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Plano City Manager Mark Israelson, right, shares information with Plano Mayor John Muns during a meeting for council members to vote on whether to approve key measures in the Dallas Stars\u2019 proposed new arena at the Shops at Willow Bend. The meeting was conducted at the Senator Florence Shapiro Council Chambers, 1520 K Avenue in Plano, on June 8, 2026.<\/p>\n
Steve Hamm\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
PLANO \u2014 Plano City Council took a shot at scoring the Dallas Stars<\/a> Monday night, voting to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and incentives<\/a> for the NHL franchise to leave downtown Dallas and build a new arena at The Shops at Willow Bend mall site.<\/p>\n The city’s leaders\u00a0unanimously approved four measures after over an hour of public comment\u00a0to win the suburb\u2019s first major league sports team. Officials backed more than $700 million in funding in support of a new entertainment district at the site of west Plano’s bygone shopping mall<\/a>.<\/p>\n The vote comes less than a week after the Stars submitted a nonbinding letter of intent for a new arena and entertainment district in\u00a0Plano after their lease at American Airlines Center<\/a> expires in 2031.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The move would mean the Stars would play home games outside of Dallas<\/a> for the first time since relocating to Texas in 1993.<\/p>\n Related: Stars pick Plano for new arena site as downtown Dallas faces twin sports team departures<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe feel like this is in the best interest of the Dallas Stars\u2019 future,\u201d Stars President and CEO Brad\u00a0Alberts told The Dallas Morning News in an exclusive interview. \u201cIt’s going to be an incredible experience for Dallas Stars fans.\u201d<\/p>\n City Council members considered four items related to the new Stars arena<\/a> during Monday\u2019s meeting \u2014 approving the\u00a0LOI; creating a new tax increment reinvestment zone; approving a $15 million incentive agreement to help cover the cost of demolition at the mall and a visitor\u2019s center; and setting in motion plans for an election on a venue tax to help fund the project.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Some residents voiced concerns over disruptions to nearby residential areas, but city officials reaffirmed a commitment to bringing the team up the tollway and expressed an intent to mitigate issues like increased traffic.<\/p>\n A rendering for the proposed new development for the planned Dallas Stars arena and entertainment complex.\u00a0<\/p>\n Courtesy of Centennial<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at the mall now, it\u2019s basically dead,\u201d council member Rick Horne said at Monday\u2019s meeting. \u201cNow we have this opportunity to bring a top-notch sports entity here. It will continue to make the city vibrant.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n While the agreement is nonbinding, the Stars have every intention of making\u00a0Plano their new home<\/a>, with plans to build a $1 billion stadium to anchor a $3 billion mixed-use development, supplemented by $700 million in public funding.<\/p>\n Alberts described the relationship between the team, the city, as well as co-owners Cawley Partners and Levin Holdings, as an engagement.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s the wedding. We’re planning for the wedding,\u201d he said. \u201cThat’s a good way to think about it. Can we walk away from the wedding? Sure. Are we intending to? No.\u201d<\/p>\n The arena proposal comes as the Stars and Mavericks remain locked in a legal dispute over their American Airlines Center agreement, a fight that helped push the hockey franchise to consider alternatives beyond downtown Dallas<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Stars, city and their new business partners are now entering the design stages for the new arena. They are also considering how they will fill the mixed-use space around the arena, looking at restaurants, retail, hotels and office space. Public meetings will be held in July where residents will get to weigh in further on the development and its features.<\/p>\n The Neiman Marcus is seen with empty spots in the parking garage at The Shops at Willow Bend on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Plano.<\/p>\n Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The chance to create year-round revenue outside of game nights was one of the primary draws of\u00a0Plano for the Stars \u2014 a contrast to their current situation in Dallas where the Stars and Mavericks<\/a> did not control any of the surrounding real estate in Victory Park.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Stars owner Tom\u00a0Gaglardi will become a co-owner with Steve Levin of Levin Holdings and Bill Cawley of Cawley Partners. Gaglardi\u2019s real estate development company, Northland Properties, will be a decision-maker and profit off the $2 billion in real estate that surrounds the arena. Centennial is managing the real estate, excluding the arena. Waterfall Asset Management is a financial partner in the project.<\/p>\n Related: Dallas Mavericks choose Valley View site for new arena and entertainment district<\/a><\/p>\n They will also conduct a transportation study to determine the necessary infrastructure to bring thousands of fans in and out of the former shopping mall 41 nights a season.<\/p>\n Simultaneously, the parties are setting in motion plans to let\u00a0Plano voters weigh in on certain public funding measures, including a hearing on tax funding Monday night and a potential venue tax election.<\/p>\n The Stars\u2019 move builds on upward momentum<\/a> from Dallas to Collin County. AT&T announced earlier this year<\/a> it was moving its home base from downtown Dallas to Plano, a city known for attracting corporate relocations<\/a> and headquarters \u2014 from Toyota Motor North America to Ross Perot\u2019s Electronic Data Systems. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Alberts says the plan is to break ground on a new stadium in 2028 to be ready for the 2031-32 NHL season.<\/p>\n What public funding measures did the city council approve?<\/p>\n The Stars\u2019 project will be the largest in the history of Collin County and one\u00a0Plano officials say<\/a> will revitalize the mall site.\u00a0<\/p>\n Council member Steve Lavine said the council took careful consideration.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We have been listening and will be continuing to listen,”\u00a0Lavine said. “Now the work begins.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Under the proposed agreements, the city would own the site and the arena and enter into an initial 30-year lease agreement with the team. The terms are to be negotiated, according to city documents.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s commitment to the project<\/a> is clear through its massive public financing plan that was outlined further during Monday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n The council approved creating a new, nearly 900-acre tax increment reinvestment zone at the mall site and surrounding area. This economic development tool is historically used to finance public improvements in \u201cblighted or underdeveloped areas\u201d in need of reinvestment, according to the city\u2019s website.<\/p>\n After a public hearing process, a reinvestment zone can be created and tax revenue added from new development and redevelopment. Investment in the district is poured back into it by the city through projects like demolition, site preparation or infrastructure development.<\/p>\n Related: What do residents near Plano’s Willow Bend mall think of a potential Dallas Stars arena?<\/a><\/p>\n These zones generally last 15-30 years, but the one approved by the council would last 41 years.<\/p>\n Plano currently has four tax-increment finance zones: East Plano, DART\u2019s Silver Line rail project, Collin Creek Mall and the Legacy district.<\/p>\n The council also approved a $15 million incentive agreement between the city and Centennial Waterfall Willow Bend,\u00a0LLC, owner of the Shops at Willow Bend site. The funds will help cover the cost of the visitor\u2019s center and demolition at the mall<\/a>. The city will also waive certain fees under the proposal.<\/p>\n Finally, the city approved a resolution that sets in motion plans for an election on a venue tax to help fund the project. If the state comptroller approves the plan, the city could ask voters to consider a combination of several kinds of taxes, aimed at visitors, on things like car rentals, hotel occupancy, event parking, event admissions and facility use per game and player.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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