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Dallas Morning News staffers speak at a sports business panel held by The News on\u00a0SMU\u2019s campus on Monday, June 29, 2026. The sports business panel was part of the newsroom\u2019s trust initiative and touched on news related to the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Stars and the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Katie Guenthner<\/p>\n
Dallas Morning News sports columnist Kevin Sherrington (right) speaks with Chip Mahaney, who teaches sports journalism at Southern Methodist University, at a sports business panel held by The News on SMU\u2019s campus on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Katie Guenthner<\/p>\n
The Dallas Stars<\/a> and Dallas Mavericks<\/a> make plans to flee downtown for the suburbs. Nine World Cup matches take place in Dallas\u2019 backyard. Reporters with\u00a0The Dallas Morning News shared their takes on these developments and more at a panel on sports business<\/a> Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s been \u201cone heck of a month\u201d for sports, said sports business reporter\u00a0Eric Prisbell<\/a>. All the changes, from the planned abandonment of the American Airlines Center to FIFA, point back to business.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery good sports story touches on sports business in some way,\u201d Prisbell said. \u201cThe sweet spot for me is trying to cover something at the intersection of sports, business and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The panel came at the end of the first day of a pop-up newsroom<\/a> hosted by The News at Southern Methodist University as part of the newspaper\u2019s trust initiative<\/a>. The project includes putting journalists out in the community to hear feedback and story ideas.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t trust what they don\u2019t understand. People don\u2019t trust what they don\u2019t know,\u201d Managing Editor Amy Hollyfield<\/a> said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to change both of those things by helping people know us.\u201d<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s panel, moderated by sports columnist Kevin Sherrington<\/a>, touched on the impact of changes at all levels of sports on area residents. It featured Prisbell and Dallas Stars, and college sports reporter Lia Assimakopoulos<\/a>.<\/p>\n A month of change<\/p>\n Assimakopoulos dove into the history of the Mavs and Stars\u2019 planned exodus from American Airlines Center: The teams\u2019 legal dispute with each other and eventual decision by both sides to look to relocate to the suburbs.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Assimakopoulos said the legal battle<\/a> between the teams pushed the Stars to look away from American Airlines Center. But the idea of building an entertainment district is what drew them to Plano.<\/p>\n \u201cThe legal battle was a big driver for the Stars leaving Dallas, but the opportunity to build on 90 acres of land where they controlled that entire land, that just does not exist in Dallas,\u201d Assimakopoulos said.<\/p>\n Prisbell said Stars President and CEO Brad Alberts sees an inspiration in the Battery, an entertainment complex anchored by MLB\u2019s Atlanta Braves. This led reporters to look into examples of teams that built entertainment infrastructure around their stadiums.<\/p>\n \u201cLia and I are looking into not only which do well, but which missed the mark,\u201d Prisbell said.<\/p>\n The World Cup also received attention from the panel.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Everything about the World Cup from transportation to the cultural interactions has gone smoother than Prisbell expected, save for the ticketing process.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prisbell shared one story he wrote about a fan reporting FIFA for scamming him<\/a>, resulting in his bank giving him a refund. Readers\u00a0resonated with the story.<\/p>\n \u201cIt struck a chord nationwide, if not internationally,\u201d Prisbell said. \u201cThey thought there\u2019s no recourse, there\u2019s no way to get your money back, and then there was.\u201d<\/p>\n Readers respond<\/p>\n Hollyfield said discussions about the impact of sports on the economy are already happening. The panel allows The News\u2019 reporters to be part of building the community around it.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got some really great reporters who are steeped in these stories,\u201d Hollyfield said. \u201cIf we can bring those people in a place and invite the public in, it\u2019s just a great place for a conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n Panel attendees came with questions about the future of American Airlines Center and Dallas\u2019 teams, and feedback for The News.<\/p>\n Longtime subscriber Pam Karlos calls getting a print edition her \u201cStarbucks cup of coffee\u201d \u2014 \u00a0her indulgence. She follows several college and national teams, and she is interested in the developments around American Airlines Center.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rate of how things have changed in stadiums is like it has with so many other things,\u201d Karlos said.<\/p>\n Chip Mahaney, who teaches sports journalism at SMU, said the teams\u2019 planned move is sad for downtown, but the bigger story is the growth of the Dallas-Fort Worth sports market.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cDallas, we\u2019re not sentimental at all,\u201d Mahaney said. \u201cIf the teams are going to move, let the teams move.\u201d<\/p>\n He suggested there could be the introduction of second teams to meet D-FW\u2019s growing population, like the Mets and the Yankees in New York.<\/p>\n Learn more<\/p>\n Staffers will be at\u00a0SMU\u2019s Hughes-Trigg Student Center, located at 3140 Dyer St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sign up to attend here: dallasnews.com\/smupopup<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The News is hosting another panel on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. This one will feature a discussion on the future of higher education between higher education reporter Milla Surjadi<\/a> and Michael Harris, dean of SMU\u2019s Simmons School of Education and Human Development. Residents can sign up to attend at dallasnews.com\/educationpanel.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n