The franchise is eyeing a transformative move to the Shops at Willow Bend, envisioning a massive mixed-use entertainment hub to anchor the team's long-term future in Plano.
American Airlines Center's days as the home of the Dallas Stars could be numbered, as on Tuesday, the franchise announced a proposal to relocate to the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, where the organization envisions building a new arena and entertainment district.
A Letter of Intent has already been signed with the City of Plano, and the proposal is set to be brought before the Plano City Council next Monday. Sitting west of the Dallas North Tollway, the proposed development is being framed by the team as a year-round destination for the surrounding community.
Looking further down the road, the broader vision calls for a mixed-use entertainment district that could eventually grow to incorporate retail, dining, and a range of other entertainment experiences well beyond the arena itself.
It is a model that mirrors what has become one of the defining trends in professional sports, with franchises across the country transforming the areas around their venues into sprawling, multi-use destinations built to draw fans in on game days and well beyond.
Perhaps the most celebrated example is the Battery Atlanta, the mixed-use district surrounding the Atlanta Braves' Truist Park, which has grown into one of the most successful sports-anchored entertainment districts in the world. The Battery features hundreds of thousands of square feet of dining, retail, office space, apartments, a hotel, a concert venue and year-round events that keep fans engaged long after the final out.
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Other leagues have followed suit, with the ICE District surrounding the Edmonton Oilers' arena in downtown Edmonton, the Deer District outside Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee serving NBA fans on Bucks game nights and beyond, and the Arlington Entertainment District that has grown up around AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.
The Stars will be hoping to build something along those same lines in Plano as a complete package destination that elevates the game-day experience and cements the franchise as one of the premier places in the entire NHL to watch a hockey game.
Team Owner, Governor and Chairman Tom Gaglardi expressed enthusiasm for the project in a statement, saying the team eagerly awaits the vote by the Plano City Council and looks forward to continuing discussions around the rebuild and revitalization of the Shops at Willow Bend.
Over the three-plus decades that followed, the organization has played an outsized role in planting the seeds of hockey culture throughout the South, pouring resources into building the game from the ground up through competitive youth leagues and traveling programs that have not only grown the sport's popularity but helped produce and retain elite talent right here in Texas.
In their time calling North Texas home, the Stars have etched themselves into the fabric of the league with 21 trips to the postseason, nine division crowns, a pair of Presidents' Trophies and three Western Conference titles, all capped by the ultimate prize when they brought the Stanley Cup to Dallas in 1999.
It is a legacy built over a generation, and one the franchise will be looking to honor and build upon as it turns the page toward a potential new chapter in Plano.
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