Pending moves set off alarms at City Hall

By Josh Ortega

The Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars have hit the real estate market tollway this week and are heading north. The pair of franchises announced major steps toward potential new arenas in separate areas of the metroplex outside of downtown Dallas. Both the Stars and Mavs have leases that expire in 2031 for their current home, the American Airlines Center (AAC).

The Mavericks announced in a statement released Tuesday that the team had “entered into option agreements for the potential purchase of approximately 104 acres at the former Valley View Mall site.” The Mav’s will move approximately 16 minutes and 11 miles up the road to a new arena and entertainment district where Valley View Mall once stood. 

The very next day, the Stars released their own statement confirming that “the organization has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent, which has been submitted to the City of Plano” to build a new entertainment district at The Shops at Willow Bend headlined by a new stadium for the Stars. The move was approved by The Plano City Council this week. The Stars’ new home will be farther north than the Mavs, approximately 20 minutes and 17 miles up the road from the American Airlines Center. 

The Mavericks and Stars have called the AAC home since its opening in 2001. With both teams preparing to leave the property, it marks not just one but two major losses for downtown Dallas. The city is already losing AT&T, which is moving its headquarters to Plano by 2028, along with a plethora of other major businesses moving out or closing their downtown offices. And the bitter debate about saving Dallas City Hall or tearing down the iconic I. M. Pei building continues to grow.

The news of the Stars and Mavs decisions prompted Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson to end a recent Dallas City Council briefing with a message to his fellow council members about the major competition the city faces from neighboring cities. 

“The knives are out for our city; the knives are out for Dallas. We have a very serious situation on our hands, we are in a very cutthroat competition, and I have been saying this for years. I hope everybody who has been watching the news this week understands that I wasn’t crying wolf. We are in a very serious competition, and people are paying attention. Let’s come together now and literally evaluate the data we have been presented and make adult policy decisions.”

He added: “The wolf is at the door; the wolf is not in this room. The wolf is up the tollway.” Nonetheless, the news has left fans and Dallas residents asking a similar question across different verbiage. 

Why? The Mavs and Stars, according to multiple reports, have not been happy roommates in the AAC (pictured) for a chunk of time. Both sides have spent the past year in a legal battle over control of the AAC. It was reported that the recent feud started when the Mavs sent the Stars a letter claiming the Stars violated the team’s agreement at the AAC by having their headquarters based in Frisco. Both teams went into a legal battle that was settled by a judge in January, ruling in the Mavericks’ favor. Throughout time, reports continued to suggest both teams were looking to find a new home in different parts of Dallas. 

The other bit of writing on the wall suggests a lot of cotton linen bills with George Washington on them as another reason. Both teams announced separate mixed-use “entertainment districts” at the respective sites, each looking to have a new stadium on the property. 

With that, the biggest example of a mixed-use entertainment district with a state-of-the-art facility on the property is less than a 30-minute drive up the tollway. The Star in Frisco has become a staple for the City of Frisco since its opening. Developed by Dallas Cowboys Owner, President and General Manager Jerry Jones and his family, the economic impact from the Star alone since 2013 is set to be in the “billions through 2042,” according to a report by the Dallas Observer. The district also became a hot spot for tourism in Frisco. 

As many homeowners know, owning is much better than renting. With both teams leasing in a 50/50 split of the AAC, owning a piece of property with their own stadium and entertainment district on paper would open a direct revenue stream without having to worry about losing a portion of profits. This also creates competition with the AAC for events outside of just sports. With that, a respective facility that could be used for other events creates another revenue stream for both teams, depending on size and scale.

A new stadium for the Mavericks and Stars has been a topic of conversation for a long time in north Texas. Dallas Mavericks owners Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law, Patrick Dumon, have openly talked about creating an entertainment district with a new stadium and, notably, a casino on the property, since their purchase of the Mavs. With this move, both franchises look to expand their wide nets of potential revenue markets. By 2031, which is only five years away, the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars will no longer call the AAC in downtown Dallas home. So, what becomes of the AAC? Only time, and money, will tell.