The heart of Dallas has always been the Stars to Michael Lee.
He’s been a fan since the Dallas Stars moved to the city in 1993. He remembers when they played in Reunion Arena and when they won the Stanley Cup in 1999. When he was a kid, Lee met Mike Modano during his first season in Texas. The Stars have always been synonymous with downtown to him.
So, now that there are talks about the team moving elsewhere in the Dallas-Fort Worth area?
“I think it would be similar to what happened to the Rangers and the Cowboys,” Lee said. “Isolated on an island with not much to do. So, to me, part of the energy the Stars have, the following the Stars have, is because 1993 exists here. It’s everything.”
Sports Roundup
The Stars have begun serious conversations about leaving the American Airlines Center after their lease expires in 2031, discussing a potential move to Plano, Frisco, The Colony, Arlington or Fort Worth. The Stars are also considering staying at the American Airlines Center, even as the Mavericks plan to depart to build their own arena. Some reports say the likeliest destination is Plano, but Stars President and CEO Brad Alberts told The Dallas Morning News in early October that there are no favorites at this point.
The News talked to around 30 fans about their opinions on the potential move ahead of the Stars’ home opener against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night. And the consensus? Anywhere but Plano. Fans also said a move could lead to consequences that affect public transportation, season ticket holders and the history of the franchise.
Before the game, Lee and his friend, Brad Brenek, took the DART from Flower Mound to Victory Station, which stops right outside of American Airlines Center.
Even if they are not coming from Flower Mound, many fans take public transportation to watch the Stars, including Woody Badgett and Courtney Herring, who live in The Colony.
“We use the DART every time,” Badgett said. “If they go to Plano or Frisco, there’s not really a good grouping because there’s five different lines that converge right here. I honestly feel if they move, the DART’s gonna lose a lot of passengers.”
Although a move to The Colony would put the Stars closer to Herring, she prefers they stay downtown. Herring and Badgett think the traffic would become unmanageable.
“It’s already hard to get out of here from traffic, which is why so many people use the DART,” Badgett said. “And that area, unless they completely redesign it, it’s not designed for that much traffic.”
Badgett predicts that a lot of fans will stop coming altogether if the new arena isn’t accessible through public transportation.
Herring questions if the suburbs want that much traffic coming to them.
“I think people would adjust to the change,” Herring said. “[American Airlines Center] is iconic for the Stars, but that doesn’t affect me as much as the ease of getting here on the DART.”
And while fans highlighted that the Dallas-Fort Worth area is already a commuter district that’s car-dependent, many said they would stop purchasing season tickets based on where the Stars end up.
Dallyse Sharber has been a hardcore Stars fan for three years. She already has to travel an hour or more depending on traffic from the west side of Fort Worth. Sharber was looking into becoming a season ticket holder. Now, she’s not too sure.
“If there was a weekday game, we wouldn’t be able to make it without having to take off work two separate days,” Sharber said. “So we don’t like the idea of them going to Plano.”
Sharber thinks American Airlines Center offers the perfect set-up. She loves when they do watch parties at PNC Plaza. She likes that most fans can travel downtown easily and hang out together before and after games. The central location has created a culture.
But if the Stars move, she sees a real future where season ticket holders, especially on the west side of Dallas, stop coming.
Still, some fans are more optimistic.
Sure, David Davis isn’t too stoked about the potential move. Davis is in his 20s and he’s been a Stars fan as long as he’s been alive. He’s had season tickets for four years and the memories go back further.
It’s easy to tell he’s a lifelong fan. Davis always wears two large Stars pendants and a loud yellow hat. He doesn’t see a future where the Stars are in trouble even if they move across the state. Davis thinks they’ll continue to attract more fans as the only NHL team in Texas despite being away from the building that’s housed them for the last 24 years.
“The history is with the Stars, so whether the Stars are in Dallas or the surrounding area, the history is always there,” Davis said.
And while fans are reluctant about the possible change, there’s one common thread among them all.
The history follows the Stars, and so do the fans. Even if it’s for only one or two games, they’ll go wherever the Stars go.
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