ARLINGTON — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Monday slammed what he called a “frivolous” lawsuit by the Mavericks against the Stars, as the legal filing was altered to remove an emergency order.
Bettman — speaking to media at AT&T Stadium following the NHL’s announcement that the Stars would host a 2027 Stadium Series game at AT&T Stadium — initially stated the injunction was vacated. The Stars’ legal counsel and Mavericks later clarified that the Mavericks only withdrew their demand for an immediate temporary injunction hearing.
The Mavericks filed suit against their American Airlines Center co-tenant on Oct. 28, seeking legal finality on an alleged breach of contract dispute. The Stars filed a counterclaim hours later, seeking to restore normal operations at the arena.
“I understand the injunction that was initially issued was vacated today,” Bettman said. “No surprise because I think the initial lawsuit was frivolous. I don’t know what’s motivating it. … This doesn’t make any sense on a whole host of levels, unless it’s just somebody who thinks [the Stars] can be pushed around, and that’s not the hockey mentality to be pushed around.”
Sports Roundup
An injunction is a court order that compels a party to either do or refrain from doing a specific act temporarily or permanently. When the Mavericks filed their lawsuit last week, they demanded a temporary injunction that would have revoked the Stars’ joint control of American Airlines Center.
On Monday, the Mavericks withdrew that demand. The Stars and Mavericks still intend to go to trial or reach a settlement to resolve their differences, according to the Stars’ statement.
“The Mavericks’ decision is no surprise, given there is no emergency involving the condition of the AAC requiring immediate court intervention — much less the temporary revocation of the Stars’ joint control rights,” the Stars statement said. “The Dallas Stars and Mavericks have successfully co-managed the American Airlines Center for decades, and this collaborative relationship has continued despite the Mavericks’ takeover attempt in 2024. Hopefully the issue of the teams’ joint and mutual operations of the AAC will continue until this business dispute is finally resolved via settlement or at trial.”
The Mavericks said in a statement that the decision followed an agreement by both teams to fund American Airlines Center employee bonuses.
“For months, the Mavericks ownership group has urged the Stars to approve payments earned by key arena employees of the American Airlines Center. Those payments have been standard and customary for eligible employees for many years,” the Mavericks said in a statement. “Up until today, the Stars refusal to allow the arena to pay the employee bonuses meant that even the Mavericks could not fund the payments.
“Those employee bonuses will now be funded — directly by the Mavericks ownership group. As such, the Mavericks withdrew an injunction request it had previously sought. Importantly, the Mavericks reserved their legal rights to continue to seek an injunction if the Stars’ misconduct warranted that.”
The Mavericks statement affirmed the case related to the Stars’ contract breach remains unaffected and court dates are set for January.
The NHL commissioner said he was “somewhere between amazed and appalled” when he learned last week that the Mavericks were taking legal action against their longtime American Airlines Center co-tenant over a franchise agreement violation.
The Mavericks alleged in a 253-page lawsuit filed in Texas Business Court that the Stars are “holding American Airlines Center hostage” and are in breach of a clause in their 1998 franchise agreement that requires their corporate headquarters to be located within the city of Dallas. The Stars’ headquarters and practice facility have been in Frisco since 2003. The NBA team also claims that the Stars have obstructed further maintenance and improvements to American Airlines Center.
The Mavericks sent the Stars a letter and $110 in cash last October alerting them of the breach and that the Mavericks would be taking over the Stars’ interest in Center Operating Company, the joint venture between the franchises that operates American Airlines Center.
For the past year, the Stars have not had access to their quarterly arena proceeds. The Stars say the amount is “in the tens of millions.” The Mavericks pointed out to The Dallas Morning News that their arena distributions are frozen, as well.
Hours after the Mavericks’ filing, the Stars filed a counterclaim, alleging the Mavericks had no right to claim a breach of agreement — only the city could — and that the Mavericks cannot claim the Stars’ interest in Center Operating Company until a court of competent jurisdiction finds that the Stars breached certain obligations owed to the city.
“Ultimately, this will either get resolved by negotiation or the courts will resolve it,” Bettman said. “Being a bit of a lapsed lawyer, I like what I see from the Stars’ side.”
The Mavericks first raised awareness of the agreement breach over a year ago, a few weeks before the team and the city of Dallas say the Stars backed out of a $300 million deal to renovate AAC, according to interviews and documents obtained by The News.
In the deal, according to the city and the Mavericks, the Stars agreed to remain in AAC through 2061 and would have paid no renovation costs, with the city and Mavericks footing the bill 50-50.
The Stars strongly deny they agreed to the deal and say had it gone through, the Mavericks and Stars would have shared half the renovation costs. The Stars maintain they agreed to a different deal that would extend the existing lease with both teams staying at AAC through 2035.
Days after last year’s deal collapsed, the Mavericks on Oct. 25, 2024, cited the breach of contract and seized the Stars’ half of AAC’s operating company.
The city of Dallas sided with the Mavericks, affirming the contract breach, both last October and in December, when city attorneys prepared a default letter to the Stars. Not explained is why apparently no one from the city noticed the Stars’ breach in 2003.
Bettman said he believes the Mavericks are seeking to pressure the Stars into a deal that wouldn’t be in the NHL team’s best interest.
From a league standpoint, much of the frozen funds are counted as part of the NHL’s hockey-related revenue, or HRR — all income generated by the NHL from sources like concessions, merchandise, ticket sales, parking and TV revenue. Independent accountants determine what they expect HRR will be, and the league uses that to determine salary cap. HRR is also shared with the league’s players and owners in a 50-50 split as part of the collective bargaining agreement.
Bettman said the league has been aware of these frozen funds, and they’ve already been factored into HRR.
“That’s not an issue,” he said. “And frankly, that’s the least of it under all of this. Withholding funds from the Stars is not nice, and maybe the Mavericks think erroneously that the Stars are desperate for the money. The Stars can take care of themselves. Tom Gaglardi can take care of the Stars. Not an issue.”
As the Stars battle with the Mavericks and city of Dallas over the future of American Airlines Center, the team is also considering a home outside of the city entirely. The Stars have spoken with at least eight other cities outside Dallas about relocating, including Plano, where the Stars are considering a new billion-dollar arena at the Shops at Willow Bend Mall site.
“It seems to me that the Mavs don’t want to be at American Airlines Center. They want to be somewhere else, doing something else. The Stars are committed to their fans, to Dallas, the Greater Dallas area,” Bettman said. “I think the Stars are being prudent and looking at what their options are because obviously based on where we find ourselves today, the Mavericks have made the situation untenable.”
Staff writer Brad Townsend contributed to this report.