Reunion Arena: Dallas' Beloved Downtown Sports Palace

In downtown Dallas, in the shadow of the Reunion Tower, there was an arena that served the city for over two decades. Reunion Arena wasn't the biggest or the most glamorous venue in Texas. But for Dallas sports fans and concertgoers, it was home.

The Arena

Reunion Arena opened in 1980 adjacent to Reunion Tower on the western edge of downtown Dallas. It seated around 17,000 for basketball and became the home of the Dallas Mavericks from their founding in 1980, and later the Dallas Stars when the Minnesota North Stars relocated to Texas in 1993.

The arena was a product of Dallas' ambitions in the late 1970s — a city that was growing rapidly and wanted the sports and entertainment infrastructure to match. Reunion Arena delivered, hosting not just the Mavericks and Stars but a steady stream of major concerts and events that made it one of the busiest venues in the Southwest.

The Teams

The Mavericks' early years at Reunion Arena were lean — the team struggled through much of the 1980s before beginning the long rebuild that would eventually produce a championship. The Stars, by contrast, arrived in Dallas already competitive and won the Stanley Cup in 1999, bringing the city its first major professional sports championship. The celebration at Reunion Arena that night was one of the great moments in Dallas sports history.

The End

Reunion Arena closed in 2001 when the American Airlines Center opened in the Victory Park neighborhood. It was demolished in 2009. The site is now a parking lot — a familiar fate for beloved arenas.

The Reunion Arena Dallas Retro T-shirt, Baseball Tee, Cap, and Sticker are for Mavs fans, Stars fans, and everyone who was there. Find them in the Dallas collection.