Stars President & CEO Brad Alberts said that the franchise “is ‘100% focused’ on Plano.” Stars/HNTB
Stars President & CEO Brad Alberts Thursday “dismissed talk of keeping the team’s arena in central Dallas” and said that the franchise “is ‘100% focused’ on Plano and redeveloping The Shops at Willow Bend into a new arena and entertainment district,” according to Mike Albanese of the DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL. Alberts “called recent speculation that the NHL team stay in Big D instead of moving to Plano as ‘just rumor mill.’” Some Dallas real estate leaders have recently “kicked around the idea of the team staying in the city, especially if public financing is not approved by Plano voters.” Downtown developer Ray Washburne said during a Sept. 24 event for Klyde Warren Park that “the battle is not over” to keep both the Stars and Mavericks in the city’s urban core. But Alberts “compared the situation in Plano to being engaged with the city and said ‘we’re planning to get married.’” Alberts noted that Willow Bend is “critical to the Stars’ future because it gives the team 90 acres to redevelop, allowing for the creation of ‘365-day-a-year revenue.’” Albanese wrote that has become “much more important for pro sports teams of all types as salaries and other costs have risen.” Alberts said that he “is ‘more bullish on the site now than I’ve ever been’ and called it the best arena site in the Metroplex” (DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 10/9).