The City of Plano holds the first of two in-person open houses to answer questions about the Stars planned move to The Shops at Willow Bend.
PLANO, Texas — Plano resident David Long was among the first in line Wednesday morning at the south entrance of The Shops at Willow Bend. But he wasn’t there to shop, unless you consider his pending decision whether to buy season tickets again for the Dallas Stars – when they become his next door neighbor.
“I am, yes I am,” he said when asked if he was excited about the Stars eventually calling the current mall location their new home.
Plano residents filed into the mall for the first of two open houses to learn more about transportation, parking, lighting, and noise concerns if and when the Stars and their development partners move ahead with plans to demolish the mall next year and have a new stadium and entertainment complex in place by 2031. The Plano City Council signed a letter of intent with the Stars last month to contribute $700 million toward the project, funded through a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) and associated revenue bonds.
“We want to be an open forum for the public,” said Dallas Stars CEO Brad Alberts. “This has been the city’s mantra from day one. I think this turnout today has been fantastic and I think it reiterates what we thought that this is the appropriate place for the Dallas Stars for the next 30 years.”
“And that really is the starting point of let’s determine if this is the right fit. Let’s determine what are things we need to address,” said Plano Deputy City Manager Doug McDonald who says the very first consultant the city hired was to address and study traffic flow and transportation impacts.
“I think the possibility of having the Stars come is exciting,” said Plano resident Cory Reinaker who attended the open house with his wife Kristin who wanted to hear more about transportation options. The Stars current home at the American Airlines Center is fully accessible by both car and mass transit. “There’s just a lot of moving parts. How is this going to effect Plano,” Cory Reinaker said.
The next in-person community open house will be held Tuesday, July 14, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., near the south entrance between Equinox and Crate & Barrel. A Self-Guided Virtual Community Open House will be available for those unable to attend in person events: July 8 – July 22 at plano.gov/WillowBendDistrict.
A special election is tentatively scheduled for November 3rd for Plano voters to decide if they want to approve a short-term motor vehicle rental tax, a hotel occupancy tax on hotel room bookings, an event parking tax, an event admissions tax, and a venue use tax on major league team members that play a professional game in the arena.
The City of Plano says the proposed venue taxes would support the planning, acquisition, establishment, development, and construction of the arena, as well as the development of related infrastructure and supporting improvements.