reader poll<\/a> asking how the city should handle the aging building, including questions about repair costs, relocation, historic preservation, access to city services, downtown economic activity, and possible redevelopment. The poll follows ongoing City Council discussions over repair and relocation scenarios tied to taxpayer costs, city operations, and the future of the downtown site.<\/p>\nDowntown Entertainment District<\/p>\n
District 3 Council Member Zarin Gracey said downtown Dallas is \u201cevolving,\u201d citing the Dallas Wings\u2019 expected move from Arlington and the new convention center currently under construction.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdding the Mavs to this downtown area begins to create an entertainment district that will connect Deep Ellum, that will connect the Cedars \u2026 and it will connect uptown,\u201d Gracey said. \u201cSo we\u2019re here standing in unity saying, \u2018Yes Mavs, we want you downtown, because you\u2019re the missing piece that connects all of downtown with what is already happening in the rest of the city.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
District 8 Council Member Lorie Blair said, \u201cMavs being here is essential to the growth we\u2019re actually going for today,\u201d adding that the current situation stems from decisions made by previous city councils, whom she accused of \u201ckicking the can down the road\u201d for far too long.<\/p>\n
\u201cChange comes, and no one likes change, but change does come. And I know the change we are walking into is the change that we are supposed to have, not only for today, not only for tomorrow, but for the generations to come,\u201d Blair said.<\/p>\n
Southern Dallas Leaders Warn Of Economic Loss<\/p>\n
State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) spoke briefly, urging the City Council to make a decision about City Hall and continue moving forward. He added that tearing down the City Hall building would not mean forgetting its history.<\/p>\n
State Rep. Venton Jones (D-District 100) said, \u201cWe are all facing a critical turning point for the economic survival of our urban core.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones cited what he called a \u201cmass exodus of economic and cultural anchors,\u201d pointing to AT&T\u2019s move to Plano, the Mavericks\u2019 proposed move north, the Dallas Stars\u2019 planned exit to Plano, and the closure of the flagship downtown Neiman Marcus store.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Dallas wants to remain one of America\u2019s premier cities, we cannot afford to become complacent,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIf Dallas fails to strengthen its urban core and make bold investments that create economic opportunities, we risk losing our competitive edge. The cities that thrive over the next generation will be the ones that are willing to invest in transformative projects that attract businesses, residents, visitors, and talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me be clear about what transformation needs to happen,\u201d Jones continued. \u201cThe future growth of Dallas is not North, it is South.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called on Mavericks leadership to \u201cpause this process, hit the brakes, and completely reconsider this move to the Valley View area. I am formally asking the ownership group to halt their plans and sit down with community and economic development leaders from the southern sector. Come look at the immense potential that exists, the available land, and the deeply loyal fan base that exists below I-30.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pastors, Business Leaders Join Appeal<\/p>\n
Pastor Bryan Carter of Concord Baptist Church said many members of his congregation work at the American Airlines Center and would feel the economic impact if the Mavericks leave downtown.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot be more committed to our past \u2026 than we are to our future,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n
Community leader Alana Williams, who has long-standing family ties to South Dallas, said the City Hall building carries meaning, but investment in residents should come first.<\/p>\n
\u201cInvest in us, the taxpayer, not the building,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
Pastor David Henderson Jr. of Greater Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church said downtown Dallas has long served as a gathering place for the community and that the Mavericks are part of that story. He said a city is judged not by what it provides for the privileged, but by what it preserves for everybody, urging leaders to seek the welfare of the whole city.<\/p>\n
Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Harrison Blair closed the press conference with a nod to an iconic scene from the movie Say Anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cDallas Mavericks, I want you to know, I\u2019m standing outside your headquarters. I got the boombox playing your favorite song,\u201d Blair said, holding up a cardboard representation of a boombox over his head. \u201cWe love you, Mavericks. \u2026 I don\u2019t know what that song is, but I\u2019ll keep playing it until you come back home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CEO and president of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, Harrison Blair, holds cardboard “boombox” at press conference…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":593248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5117],"tags":[2322,39955,196,66011,28678,5047,147,7644,5278,8199,5,66009,66013,4,66012,66015,197,66016,66010,66014],"class_list":["post-593247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas-stars","tag-american-airlines-center","tag-city-hall","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-black-chamber-of-commerce","tag-dallas-city-hall","tag-dallas-mavericks","tag-dallas-stars","tag-dallas-wings","tag-dallasstars","tag-downtown-dallas","tag-hockey","tag-lorie-blair","tag-maxie-johnson","tag-nhl","tag-royce-west","tag-south-dallas","tag-stars","tag-valley-view-mall","tag-venton-jones","tag-zarin-gracey"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116707845990686193","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}