Arlington wants to be a leader in the race for the Dallas Stars’ new home, and Fort Worth wants to build its sports credentials as the nation’s 11th largest city.
However, it’s unclear how likely it is for either to be a new home for hockey after both were identified by the Dallas Stars’ CEO recently as possible locations if the team seeks a new arena.
The inclusion of the “American Dream City” Arlington on Stars CEO Brad Alberts’ list for a potential move after its lease comes up in 2031 should come as no surprise, says Michael Jacobson, CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.
During the past 20 years, the city in the center of North Texas has shown the ability and willingness to fund new stadiums for the professional sports teams it hosts, he noted.
While securing space like this may seem like a stretch in the constantly growing entertainment district, Jacobson said one advantage Arlington has is that it does not have a cookie-cutter approach to new developments or welcoming businesses.
“We’ll do everything we can to meet the needs of the person who’s looking at us,” Jacobson said.
Front Office Sports reported a week ago that the Stars’ 21-person ownership advisory group recently met and identified Plano as one of the most likely relocation destinations, if the team moves. In an interview with The Dallas Morning News published the same day, Alberts said the team has engaged in discussions with officials from Arlington, Fort Worth, Frisco, The Colony and Plano on the site search.
Alberts noted to the media outlets that the team hasn’t ruled out staying in Dallas but would need to select a site in six to eight months if it needs to build a new arena by the 2031-32 season.
Arlington leaders told KERA News that initial talks had already begun. The city has three professional sports franchises now: Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers and Dallas Wings, a WNBA team. The Wings’ move to downtown Dallas is delayed and now expected to happen in 2027, The News reported.
Sana Syed, interim chief communications officer for the city of Fort Worth, told the Report in an email last week, “We have not had discussions with the Stars about a site for a new arena.”
Asked if that meant no one from the Stars had contacted anyone representing the city of Fort Worth, Syed responded, “We are only aware of their interest in expanding their recreational facility model into additional cities, but there have been no further discussions.”
Drew Hayes, who recently joined Visit Fort Worth as vice president of sports and executive director of the Fort Worth Sports Commission, said he was aware of what Stars officials have said in the media but, otherwise, had no comment.
“I just feel that Fort Worth has momentum across so many different sectors as a community, from film to music to what’s going on with the convention center and with sports right now,” he said. “I think that’s really important to highlight.”
The Stars need at least 75 acres to accommodate a new arena as well as other entertainment amenities that could produce year-round revenue, Alberts told The News. Hockey teams, compared to pro football teams like the Cowboys, make significantly less revenue from television and attendance.
Such land requirements limit potential sites for the team.
If the Stars are interested in Fort Worth, Panther Island — the massive flood control project that’s creating hundreds of developable acres on Fort Worth’s Northside — is less of an immediate choice.
“We would entertain any project” that’s presented, said Susan Alanis, the Panther Island program director for the Tarrant Regional Water District.
But the water district owns only 36 acres that can be developed before the river’s levees are removed as part of the flood project, she said. The water district will remove the levees after it builds the bypass channels that create the island, but Alanis said removal could be 10 years or more in the future.
Additionally, getting legions of gameday Stars fans onto and off the island would be a challenge. Moreover, the water district’s first-phase plans for the project are set, and planned drainage work would be an impediment, she said.
The Report posed several questions to the Stars, including whether public transportation would be important to the team in any site search for a new arena. DART’s Victory Station stop is in front of the team’s current home at American Airlines Center.
The team responded only “the Dallas Stars are continually evaluating all options for the home of our franchise in North Texas.”
The Cowboys and Rangers required major investments from Arlington to either retain or sway during uncertain times.
In 2004, Arlington voters narrowly approved a slew of new tax increases to help build AT&T Stadium with 55% of the vote. The move came after a failed vote in Irving left the Cowboys without assurances for renovations of their former stadium.
What taxes were increased for AT&T Stadium?
- A half-cent sales tax increase
- A 2% hotel occupancy tax increase
- A 5% car rental tax increase
- Up to a 10% ticket tax on events at the stadium
- Up to a $3 parking tax at the stadium
The city agreed to pay for half of the construction costs, capped at $325 million, with tax revenue. In return, Arlington received $2 million in yearly rent, 5% of any naming rights deal and $16.5 million for youth programs.
In 2016, voters overwhelmingly agreed to yet another large use of taxes for the creation of a new stadium — this time, to use taxpayer funds to build a new ballpark for the Texas Rangers.
With a yes vote of nearly 60%, voters approved the use of tax revenue, capped at $500 million, along with tax increases to pay for a new stadium during a time that some city officials feared Arlington could lose the Rangers.
In August, City Manager Trey Yelverton announced that the city was making the final payment on the construction debt — about a decade early — for AT&T Stadium.
This means the city is no longer drawing from the same tax revenue pot for two stadiums as it was between 2016 and this year.
Jacobson said that investments in stadiums and Arlington’s location within the region make it stand out among the crowd on the list.
“Arlington sits in the middle of 8 million people,” Jacobson said. “The entertainment district sits right next to Interstate 30 and 360, so you have people moving east, west, north and south. We are about 8 miles south of DFW Airport. Those are unique advantages we have.”
Council member Rebecca Boxall told KERA News that one option for the Stars could be renovating Choctaw Stadium, the Rangers’ former home.
“The obvious benefits for that, for the team, would be location,” Boxall said in the interview with KERA News. “There’s a facility that doesn’t have to be built, you know, ground up, could be renovated.”
The use of taxpayer dollars to pay for these stadiums is not without critics.
In both bond measure elections, opponents such as the No Jones Tax Coalition and Citizens for a Better Arlington raised concerns surrounding the impact of using citizens’ taxes to partially pay for the stadiums.
In response to early criticism of a potential new Stars arena, Jacobson said that when the city structures such deals, it takes both the team and the individual taxpayers’ interests into consideration.
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross and Boxall said that slotting the team into the city’s sports center made sense.
“Anytime a team is looking to move or looking for a new area, I mean, this is what Arlington does,” Ross told KERA News. “We’re the entertainment capital.”
Chris Moss is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@fortworthreport.org.
Scott Nishimura is a senior editor for the Documenters program at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Related
Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.
Republish This Story
Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details.