Bluestar Alliance, which purchased the Dickies brand last year for $600 million, no longer wants naming rights for the arena. Tom Homan, president of the arena’s manager, Trail Drive Management, lamented the coming change in an interview this week with KRLD’s CEO Spotlight podcast.

This “breaks my heart to be honest with you, because it was such a perfect fit,” Homan said. “So I imagine we’ll be looking for a new naming rights partner here in the coming months or year.”

In a statement to The Dallas Morning News, Trail Drive Management said it was seeking overdue payments associated with naming rights from Bluestar and the previous owner, VF. Trail Drive is the nonprofit manager that runs the city-owned Dickies.

Bluestar nor VF responded to requests for comment Thursday from The News.

Trail Drive Management did not respond to a follow-up question asking how much the companies owe, but it said the dispute “will have no impact on arena operations, event bookings, and financial health.” 

Homan said on the podcast he initially expected Dickies to host 20 to 30 concerts a year. This year, the arena is set to host about 60. 

Dickies opened in 2019 in the city’s museum district and became a hot spot in North Texas for big-name concerts, rodeos, high school graduations and sporting events. The 14,000-seat venue has hosted big names, including George Strait and Pearl Jam, NCAA basketball, U.S. women’s gymnastics and professional bull riding championships. 

Since it opened, the arena has gone by only one name: Dickies.

Just months later in 2017, VF Corp. acquired the company and in 2024 announced it would relocate to California, a move that stunned city leaders and loyal fans of the brand. VF Corp. owns other well-known brands, including Vans, The North Face and Timberland.

VF Corp. sold the brand to New York-based Bluestar last year.

Homan said on the podcast he predicts strong interest in the arena’s naming rights.

“It’s about finding the right partner here,” he said, “and I think that’s something that’s going to be really important for us.”