DALLAS — American Airlines Center will house the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars at least through the 2030-31 season. Both franchises announced on Monday in a joint statement that they have reached an agreement that “resolves the outstanding matters between the two organizations,” ending a lawsuit filed in Texas Business Court in October 2025.
Neither club released financial terms. The statement did not say whether the Stars will drop the appeal they filed in May.
Dallas Sports Group, which holds the controlling stake in the Mavericks, sued on Oct. 28, 2025. Its 253-page petition asked the court to recognize the Mavericks as sole owner of Center Operating, L.P. and its general partner, Center GP, LLC. Those are the entities the two clubs formed to run the arena under a long-term lease with the city of Dallas. Hours later, the Stars filed a counterclaim seeking to restore normal operations at the building.
At the center of the case was a location commitment in the 1998 franchise agreement. Each club had to keep its corporate headquarters inside Dallas city limits through 2031. In 2003, the Stars moved their headquarters and practice facility to Comerica Center in Frisco. The Mavericks sent a letter and $110 in cash in October 2024, notifying the hockey club of the breach and of their intent to take over its interest in the arena entities. The Stars sent the money back. In their countersuit, the Stars said they leased office space in downtown Dallas in November 2024 and designated it their principal business address.
Judge Bill Whitehill ruled for the Mavericks on most of the pending motions on April 2. Days later, the Mavericks dropped their damage claims. Whitehill’s final judgment, issued May 20, gave Dallas Sports Group the contractual right to buy out the Stars’ ownership interests in the arena entities. The Stars took that ruling to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals.
New Arenas Already In Motion For Both Teams
The Mavericks told the city on June 1 that they had entered option agreements to purchase roughly 104 acres at the former Valley View Mall site in North Dallas. Construction there is expected to run about 30 months, and the team has targeted an opening at the end of 2031.
Plano is the destination for the Stars. The planned arena will be located west of the Dallas North Tollway, with The Shops at Willow Bend owners promoting the neighboring mixed-use development in partnership with the team. HNTB was named lead design firm on Aug. 10. Stars owner, governor, and chairman Tom Gaglardi said the firm’s experience would let the organization “create the best arena in the NHL.”
The Lease That Brought Both Teams Downtown
The American Airlines Center, situated on city-owned land in Dallas, opened in 2001. Both teams moved from Reunion Arena, which the city demolished in 2009. Their 30-year leases extend until the 2030-31 season, and the two teams share ownership of the building’s operating company. In December 2023, Dallas Sports Group, led by Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont, acquired a 69% majority stake in the Mavericks for approximately $3.5 billion.
The renovation package that the two sides argued over was approximately $300 million. According to the version presented by the Mavericks and the city in 2024, both teams would have remained at American Airlines Center until 2061, with both parties funding the renovations. However, the Stars disputed that version, saying their agreement lasted only until 2035 and that they shared the renovation costs with the Mavericks. The Stars also contributed $30 million of their own funds.
The Stars released their 2026-27 regular-season schedule July 16. Next season will be the Mavericks’ 26th at American Airlines Center.
