Plano makes formal offer to lure Dallas Stars there, Dallas City Council Member says

The offer includes a “Letter of Intent” that has been presented by Plano to the Stars, Council Member Chad West told WFAA.

DALLAS — In an interview for Sunday’s Inside Texas Politics, Dallas City Council Member Chad West revealed that Plano has made a formal offer to the Dallas Stars for the hockey franchise to move to Collin County. 

The offer includes a “Letter of Intent” that has been presented by Plano to the Stars, West said.

Plano city officials would not confirm that an offer had been sent. The Dallas Stars declined to comment.

“Plano is known to be attractive to national and international corporations, and we are home to numerous iconic brands,” city officials said in a statement. “Due to the strong interest in Plano and competition within the region, we do not publicly comment on speculation or economic development projects until they are brought to Council for formal adoption.”

While Plano city officials on Thursday declined to confirm whether a letter of intent has been extended to the Stars, Plano Mayor John Muns in December did not shy away from his city’s desire to lure the Stars up the Dallas North Tollway.

Muns told Inside Texas Politics that the city had made the Stars “a really good offer” amid reports that the Stars were looking to build a new arena at the site of the Willow Bend mall.

“We would be thrilled to have an organization like that in Plano. And so, it’s really not up to us. It’s up to them. And we’re hoping that they come to Plano,” Mayor Muns told us on Inside Texas Politics.

West said the Stars have not signed the purported offer letter and remain in negotiations with the City of Dallas to remain at American Airlines Center.

“Thank you for reaching out. We’re going to decline to comment on this matter,” a Dallas Stars spokesperson said in a statement to WFAA.

The discussions with Dallas include talks about how to convert the American Airlines Center into a hockey-only arena, West said. 

“It’s all part of doing business,” West said. ” I mean, the Stars, they want the best deal for themselves, and I don’t blame them for going out and getting it. But at the end of the day, they’re the Dallas Stars, and we need to do what we can to keep them in Dallas, and they’ll never change the name to the Plano Stars. I don’t know why they would even consider that.”

The Stars’ potential move out of the American Airlines Center coincides with the Dallas Mavericks’ search for a new arena of their own. The two teams, which have shared a home building since the Stars moved to Dallas in the 1990s, appear destined to split — whether it’s both teams moving to a new arena, or just the Mavs.

The Mavs are looking at two spots for a new arena, Downtown Dallas and North Dallas at the site of the former Valley View Mall.

The leases for both teams at American Airlines Center expire in 2031.