The Dallas Stars say the Dallas Mavericks moved their main offices to Las Vegas last year, a claim that adds a new twist to the ongoing fight over control of the American Airlines Center.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Mavericks filed a lawsuit against the Stars at the end of October, alleging that the hockey team violated a 1998 arena partnership agreement by moving its headquarters to Frisco and blocking planned upgrades for the venue.
The Stars then pushed back with a counterclaim, stating that only the City of Dallas can trigger a relocation event under the contract and calling the Mavericks’ lawsuit an attempt at a “hostile takeover” of the venue.
Now, a recent filing by the Stars claims that the Mavericks acted similarly by moving the team’s headquarters to Las Vegas.
“In 2024, according to filings with the Texas Secretary of State, the new owners of the Mavericks designated the location for the team’s principal corporate and executive offices as Las Vegas, Nevada, which is 1,200 miles away and located outside the State of Texas,” wrote Joshua M. Sandler, counsel for the Dallas Stars, in a statement, per CBS News.
“In other words, the Mavericks engaged in the very conduct they allege entitles them to take full control of the American Airlines Center.”
The Stars have also pointed to a 2011 bankruptcy case, alleging that both the Mavericks and the City of Dallas were aware of the Stars’ Frisco headquarters at the time and that the legally binding restructuring plan protects them from the Mavericks’ current claims, according to Lia Assimakopoulos.
The Mavericks immediately pushed back on these claims, writing in a statement that the Mavericks “haven’t moved their offices, unlike the Stars.”
“They have the same offices that they’ve always had. And if you gaze out across Stemmons, you’ll see the Mavericks’ practice facility across the highway. Their principal corporate and executive offices are within the city of Dallas, just as they’ve always been. There isn’t any question that the Stars moved to Frisco,” wrote Charles Babcock, the Mavericks’ attorney, per The Dallas Morning News.
“And this lawsuit is not about where the Mavericks have their principal place of business; it’s where the Stars do. They literally have defenses from A to X. I don’t know what happened to defenses Y and Z. I’m very curious about what happened to those defenses.”
A jury trial on this matter is scheduled for January 26, 2026, and could determine how AAC is managed, which franchise controls it, and whether both teams will remain in Dallas long term.