena; it removes one funding tool. Plano has already committed bond capacity backed by a tax increment reinvestment zone, with Plano ISD pledging up to $250 million through that zone.
The Stars have played in downtown Dallas since 1993. The team had sought a larger entertainment district and more control over surrounding development than available at American Airlines Center, where it shares the building with the Mavericks.
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