Stars and Mavs settle American Airlines Center dispute

Article posted by Coliseum, August 19^th, 2026

Image: American Airlines Center, NoTalkMan, CC0

A legal dispute between the NHL’s Dallas Stars and the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks over the American Airlines Center has reached a long-awaited conclusion.

Dallas News said the 21,137-seat American Airlines Center co-tenants announced they have resolved all outstanding matters in their legal dispute.

The teams said in a joint statement, “The Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars have reached an agreement that resolves the outstanding matters between the two organizations.

“American Airlines Center will continue to serve as the home of both teams at least through the 2030-31 season.”

The terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed.

The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas (US). The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference.

The Dallas Mavericks, often referred to as the Mavs, 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.

What was the American Airlines Center dispute about?

The Mavericks claimed 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.

The high-profile legal battle did not go to trial in Texas Business Court as scheduled in May after the Mavericks defeated the Stars in every significant pretrial ruling in an opinion from Judge Bill Whitehill.

The Stars appealed to the Texas 15^th Court of Appeals for further opinion, but the sides have continued working to resolve their differences behind the scenes.

Stars spokesman Joe Calvillo said in a statement, “The matter has been amicably resolved to the satisfaction of both parties, and the parties have and will have no further comment on this matter.”

Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, who has rarely commented publicly on the legal feud, said, “We are pleased to hear that an agreement has been reached.

“As we plan for the future of downtown and our sports and entertainment district, this agreement is an important step, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with both organizations as we work to strengthen their long-term future in our city.”

While working on resolving their legal disagreements, both teams have set plans to eventually move out of downtown Dallas in 2031.

The Stars plan to build a new hockey-only arena and entertainment district at The Shops at Willow Bend Mall site in Plano, while the Mavericks are planning to build an arena and mixed-use entertainment district at the former Valley View Mall site in Far North Dallas.

The teams have been co-tenants since 1993, sharing Reunion Arena from 1993-2001 before moving into AAC.

The 2031-32 season is set to mark the first where they won’t share an arena since the Stars relocated to Texas.

American Airlines Center’s future also remains up in the air after 2031 with no full-time tenant set to occupy the building.

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