Dallas Mavericks vs Stars heads to court

Image: American Airlines Center, NoTalkMan, CC0

The Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars are set to face off against each other in court next year in a dispute over the ownership and management of the American Airlines Center (AAC).

Fox 4 News said a jury trial has been scheduled for January 26, 2026, after the two teams filed competing lawsuits over control of the American Airlines Center.

The Mavericks claim the Stars breached a contract by moving their headquarters to Frisco in 2003, giving the Mavericks the right to buy out their share of the arena.

According to the Mavericks, the Stars also backed out of participating in needed renovations at the arena, prompting the basketball franchise to take legal action and enforce the buyout clause. The Mavericks claim that despite the buyout, the Stars have refused to acknowledge the change in control.

The Stars hit back with their own lawsuit, calling the Mavericks’ actions an “attempted hostile takeover” meant to push the hockey team out of American Airlines Center.

Counsel for the Stars said the Mavericks’ claims are “simply not true” and that the Stars have remained willing partners in maintaining and upgrading the arena, even stating that they recently committed $30 million toward renovations aimed at enhancing the fan experience.

The City of Dallas is siding with the Mavericks, asserting the Stars are in breach of their franchise agreement for moving their headquarters.

The Dallas Mavericks are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference.

The team currently plays at the 20,000-capacity American Airlines Center, a multipurpose indoor arena located in the Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas (US).

The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The two teams have shared the American Airlines Center since it opened in 2001. Each owns half of the companies that run the arena, splitting revenue from concerts, games, and events.

Attorney Walter Musgrove told Fox 4 News, “There definitely were some grounds that the Mavs were believed entitled to them to acquire those shares of that type of control for what we all would consider to be a fairly small amount of money.

“The Mavericks are saying, ‘Hey, like you, by your alleged failure to participate in ensuring the cost of responsibilities for the needed renovations, you are putting us in jeopardy, because now we have to spend more money and carrying out work below for these much-needed renovations that of a facility that you too participate in.

“The city of Dallas, of course, has an interest to have these two major sports teams conduct their business in the city of Dallas, because, of course, that brings jobs, revenue to the city, revenue to the other businesses that are around the arena.

“So, they definitely have an interest in ensuring that both those teams remain here in Dallas and host their games as well as their headquarters here in the city.”

Both teams have indicated they are looking for a new home.

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