‘Figure It Out’: Dallas Stars Owner Tom Gaglardi Responds As Plano Voters Reject Arena Venue Taxes

PLANO, Texas — Plano voters on Tuesday rejected Proposition A, the ballot measure that would have authorized a package of venue taxes to help the city pay its share of a new arena for the Dallas Stars at The Shops at Willow Bend. With all 90 precincts reporting, 56,061 votes, or 54.6%, were cast against the proposal and 46,658, or 45.4%, were cast in favor, according to Community Impact. Those results stay unofficial until they are canvassed in Collin and Denton counties, which Plano straddles.

The ballot language for Proposition A opened with the words “THIS IS A TAX INCREASE” and listed five taxes Plano could impose to finance the arena. Short-term car rentals could have been taxed at up to 5% and hotel rooms at up to 2%, which would have brought the maximum combined hotel occupancy tax rate in Plano to 15%. At the arena, the city could have taxed parking at up to $3 per vehicle and tickets at up to 10% of the price, along with a facility-use tax of up to $5,000 per game on each member of a major league team that plays there.

Money from those taxes was meant to help Plano pay off up to $700 million in bonds it committed toward the $1 billion arena. That arena would anchor a $3 billion mixed-use redevelopment of the mall site west of the Dallas North Tollway, where the city plans call for an 18,000-seat building.

City officials said throughout the campaign that the election decided whether Plano could use the venue taxes, not whether the arena would be built. The ballot language also asked voters to authorize the city’s venue project. Before the vote, Plano Mayor John Muns said the city would look at alternative revenue sources to fund the project if the proposition failed, FOX 4 reported.

“The proposed redevelopment at The Shops at Willow Bend remains an important opportunity for our community,” Muns said in a statement issued overnight. “We are committed to thoughtful reinvestment and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars as we consider what comes next. I appreciate everyone who made their voice heard in this election.”

The Stars have targeted 2031 for the move, when their lease at American Airlines Center expires. On Wednesday morning, the day after the vote, Stars owner Tom Gaglardi told Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw, “We’ll figure it out.” Stars president and CEO Brad Alberts said Wednesday he was not ready to comment on the result, Cowlishaw reported.

How Plano Planned To Pay For The Stars Arena

Under the framework the Plano City Council approved in June, the city would own the arena. The Stars’ parent company, Dallas Sports & Entertainment LP, would lease the building for 30 years and cover the remainder of the construction cost, KERA reported.

Tuesday’s ballot did not include the tax increment reinvestment zone the council created in June. Growth in sales and property tax revenue inside that zone, which covers 896.9 acres between Windhaven Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway, is set to go toward the city’s contribution.

Plano ISD agreed in October to put up to $250 million toward the project over the next 18 years. The school district’s share comes out of its taxes from inside the zone.

The Stars selected HNTB as the lead design firm for the arena in August. That same month, the City Council voted unanimously to call the November election.

At an Aug. 25 town hall, City Council members Vidal Quintanilla and Bob Kehr told residents the election covered only funding and that the city could still pursue other funding streams and move forward if voters rejected it, KERA reported. Asked by a resident whether voters should get to approve or reject the project itself, the council members said that is not how city government functions.

“Y’all entrusted us as local officials to make these decisions,” Quintanilla said.

Allan Samara, a former member of Plano’s planning and zoning commission, spoke in favor of the project at the same town hall and said Plano would collect tax revenue from owning the arena and the district around it.

“We have virtually no entertainment facilities in the city except restaurants,” Samara said. “Frisco, on the other hand, has gone ahead and built three different stadiums. So, this is good for Plano, and it’s going to be good for our tax base.”

Traffic, emergency response, and home values were among the studies presented to the council at an Oct. 12 briefing on the project, CBS Texas reported. Muns said at that meeting that Proposition A was not a property tax.

“I don’t want anybody to be confused that it’s any more than that,” Muns said. “That’s what it is.”

During an October interview with FOX 4, Alberts said the venue taxes would mainly fall on visitors rather than Plano residents. He also said the arena would host 60 to 70 non-Stars events a year.

“There are no hidden costs to taxpayers,” Alberts said. “We are responsible for the operating costs.”

