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A \u201cPuck no\u201d sign in the front yard of a Plano residence nearby The Shops at Willow Bend, the proposed new arena site for\u00a0the Dallas Stars hockey team, pictured\u00a0in Plano, Texas, Sept. 7, 2026.<\/p>\n
Steve Hamm\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Hal Stebbins, like other Plano residents<\/a>, got an unexpected notification last week.<\/p>\n \u201cBring the Dallas Stars to Plano on November 3!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Alongside green words and a rendering of the proposed $1 billion, Dallas Stars-branded arena at the current site of Plano\u2019s Shops at Willow Bend<\/a> mall, texts encouraged residents to support a tax election that could help fund<\/a> the project and bring Plano its first major league sports team.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cProposition A authorizes the construction of a new city-owned arena<\/a> that will house world-class hockey and community events,\u201d the text reads. \u201cAnd the best part? NOTHING is added to what Plano residents already pay in taxes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Stebbins and some other residents found the messages misleading and mysterious \u2014 the election this November could add certain taxes if approved, fees aimed at visitors on things like hotel rooms and rental cars, to help fund the proposed arena<\/a>. He did not know who had sent the texts.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the week after the Victory Green Plano political action committee sent texts and mailers to residents<\/a> in favor of the arena and November vote, neighbors formed the Stop the Stars Arena PAC to mobilize against the ballot measure.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: Plano council calls November tax election to help fund proposed Dallas Stars arena<\/a><\/p>\n The debate underscores the competing views of the city\u2019s identity \u2014 a suburban community or an entertainment destination \u2014 and who should pay for the difference. City officials see the project as a way to keep Plano vibrant. Some residents see it<\/a> as a departure from the city\u2019s character.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n While the arena project can go forward even if the election fails, the Stop the Stars Arena group wants the city and team to know some residents are unhappy with the plans, with concerns over potential traffic<\/a>, noise and what Stebbins sees as \u201ccorporate welfare\u201d in giving taxpayer money to the project.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the wrong project for this location, and the views of a lot of citizens are not being taken into account,\u201d said Stebbins, who lives near the mall but isn\u2019t involved in the PAC.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople move here for the schools \u2026 they move here for the quiet neighborhoods,\u201d said Plano resident Karen Dubrow, who is helping organize the Stop the Stars Arena PAC. \u201cWe love our suburb. We are not in Dallas. We don’t want to be Dallas 2.0.\u201d<\/p>\n A resident views a rendering during a community open house event regarding the proposed Dallas Stars arena project at The Shops at Willow Bend mall, on Wednesday, July 8, 2026 in Plano.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Plano residents mobilize\u00a0<\/p>\n The November proposition wouldn\u2019t set the amount of the taxes and city leaders can choose which to levy \u2014 including taxes on parking at the venue, purchasing a ticket and fees on major league sports teams that use the arena, up to $5,000 per game for each team member.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n City leaders said the arena project could add revenue to Plano\u2019s coffers and revitalize the area<\/a> where the shopping mall<\/a> never quite succeeded.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSomething of this magnitude is going to take a lot from the city and from the community,\u201d Plano City Manager Mark Israelson said earlier this year. \u201cBut what it would give back to the community is also very, very significant.\u201d<\/p>\n The tax election is one of several funding tools<\/a> the city is pursuing to help establish the Stars\u2019 new arena, including a tax increment refinancing zone to contribute $700 million toward the project and a $15 million incentive agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: Can the Dallas Stars’ planned arena be a good neighbor? Plano residents weigh in<\/a><\/p>\n After meeting for months, a group of several dozen residents<\/a> formed the Stop the Stars Arena group and are planning public events. They are filing an ethics complaint, Dubrow said, regarding the materials sent by the pro-arena committee that some residents found misleading.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to get the truth out to the Plano residents,\u201d said Bri Loftis, the committee\u2019s treasurer and an accountant who has lived in Plano for nearly 20 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n She is not convinced the project will be a financial success, and is worried what that could mean for her taxes down the road, especially if the project requires more costs for city services. Even the taxes on the ballot in November could pinch residents\u2019 pockets, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n She\u2019s also worried about traffic<\/a>, demand on the area\u2019s power supply, crime and preserving Plano\u2019s suburban character.\u00a0<\/p>\n City officials, the Dallas Stars president and real estate developers met with hundreds of residents at open house events<\/a> in July to hear concerns and present information. The city is studying how to mitigate traffic, noise and lighting impacts, and formed a focus group of neighbors to collect feedback.<\/p>\n Mary Manning (center) goes through different info graphics during a community open house events regarding the Dallas Stars arena project at the Shops at Willow Bend mall, on Wednesday, July 8, 2026 in Plano.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n \u201cTheir concerns are our concerns,\u201d said Stars CEO Brad Alberts at the July event. \u00a0\u201cWe don’t want their neighborhoods to be full of congestion and traffic either.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Who is behind Victory Green\u00a0Plano?<\/p>\n Victory Green\u00a0Plano\u2019s campaign filings, dated early August, show an address linked to a mailbox in Austin and treasurers tied to several PACs in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Messages sent to the PAC\u2019s press email could not be delivered and phone calls to the number listed on campaign filings were not returned.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s very difficult to understand who’s behind this,\u201d Stebbins said. \u201cIt seems like they could have been a lot more open \u2026 and instead took this route, and that is concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n In one flyer, Alberts is pictured and quoted, his signature printed underneath.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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