Plano holds first meeting since Stars arena tax rejection

The Plano City Council met for the first time since residents voted against a venue tax to partially fund the new Stars Arena. The taxes would have applied primarily to people visiting Plano, not Plano residents specifically. The Dallas Stars want to build a new arena on the current site of the Willow Bend Mall, but some have been very vocal about their concerns about the project and the traffic they think it might create. Fox 4's Amelia Jones was at tonight's meeting and has more. Amelia. Hi there, Heather and Steve. Some using the momentum of that vote failing coming into tonight's city council meeting. Here's a look at the signs they held up during it. And then as city council members were leaving the meeting tonight, this has sort of become a slogan for the Stop the Stars Arena Pack group. They chanted this puck. No. Again, as members were leaving the meeting tonight, those who spoke during public comment highlighted Plano voters rejection of the proposal to help pay for the arena. Proposition A would have allowed the city to tax mainly visitors, but with 55% against it, it failed on Election Day. The Stop the Stars PAC handed out signs for those who are against the new arena, and they were held up during public comment for council members to see. Ahead of Election Day, the city made it clear that even if the vote failed, that would not stop the project from moving forward. There were several tonight who spoke in support of the project moving forward, but those against believe the election results should hold more weight on the decision. They don't want to subsidize a new hockey arena for the Stars' billionaire owner. One would think that'd be enough for their voices to finally be acknowledged, yet here they are with visual aids to boot just to make sure you don't ignore them yet again. This is the best thing we can do there. Find the funding, look everywhere you can. This is a good thing for Plano. It's good for you. It's good for the citizens. It's good for the whole city of Plano. We need this. Plano City officials directed us to the statement made after election day in which the city manager said Plano would need to reassess its financing plans for the arena before considering any actions. Meanwhile, the Stars said in a statement the organization is still looking forward to partnering with Plano and bringing the city owned arena project to life. Last week, Fox 4 reported that Dallas City Council members, several of them are interested in talking with the Stars about what it would take to keep them downtown. The Stars are The organization would not comment on whether or not they are in talks with Dallas.