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The Dallas Stars intend to build their new arena in Plano.
Plano City Council will vote on an unbinding letter of intent submitted by the National Hockey League team on June 8, which would clear the way for the arena and a larger “sports, entertainment and mixed-used” district at The Shops at Willow Bend, according to city documents.
The details
According to the letter, the arena will be a “first-class, multi-purpose facility that will be competitive with other...NHL arenas.”
The arena would host the Stars home games along with team practices, camps and “other professional hockey activities,” the letter states. The Stars and the city will also work to establish terms that will allow the arena to be used for “other indoor sports, entertainment, cultural and civic events,” stated in the letter.
The city and Dallas Sports & Entertainment LP, the parent company of the Stars, will collaborate to add new public transportation options for the venue, according to the letter. They will also negotiate future initiatives for youth sports education, small business engagement and other community-focused efforts in Plano.
Also on the agenda
Council will also vote on a $15 million dollar economic incentive agreement with Centennial, the current owners of Willow Bend Mall.
Of that, $10 million will help cover costs of demolition of the “inline space of the mall, theater Dillard’s and The Crayola Experience,” according to city documents.
The additional $5 million will go toward developing a new 6,500-square-foot visitor’s center.
The background
The Stars lease at the American Airlines Center in Dallas is expiring in 2031, per previous reporting.
The NHL team shares the arena with the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, which announced plans to move to far north Dallas on June 1.
Council previously approved a plan to redevelop The Shops at Willow Bend in February 2024 before it was reworked in February 2025 due to the Macy’s closure within the mall. Other store closures since then include Dillard’s, The Crayola Experience and an announcement from Neiman Marcus that its Willow Bend location will be open through January 2027.