Only a few stores were still open at the mall near the Dallas North Tollway and West Park Boulevard when Plano held its first community open house on the project in July. Alberts described what the team wanted to build there in the same October interview.

“We’re excited to redevelop a dead mall space and really create a vibrant community for not only the city, but also really Collin County and the greater North Texas area,” Alberts explained.

Finance records cited by the Morning News show the Stars’ corporate entity put nearly $1 million into mailers, texts, and advertisements across Plano supporting Proposition A. Alberts told the Morning News in late October that he did not think the project would “ruin suburban life.” Before early voting opened in Collin County on Oct. 19, the Stars sent FOX 4 a statement that pointed to the team’s community work in Dallas.

“The Dallas Stars’ move to Plano is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Stars, the City of Plano, and its residents,” the Stars said in the statement. “Voting yes for Proposition A is a vote to bring world-class hockey and significant economic opportunity to the community.”

“During our time in Dallas, we’ve provided scholarships for youth hockey players, donated millions to local nonprofits, and invested in the health and education of children across the region,” the statement continued.

Opposition came from the STOP the Stars Arena PAC, which Plano resident Karen Dubrow formed with several other residents. The group raised concerns over potential property tax increases, traffic overflow, and changes to the suburban character of Plano, according to KERA.

Dubrow lives near the proposed arena. At the Aug. 25 town hall, she questioned whether a hockey arena fits Plano’s Comprehensive Plan, which the city adopted in 2021 with provisions to maintain its suburban character.

“An arena is not suburbia,” Dubrow said. “If I wanted to be next to an arena, I would have lived in downtown Dallas.”

In October, Dubrow said the Texas Ethics Commission had taken up one of the group’s complaints and scheduled a hearing, CBS Texas reported.

“We don’t want to be taken advantage of by Big Goliath,” Dubrow explained. “And right now, that’s the Dallas Stars ownership.”

Members of the PAC gathered for a watch party at Odd Muse Brewing in downtown Plano on Tuesday night, the Morning News reported. Dubrow said the city’s plans to redevelop the mall left residents in the dark, with many of their questions still waiting on answers.

“When I started my clinic in 1990, I took out a loan from the bank,” Dubrow told KERA. “I had to have a business plan. I had to prove to them I was a worthy risk. There is no proof that this is a worthy risk.”

Stars, Mavericks Both Set To Leave American Airlines Center After 2030-31

The Stars and the Dallas Mavericks both hold leases at American Airlines Center that expire in 2031. Both teams announced new arena plans in the first week of June.

On June 1, the Mavericks announced plans for an arena and mixed-use district at the former Valley View Center site in North Dallas, about 10 miles north of downtown, where the team holds option agreements on more than 100 acres. A day later, the Stars announced their nonbinding letter of intent with Plano.

“This project would present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our franchise,” Gaglardi said in a team release. “We eagerly await the vote by the Plano City Council and look forward to continuing the conversation to be part of the redevelopment of The Shops at Willow Bend.”

Plano’s council approved the letter unanimously on June 8. Both announcements came during a legal fight over the downtown building, which the city of Dallas owns.

The Mavericks sued in October 2025, arguing the Stars violated a clause in their 1998 franchise agreement that required the hockey team’s corporate headquarters to stay inside Dallas city limits. The Stars had moved their headquarters and practice facility to Comerica Center in Frisco in 2003. In May, Dallas Business Court Judge Bill Whitehill ruled for the Mavericks and gave them the right to buy out the Stars’ interest in the company that operates the arena. The Stars appealed to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals.

On Aug. 17, the teams announced they had resolved the dispute and would both play at American Airlines Center through at least the 2030-31 season. Terms were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to hear that an agreement has been reached,” Dallas City Manager Kimberly Tolbert said in a statement reported by WFAA. “As we plan for the future of downtown and our sports and entertainment district, this agreement is an important step, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with both organizations as we work to strengthen their long-term future in our city.”

The Stars have shared a home with the Mavericks since relocating from Minnesota for the 1993-94 season, first at Reunion Arena and then at American Airlines Center after it opened in 2001. Before the Plano announcement, Alberts told the Morning News the team would need to begin construction in 2028 or 2029 to be ready for the 2031-32 season.