It’s been a difficult couple of days for the future of downtown Dallas.
In a span of two days, both the Mavericks and Stars announced plans for new arena districts in North Dallas and Plano, respectively. Both teams are intending to vacate American Airlines Center by the 2031-32 seasons.
Mayor Eric Johnson sounded off about the Mavericks’ and Stars’ plans for new arenas outside of downtown at Wednesday’s Dallas City Council meeting, saying the “knives are out” for the city as competition in the suburbs grows.
“We have a serious, serious situation on our hands,” he said. “We are in a very cutthroat competition. I’ve been saying this for years now and I hope everybody who’s been watching the news this week understands that I wasn’t crying wolf. We are in a very serious competition.
Both teams’ leases at American Airlines Center expire in 2031.
“The wolf is not in this room, the wolf is up the tollway,” Johnson said.