Dallas residents lament Downtown business exodus after Mavs, Stars plan suburban moves

DALLAS - Though centered around Dallas City Hall's future, the focus of public comment at today's Dallas City Council meeting was the exodus of businesses from downtown, with many residents taking time to lament the departure of sports franchises and companies alike.

Downtown Dallas departures

What we know:

In 2026, and specifically the last week, we've seen a surge in business departures from Downtown Dallas.

On Monday, the Dallas Mavericks announced their intent to build a new arena and entertainment district on 104 acres of land at the former Valley View Mall site in Far North Dallas, leaving behind their current home at the American Airlines Center in downtown by 2031.

On Tuesday, their AAC co-tenents, the Dallas Stars, also announced they planned to leave downtown. The team signed a nonbinding letter of intent with the City of Plano to build a new arena and entertainment district at the current Shops at Willow Bend mall site.

Outside of sports, Neiman Marcus announced on Tuesday they plan to close their longtime storefront on Main Street in Downtown Dallas.

AT&T, another longtime Dallas resident, announced in January they are moving their headquarters to a 54-acre campus in Plano.

FOX 4 is also leaving our downtown office later this year for a new campus in Irving.

Public frustration over downtown exodus

What they're saying:

"You guys lost us the Dallas Stars, and that is the bottom line."

At Wednesday's Dallas City Council meeting, the focus was supposed to be the future of Dallas City Hall. The building's future has been up in the air since the city explored options to leave the I.M. Pei-designed structure in March.

However, the center of the meeting's public comment section turned towards the rash of downtown departures. Residents and downtown activists did not hold back.

"The Valley View Mavs, the Plano Stars, Fox 4 gone, AT&T gone, Neiman gone," Sana Syed, the President of the Dallas Farmers Market Stakeholders Association, said. "What an embarrassing and painful city this week."

Sana Syed

One resident said they moved downtown specifically to take the DART to the American Airlines Center for games. "Downtown is losing the anchors that drive activity and economic growth," another resident said.

Dallas leadership on downtown departures

Dallas City Council members did not comment on the downtown departures during the morning part of today's meetings.

However, FOX 4's Steven Dial did speak to Councilmember Jaime Resendez on Wednesday, who said the Mavs' departure saddened him for Downtown Dallas.

"We have to continue to find ways to maximize opportunities here in the central business district," Resendez said. "So that is what I’ll keep doing."

Jaime Resendez

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson released a statement after the Stars' Tuesday announcement saying, "Downtown Dallas must change."

The news this week belies the fact that Dallas continues to thrive. But it also underscores another fundamental fact: Downtown Dallas must change. We must put aside the penny-ante politics, act like the major league city that drives this booming region’s economy, and assert ourselves in this competition with our neighbors.

Dallas City Hall repairs

We did learn more about potential repairs to Dallas City Hall, the original subject of today's meeting.

Experts from two different firms presented options to Dallas City Council that ranged from $530 million to $610 million. Those costs are strictly for repairs and not potential upgrades to the building.

The newest estimates are less than the $1.4 billion estimate to keep the iconic building from February, but more than AECOM's $304 million baseline repair estimate presented in May.

The latter estimate included a 10-year plan for repairs.

The Mavs were reportedly interested in the land surrounding Dallas City Hall for a new arena before settling on the Valley View Mall site location.

Dallas City Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn wore a Mavericks T-shirt to a March meeting due to the continued discussion about the team during discussions about City Hall's future.

Downtown Dallas' business future

Dig deeper:

Dial also spoke to Darrell Hurmis, the Executive Vice President of Henry S. Miller with years of real estate experience, about the downtown departures.

Hurmis pointed to the number of residents of these companies that don't actually live in Downtown Dallas as a major reason for leaving.

"I think what you're seeing in Dallas is [companies] moving more to where their employment base lives, which in a lot of cases is out north. They don't have as many downtown employees."

Darrell Hurmis

Despite the headlines about companies leaving downtown, Hurmis said Downtown Dallas is still an attractive place for businesses to set up shop.

"What they are failing to talk about is the migration to downtown now, like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, and the new convention center," Hurmis continued. "There is so much going on downtown that, to me, it overrides it."