The Stars received approval for the arena district plan at Willow Bend in Plano, Texas. NHLI via Getty Images
The Plano City Council “unanimously approved” hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and incentives for the Stars to leave downtown Dallas for a planned new arena at The Shops at Willow Bend site. The city’s leaders approved “four measures after over an hour of public comment,” paving the way for the suburb’s first major league sports team. Officials “backed more than” $700M in funding in support of a new entertainment district. The vote comes less than a week after the Stars submitted a nonbinding letter of intent for a new arena and entertainment district in Plano as their lease at American Airlines Center expires in 2031. While the agreement is nonbinding, the Stars have “every intention of making Plano their new home,” with plans to build a $1B stadium to anchor a $3B mixed-use development, supplemented by $700M in public funding (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/8).