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Aerial view of The Shops at Willow Bend, with the Dallas North Tollway at bottom, on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Plano.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
If the Dallas Stars\u00a0move to Plano, many fans would trade a train ride to American Airlines Center for a drive on some of North Texas’ busiest roads.<\/p>\n
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The proposed arena at the\u00a0Shops at Willow Bend mall site<\/a> has no rail station and would rely largely on roads, buses and planned transportation improvements.<\/p>\n The Stars have signed a nonbinding letter of intent to relocate<\/a> to the mall\u2019s property in West Plano,\u00a0which the City Council will consider<\/a> Monday night as part of a package of potential tax incentives and funding options.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n If the Stars make Plano their new home, here\u2019s what getting there could look like.<\/p>\n Roads and transit<\/p>\n The Shops at Willow Bend site is accessible off the Dallas North Tollway and West Park Boulevard, and the property is on a Dallas Area Rapid Transit bus route.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile West Plano is highly accessible via the Tollway and the Bush Turnpike, the site directly abuts established residential neighborhoods along Park Boulevard and West Plano Parkway,\u201d wrote commercial real estate professional Steve Triolet in a report.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Empty spots in the parking garage at The Shops at Willow Bend on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Plano.<\/p>\n Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Plano is one of DART\u2019s 13 member cities. The city called an election to leave DART, citing concerns over service quality and high costs, but\u00a0canceled the vote after<\/a>\u00a0compromising with the transit agency on changes to\u00a0funding, governance and service.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPlano has the DART Northwest Plano Park and Ride and there are bus routes in western Plano,\u201d said Plano\u2019s DART board member Anthony Ricciardelli, who declined to comment on the team\u2019s letter of intent. \u201cBut at the same time, there are a lot of areas of western Plano that don\u2019t have any transit coverage other than microtransit and paratransit.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s no train line through the area\u00a0identified for the arena.<\/p>\n DART\u2019s Silver Line<\/a>, which runs east to west, opened in the fall of last year and connects seven cities north of Dallas, from Plano to DFW International Airport.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cAs a DART board member, I intend to work on increasing public transit options,\u201d Ricciardelli said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Proposed improvements<\/p>\n According to the letter of intent that the City Council will consider approving<\/a> Monday, the city and team will collaborate with Plano\u2019s public transportation providers to expand service to include bus stops within walking distance of the arena, along with new routes and shuttle options.<\/p>\n The design of the entertainment district is also planned to include a \u201cpublic transportation hub\u201d with commuting options like rideshare and bikeshare services.<\/p>\n The Neiman Marcus is seen with empty spots in the parking garage at The Shops at Willow Bend on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Plano.<\/p>\n Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The team and city will work on a transportation and parking plan, including a traffic impact analysis.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The plan, according to the letter of intent, will include on-site parking options, residential permit parking, game-day parking enforcement in surrounding areas and more.<\/p>\n The parties will seek to minimize impact to surrounding communities related to operating hours, noise and other quality of life issues, according to city documents.\u00a0<\/p>\n Traffic concerns<\/p>\n Residents may be unhappy with game night traffic, and balancing \u201cstadium-scale event flows with suburban residential planning\u201d will be important as agreements are deliberated, Triolet wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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