The Dallas Stars’ Potential New Home
As the Dallas Stars and Mavericks feud over the American Airlines Center, the Stars have eyed the suburbs for a new hockey arena. The frontrunner for the NHL franchise’s potential new stadium is the site of an aging, bygone suburban shopping mall in Plano.
The 107-acre property, at 6121 W. Park Blvd., has emerged as the team’s favorite after discussions with other cities including Frisco, The Colony, Arlington and Fort Worth should the team leave the American Airlines Center when its lease expires in 2031, two people with knowledge of the team’s efforts told The Dallas Morning News.
Here are five things to know about the possible future home of the Dallas Stars arena:
An exterior view of The Shops at Willow Bend mall at W Park Blvd and the North Dallas Tollway in Plano, Texas, October 28, 2025.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
The Mall’s History of Struggle
The 1.4-million-square-foot mall, the last enclosed mall built in Texas, opened in 2001. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent by previous owners, the mall has struggled to attract sufficient shoppers and stores.
The Shops at Willow Bend has been under redevelopment efforts for years, with the most recent plans calling for a mixed-used development with less retail space. The Neiman Marcus department store at The Shops at Willow Bend is set to close by the beginning of 2027. Another anchor, Macy’s, backed out of the mall earlier this year.
The mall property is 107 acres. Brad Alberts, president of the Dallas Stars, previously told The News the Stars were looking for at least 75 acres of land to build an arena and surrounding area.
Transportation Options in Question
The Shops at Willow Bend is accessible off the Dallas North Tollway and West Park Boulevard, and the shopping center is on a Dallas Area Rapid Transit bus route.
Plano is one of Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s 13 member cities, but the city council could soon decide if it will hold an election next May to withdraw from the regional transit agency.
DART’s Silver Line opened this month and connects seven cities north of Dallas to DFW International Airport.
The Property Ownership
Key owners include Dallas-based Cawley Partners, Dallas-based Centennial and New York-based Waterfall Asset Management. None of the companies responded to emails, text messages and phone calls from The News about the potential arena project. The trio acquired the property in a 2022 deal. Earlier ownership included Starwood Capital Group in Miami.
A Suburban Community
Plano is about 20 miles north of Dallas and is home to corporate and regional headquarters for companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Toyota and PepsiCo. AT&T is eyeing a move from downtown Dallas to the Collin County city as well.
The city has a population of about 300,000 and an average household income of about $148,000, according to the city, higher than the average in both Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas.
“Plano is known to be attractive to national and international corporations, and we are home to numerous iconic brands,” Plano spokesperson Amanda McNew said in a statement. ”Due to the strong interest in Plano and competition within the region, we do not publicly comment on speculation or economic development projects until they are brought to Council for formal adoption.”
