Dallas Stars eyeing new Plano arena as part of ‘sports flight’ to the suburbs | Opinion
Of all the dumb things we do in America, our funding of disposable sports stadiums is in the top 10.
Something that costs now in the billions should be built to last, but instead the modern American sports venue is trashed once the 30-year mortgage is paid off.
The Colosseum in Rome, which is nearly 2,000 years old, is the most celebrated sports structure in the world, while the American Airlines Center in Dallas is scheduled to be tenantless after only 30 years. The AAC opened in July 2001, and the way things are trending, both the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars will be out by 2031.
The Mavericks have announced plans to build a new arena in Dallas and intend to be its only tenant. They will not build it in conjunction with the Dallas Stars, with whom they have shared a building since both used the now-demolished Reunion Arena after the hockey team relocated to Texas from Minnesota in 1993.
The Mavs’ more likely future partner will be the Dallas Wings of the WNBA, though that’s a down-the-road move.
As the Stars started their regular season with new coach Glen Gulutzan on Thursday night in Winnipeg, their potential new home is as much a point of discussion as is their chance of reaching the Western Conference finals for a fourth consecutive year.
Last week, Front Office Sports reported that the Stars have targeted Plano as their desired destination for a new home arena. Dallas and Arlington are also in play. If you want to throw Fort Worth into the mix, a few city officials have mentioned interest, but this is the stuff of Fantasy Land.
Why the Stars to Plano makes sense
The Stars are eyeing Plano because the majority of their ticket-buying base lives in that region of DFW, and that is the region where larger businesses have settled.
Putting Dallas, Arlington and Fort Worth in the discussion as potential landing sites is mostly for leverage, as the Stars are part of a trend of teams participating in the sports version of white flight, and heading to the ‘burbs. The irony is many of America’s downtowns have come back since that embarrassing time in our history, and while the people and nightlife may be there, the sports franchises are fleeing toward the latest sucker.
FC Dallas did it when it left the Cotton Bowl for Frisco midway through the 2005 season. The Atlanta Braves did it when they left downtown Atlanta and moved 12 miles north for Truist Park in Cobb County, Georgia, in 2017.
The Browns plan to leave their stadium on the Lake Erie waterfront in downtown Cleveland for Brook Park, a suburb 16 miles to the south. After years of negotiating with the city of Chicago, the Bears have announced plans to move to Arlington Heights, Illinois, some 33 miles northwest of Soldier Field.
The Stars could have American Airlines Center all to themselves, but the chance for a new car is much more exciting, and potentially lucrative, than a 30-year-old beater that’s paid off. Especially when someone else helps cover the note.
What the Stars’ departure from Dallas means for DFW
For the Mavericks, remaining in Dallas is the priority new owner Patrick Dumont wants to see happen. They are the only major professional sports team in this region that headquarters and plays in Dallas.
The clear “loser” in this are Stars fans who live west of Arlington. Despite the enormous population growth all over Fort Worth, specifically north and west of its downtown, a drive for Fort Worth-area residents to where the new Stars home arena is targeted will be in the neighborhood of 50 miles.
On Tuesday, the UFL announced that its Renegades team, which played previously at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, is moving to Toyota Stadium in Frisco, home of MLS’s FC Dallas. The team name has also been changed from the Arlington Renegades to Dallas, its original name.
A new arena in Plano is just another step in an evolving metropolitan landscape that is now one massive sprawling region that stretches from Terrell in the east, Waxahachie in the south, Prosper in the north and Weatherford to the west. East to west, that’s about 100 miles; north to south, it’s 76.
Whether it’s the Cowboys, Rangers, Stars, Mavericks, Wings or FC Dallas, attending major events for most area residents of this region will require a 45-minute, one-way drive. Probably longer.
And while the team name says “Dallas Cowboys” or “Dallas Stars,” their affiliation with their hometown is tradition, and approximation, rather than actual residency.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but neither does building a sports stadium that costs billions yet only lasts maybe 30 years.
This story was originally published October 7, 2025 at 4:40 PM.
