Under plan, StarCenter would grow to host concerts, graduations

12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, September 27, 2007
By KARIN SHAW ANDERSON / The Dallas Morning News ksanderson@dallasnews.com

Frisco city and school leaders were treated to an all-star sports lineup Wednesday night as two private groups pitched proposals to provide the school district and city with a shared special events arena. In the end, officials meeting at Frisco City Hall decided to pursue negotiations for a plan calling for expansion of the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Frisco.

Jim Lites, president of the Dallas Stars, brought Dallas Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson to tout Mr. Lites' concept of expanding the StarCenter to accommodate concerts and school graduations. His plan would include adding a parking garage, renovating the entire sports complex and bringing roughly 2,300 seats into an expanded space planned by the architectural team that designed the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. The project would cost roughly $36 million.

Mr. Nelson said the NBA would announce in October a decision to bring a development league to Frisco if the StarCenter is expanded as suggested.

Later in the evening, David Weinreb, chairman and CEO of the Dallas-based TPMC Realty Corporation, stacked his bench with Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith and Lisa Leslie Lockwood, a former WNBA player.

Mr. Weinreb had hoped to build an 8,500-seat arena that would be the anchor to a multi-use development called Frisco City, which would include a hotel and residential, retail, entertainment and office space on the southwest corner of the Dallas North Tollway and Main Street. The arena had an estimated price tag of $50 million.

It was unclear if the plan would go forward without the arena. Ms. Lockwood had hinted that the WNBA is looking to bring a team to the area and said players would invest time in educational programs with the school district. Mr. Weinreb said a minor league hockey team might have located in Frisco had his concept been chosen.

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