By Rohini Gopal and Kamira Venable
Correspondents
Texas Metro News
The City Council Chamber was packed for Wednesday’s meeting as several citizens, including Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, spoke on the impending move of the Dallas MAVS and Stars.
“The people that matter to downtown Dallas are the residents; the working people of Dallas, they need us to thrive,” said Brenda Gurumorthy, a high school math teacher, who said many advocates of Dallas were disappointed with the City Council’s “mishandling” of the Dallas Mavericks and Stars efforts to secure a new home.
The Dallas Mavericks recently announced plans to pursue a new arena and entertainment district at the former Valley View Mall site in North Dallas.
One advocate suggested that this change was inevitable. Muhammad Abdullum, a community leader and member of Masjid Al-Islam, the oldest mosque in North Texas, said, “We are now bearing the fruit of seeds that were planted years ago. Our concerns have been ignored until the consequences became impossible to ignore. So the question is ‘what do we do now?’ Dallas can’t move forward divided. Can this council come together over the next year and can you unite us on a bigger vision? Can you restore public trust, because Dallas deserves better?”
The city of Dallas leaders have voiced their concerns and opinions on the matter. The Mavericks’ relocation directly affects the revenue of the city, which shifts the economic focus of Dallas.
Prior to Wednesdays City Council Meeting, Mayor Eric Johnson and City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert released a joint statement, “The Dallas Mavericks’ ownership has informed the City that it has signed an option agreement for 104 acres at the former Valley View Mall site for a potential new arena. We applaud the Dallas Mavericks organization for its continued commitment to our city. We will continue working with the Dallas Mavericks throughout this process and will do everything we can to support the team’s enduring partnership with Dallas.”
While Dallas is trying to “better” or even “clean up the city,” Abdullum reminded City councilmembers that there is no overlooking pushing homeless people out of sight and he emphasized how the cleaning up Dallas won’t happen by hiding the homeless.
Sonia Syed, spoke on the catastrophic economic loss caused by the Mavericks moving to Plano. The president of the Farmers Market Stakeholders Association and a downtown Dallas resident, Syed said, “There are people who drive those catalyst developments that don’t want to come to Dallas. They are willing to sacrifice all of Dallas for one building.”
Sonia Syed asked the city council, “What is the plan for the repairs, for this building that apparently will be the last thing left of downtown.”
She ended her presentation expressing a desire to see the council make immediate decisions rather than “dragging” the situation out. From these Dallas advocates, and numerous others voicing their opinion and concerns they are hopeful for change.
Rhohini Gopal is a rising senior at Ursuline Academy. She graduates in the Spring of 2027 She is interning with Texas Metro News and hopes to one day work as a broadcast journalist.
Kamira Venable is a 2026 Journalism and Communications graduate of Morgan State University. She will spend the next year as a Texas Metro News Fellow.
