PLANO, Texas (AP) — Voters in a Dallas suburb have rejected a proposition that would have authorized new taxes related to a planned new arena for the NHL's Stars.
Unofficial results from Tuesday's vote in the city of Plano showed 54.6% of the more than 102,000 votes cast were against the single ballot proposal to authorize taxes on tickets, parking, car rentals, hotel rooms and the professional teams that would use the arena. Those taxes were to help the city pay off up to $700 million in bonds it has committed to the proposed $3 billion mixed-use development that would include the new arena.
The vote was about the proposed taxes, and not whether the $1 billion arena could be built as part of a large-scale redevelopment project of The Shops at Willow Bend, where the last enclosed mall built in Texas is being demolished. It could include sports, entertainment, retail, dining and public gathering spaces.
“The proposed redevelopment at The Shops at Willow Bend remains an important opportunity for our community," Plano Mayor John Muns said in a statement. “We are committed to thoughtful reinvestment and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars as we consider what comes next.”
The hockey-specific arena would be owned by the city, with the Stars intending to lease it for 30 years.
Stars officials hope to move in 2031 about 20 miles north of the downtown American Airlines Center, which they have shared with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks since it opened in 2001. The leases at the AAC for both teams expire in 2031, and the Mavericks have plans for a similar project of their own away from downtown, about 10 miles north on the former site of a Dallas mall.
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