PLANO, Texas — Plano voters on Tuesday refused to approve a package of venue taxes that city leaders had lined up to help pay for a $1 billion arena for the Dallas Stars, putting the financing plan for the hockey team’s move to the suburb back on the drawing board.
With all 90 precincts counted, Proposition A failed 56,061 votes to 46,658, or 54.6% to 45.4%, in unofficial returns.
The measure would not have approved the arena itself. It sought authority for taxes on tickets, parking, short-term car rentals, hotel stays and the major league teams playing in the building, money the city planned to use toward the $700 million in bonds it committed to the project. Proposed rates included up to 10% on admissions and up to 5% on rental cars.
The arena would anchor a roughly $3 billion redevelopment at The Shops at Willow Bend, with restaurants, shops and housing around it. The city would own the building, and the Stars would lease it for 30 years after leaving American Airlines Center following a legal dispute with the Dallas Mavericks.
City Manager Mark Israelson said the financing approach must now be reworked before the City Council takes any arena action. Mayor John Muns called the Willow Bend redevelopment an important opportunity and said the city will weigh what comes next.
The Stars’ corporate arm put close to $1 million into the yes campaign, while the opposing Stop the Stars Arena committee raised about $13,000 from a few dozen residents. Collin County turnout for the election was 57.91% of registered voters.
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Filed under: Dallas TX Politics News
