In the span of 24 hours, both of Dallas’s professional sports teams announced they’re leaving the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks are going to Dallas Midtown at Preston and LBJ. The Stars are going to The Bend at Willow Bend in Plano. Both by 2031. Here’s everything you need to know.

The Dallas Mavericks — Dallas Midtown at Preston & LBJ

On Monday June 1, the Dallas Mavericks confirmed they have entered into option agreements to purchase approximately 104 acres at the former Valley View Mall site — officially known as Dallas Midtown — at Preston Road and LBJ Freeway in North Dallas. Downtown Dallas is out. The Mavs are coming to Far North Dallas.

“The Valley View site meets most of the criteria established at the outset of our evaluation process. It is our goal to stay in the City of Dallas, and we believe this site provides the strongest opportunity to achieve that goal. We have the opportunity to create a vibrant mixed-use destination anchored by a state-of-the-art arena, along with restaurants, entertainment options, public green spaces and family-friendly experiences.” — Gina Miller, Chief Communications Officer, Dallas Mavericks

What gets built:

• State-of-the-art NBA arena — basketball-focused, year-round programming
• Practice facility — confirmed as part of the district
• Hotels — multiple hospitality options
• Restaurants and entertainment — similar to The Star in Frisco
• Public green space — specifically cited in the team’s statement
• Retail — integrated mixed-use throughout

The site: Dallas Midtown is the 110-acre site at the corner of Preston Road and LBJ Freeway that housed Valley View Mall until it closed in 2021. The structure was demolished in 2023 after multiple fires. Anthem Development broke ground on The Premier at Dallas Midtown in November 2025 — a 296-unit luxury apartment building at Dilbeck and Preston Road, with Toyota and Panasonic as equity partners. The Mavericks’ 104 acres encompasses the remainder of the site.

The timeline: Construction expected to take approximately 30 months, with a target opening by end of 2031 when the team’s AAC lease expires. The option agreement gives the Mavericks the right to purchase the land while they complete due diligence and work through city approvals — a process expected to take 12–24 months.

Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn: “Mavs, welcome to Far North Dallas.”

The Dallas Stars — The Bend at Willow Bend in Plano

One day after the Mavericks announcement, the Dallas Stars confirmed they are moving to Plano — where they plan to build a new arena at The Shops at Willow Bend, which is being redeveloped into The Bend mixed-use district.

“This project would present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our franchise. We eagerly await the vote by the Plano City Council and look forward to continuing the conversation to be part of the redevelopment of The Shops at Willow Bend.” — Tom Gaglardi, Dallas Stars Owner, Governor and Chairman

What gets built:

• $1 billion NHL arena — approximately 20,000 seats, hockey-focused
• Entertainment district — year-round destination for North Texas community
• Mixed-use development — integrated into The Bend redevelopment of the entire 107-acre Willow Bend site

The site: The Shops at Willow Bend at 6121 W. Park Blvd in Plano — the last traditional enclosed mall built in Texas when it opened in 2001 — is already being demolished. Developer Centennial confirmed demolition begins this fall. Crate & Barrel, Equinox, and the restaurant district remain open during construction. The vision for The Bend — before the Stars announcement — was already a 90-acre walkable mixed-use district with nearly 1,000 residential units and 800,000+ square feet of retail and entertainment. The Stars’ arena and entertainment district supercharges that vision into something on the scale of Frisco’s The Star.

The Plano connection: The City of Plano has been in earnest discussions with the Stars for more than a year. Plano Mayor John Muns made a formal offer to the team. AT&T is simultaneously consolidating 10,000 employees onto its new 2-million-square-foot campus at 5400 Legacy Drive. As D Magazine put it: “Good things for Plano, which is set to take a sports team and AT&T from downtown.”

Note on Tom Gaglardi: Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi also co-owns CRAFT Beer Market — the new 10,500 square foot bar and restaurant at Preston Center on Northwest Highway. If you’ve been to CRAFT this spring, you’ve already been in a venue owned by the man who’s about to build a $1 billion arena in Plano.

What Comes Next

What becomes of the American Airlines Center remains an open question. The arena is expected to remain a valuable venue well beyond 2031, but the departure of one or both anchor tenants would force Dallas to rethink the future of the building and the surrounding Victory Park district. Victory Park businesses that rely on game-day traffic could face significant challenges if both teams depart as planned.

The TIF Barbell — Why the Mavericks’ Move Is Also a Win for South Dallas

To understand the full significance of the Dallas Midtown announcement, you need to understand the Mall Area Redevelopment TIF District.

A Tax Increment Financing district is a tool cities use to stimulate development in underperforming areas. When a major project goes up on vacant land, property values rise and generate new property tax revenue. Instead of that new revenue flowing into the general city budget, a TIF captures it and reinvests it back into the district — funding roads, parks, public infrastructure, and improvements that enable further private investment.

In 2015, the City of Dallas created the Mall Area Redevelopment TIF District to link two legacy mall sites: Dallas Midtown in North Dallas and the Southwest Center Mall (now The Shops at Redbird) in South Dallas. The City’s Office of Economic Development describes it as one of the nation’s largest urban redevelopment projects.

The structure was deliberately designed as a barbell — so investment at the North Dallas end flows to the South Dallas end. Development at Dallas Midtown generates tax increment that is reinvested into the Redbird corridor in South Dallas. Former Council Members Linda Koop and Tennell Atkins built this connection specifically so that a transformational development at Valley View would directly benefit Redbird and its surrounding communities.

Beck Ventures Chairman Scott Beck confirmed this week that a Mavericks arena at Dallas Midtown could potentially unlock over $100 million in tax increment available to Redbird and its surrounding communities.

“Southern Dallas will get a massive increase in funding and development through the mall TIF. This is a massive win-win for Dallas.” — Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn

Source: City of Dallas Office of Economic Development · dallasecodev.org/413/Mall-Area-Redevelopment-TIF-District

What This Means for Real Estate — North Dallas, Far North Dallas & Plano

For sellers in North Dallas and Far North Dallas: The Mavericks’ announcement at Dallas Midtown adds to a list of investment signals for this corridor. H-E-B approved at Hillcrest and LBJ. The Premier at Dallas Midtown under construction. And now an NBA arena and entertainment district at Preston and LBJ. Each announcement makes the next one more likely. This is a corridor with genuine momentum.

For buyers evaluating North Dallas: You are buying at today’s prices for a neighborhood that will look materially different by 2031. The arena alone doesn’t open for five years. The entertainment district builds out over years after that. Buyers who purchase today are buying before the premium — the same principle we’ve been writing about with RISD’s new middle schools and the broader neighborhood transformation already underway.

For sellers and buyers in Far North Dallas and West Plano: The Stars’ move to The Bend at Willow Bend is a direct endorsement of West Plano’s trajectory. AT&T is bringing 10,000 employees to Legacy Drive. The Bend is replacing the last traditional mall in Texas with a walkable entertainment district. And now a $1 billion NHL arena is being added to that footprint. Legacy West was already the most sought-after lifestyle corridor in the Plano corridor. The Bend — with the Stars — becomes something on a different scale entirely.

The Goldman Sachs connection

Goldman Sachs is building its second-largest US campus — 800,000 square feet, 5,000+ employees — near Victory Park, expected to open 2028. Where do those executives live? Research consistently shows that high-income relocators to DFW choose established North Dallas neighborhoods — Preston Hollow, Prestonwood, the Reservation — for schools, space, and lifestyle. The Goldman campus, the AT&T campus, the Mavericks arena, and the Stars arena are all part of the same story: the most significant corporate and entertainment investment in the North Dallas corridor in a generation. All happening at once.