Did Dallas fail downtown? Residents at clash over Stars, Mavericks potential exits

“What a painful and embarrassing week for this city.”

That’s how Sana Syed, president of the Farmers Market Stakeholders Association and a downtown resident, described the back-to-back announcements this week that the Dallas Mavericks and Stars plan to leave the city’s core. 

Speaking at the Dallas City Council’s public comment portion of its meeting Wednesday, Syed was one of several residents who unloaded on city leaders, blaming them for driving the teams out.

“Downtowns rarely die from a single blow,” Syed said, listing AT&T, Neiman Marcus and KDFW-TV (Fox 4) as among the major employers and institutions abandoning downtown.

“They fade when vision is replaced by complacency, when short-term politics outweigh long-term stewardship and when each loss is treated as an isolated event rather than a warning,” said Syed, a former council candidate.

Not everyone agreed. 

Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, whose district includes downtown Dallas, said the area has seen significant growth under the current City Council and is now home to roughly 15,000 full-time residents.

“Dallas has done well,” said Price, who supports the newly created “Save Yes to Downtown” campaign. “This council has done well in terms of making sure that growth of downtown Dallas is on the plan.”

The mixed reviews came after the Mavericks announced Monday they had executed option agreements to purchase most of the former Valley View Mall site in North Dallas for a new arena and entertainment district. 

The next day, the Stars revealed they had signed a nonbinding letter of intent to build a new arena at The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano. 

The announcements mean Victory Park could lose both of its major professional sports franchises when their American Airlines Center leases expire in 2031.

Carol Bell-Walton said the hockey team’s departure “falls squarely at the feet of the City Council” and City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert.

“You guys lost us the Dallas Stars and that’s the bottom line,” she said.

Tolbert and Mayor Eric Johnson, who attended the council meeting, did not respond to the criticism during the public comment portion, which is customary.

Tolbert said Tuesday the city would continue talks with the Stars and work to keep the franchise in Dallas despite its agreement to pursue a potential arena project in Plano.

As for the Mavericks, she and the mayor emphasized that the NBA team remains committed to the city despite choosing Valley View over downtown.

Many of the speakers focused on what they saw as a troubling trend.

Arianna Smith, a downtown homeowner, said she and her husband bought into the promise of a thriving urban core, only to watch businesses close and major institutions leave.

“Downtown is losing the anchors that drive activity, investment and economic growth,” she said.

Ifani Umejei, who lives downtown, said a new arena could have generated jobs, investment and development while helping connect downtown and southern Dallas.

Another city resident, Muhammad Abdullah, an imam, urged council members to focus less on division and more on rebuilding public trust.

“Dallas can’t move forward divided,” he said.

His call for unity was quickly tested.

During a briefing later on World Cup preparations, council members Jaime Resendez and Adam Bazaldua sparred on social media over whether a downtown arena would have benefited southern Dallas.

Resendez, who represents Pleasant Grove, said on Facebook that southern Dallas leaders were right to be disappointed. He argued that a multibillion-dollar arena project would have done more for the area than tax increment financing dollars.

Bazaldua, who represents South Dallas, challenged the notion that major downtown investments automatically benefit neighborhoods south of downtown.

“What CBD (Central Business District) or large investment has done anything for southern Dallas?” Bazaldua wrote. “Convention center? AT&T District? Farmers Market? As good of a talking point as it is that saying ‘yes to downtown’ is good for the South, what data supports it?”

Resendez at one point accused Bazaldua of unfairly questioning his motives.

“Name the ‘certain group’ I’m more interested in helping prosper and provide evidence that I’ve acted against the best interests of our city,” Resendez said. “Otherwise, you’re just running your mouth for the sake of doing so.”

Bazaldua replied that the two could “respectfully disagree” while acknowledging they had both been “running our mouths” during the exchange.

“That’s the beauty of different perspectives,” Bazaldua said.