With move to Plano, are the Dallas Stars going to change their name?

While the Stars will no longer call Dallas home, it will remain in the team’s name.  

Stars President and CEO Brad Alberts confirmed to The Dallas Morning News that Stars will still be called, “the Dallas Stars,” not “the Plano Stars.” 

Plano Mayor John Muns was asked following Monday night’s vote whether he would expect his city’s newest resident to change its name accordingly. 

“No, no, they’ll always be the Dallas Stars,” Muns said. “And I think the NHL has something to say about that.” 

The Shops at Willow Bend Mall site where the Stars plan to build an arena and entertainment district is just north of Dallas city limits, but close to 20 miles north of the two stadiums (American Airlines Center and Reunion Arena) where they’ve played since 1993. 

Alberts said the Stars “always wanted to stay” in Dallas. But a better opportunity came along in Plano that Dallas officials simply couldn’t, or wouldn’t, match. 

Nevertheless, Alberts says the team plans to stay connected to the city in its name.  

“We’re not going to abandon the city of Dallas by any stretch of imagination,” he said. “We’re going to be very active like we are now. We’re not going to stop with our charitable and civic efforts of doing things throughout the region, but certainly Dallas will be continuing to be a part of that. We’re just playing in a different spot. That’s really the only thing that’s going to change.”