Plano said no to the Stars' arena taxes, and Dallas left the light on

The Stars lost a vote in Plano on Tuesday, and the smartest people in Dallas spent Wednesday morning being very polite about it. I'd treat that politeness as the real news.

Plano voters turned down Proposition A, 54.6 percent to 45.4. It would have put new taxes on rental cars and hotel stays, plus higher parking and ticket charges, toward a roughly $1 billion arena inside a $3 billion district where the Shops at Willow Bend mall is coming down. No sales tax, no property tax. It still lost.

What the vote did and didn't kill

File under: Board room.

The vote was on the taxes, not on the building. The city would own the arena and the Stars would lease it for 30 years, with a move-in date of 2031. Plano says the election was one financing option among several, and it's looking at others. A separate tax-increment zone, about $700 million, sits outside this vote.

Mayor John Muns called the Willow Bend plan "an important opportunity for our community." Owner Tom Gaglardi's answer was shorter. "We'll figure it out," he said.

The opposition's pitch was simple, and it worked. "We don't want our tax dollars going to a privately held corporation's arena," said Gary Cary of the PAC that fought it.

The read: Plano isn't dead. It's just more expensive now, and somebody has to decide who eats the difference.

The 2031 clock

Here's why the date matters. The Stars and Mavericks have shared American Airlines Center since 2001, and both leases run out in 2031. The Mavs have their own plan for a former mall site about 10 miles north. The Stars' line all fall has been that they're moving to Plano and done with Dallas.

Dallas didn't get that memo, or chose not to read it. City manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said the Stars "are an important part of our community, and we value our longstanding partnership." Two council members went further: "Plano voters have spoken, and they are not interested in footing the bill for a new Stars arena."

That's a city leaving the porch light on.

The smoke worth watching

Tim Cowlishaw sketched a path back downtown this week. In his telling, the arena's operating committee holds an option to buy American Airlines Center for $1 million, the Mavericks control that right after a lawsuit, and it could end up with the city if Dallas wants to keep the Stars.

He also notes Gaglardi already bought the parking lot west of the building.

I'd grade that Smoke. It's one columnist connecting real pieces, not anyone saying it's in motion. But the pieces are real, and the Mavs leaving would change who the old barn is built for.

What the numbers say

The Stars are 19 points through 15 games, and here's the funny part: they've been better away from the barn they want to leave. They're 4-1 on the road and 5-4 at home, by our count from NHL data. Small sample, and nobody moves an arena over nine home games. It's still a funny thing to be campaigning on.

The read

No team is going anywhere outside North Texas, and nobody serious has said otherwise. This is a fight between two suburbs of the same market and one owner's checkbook.

My call: Plano finds another way to fund at least part of it before the spring, because the Stars spent about $1 million campaigning for it and they don't spend like that on a plan B. If Plano can't, the AAC option goes from smoke to rumbling fast.