Reunion Arena

Lore & Background

Reunion Arena was completed in 1980 at a cost of US $27 million. It was named for the early mid-19th century commune, La Reunion. It was the last NBA or NHL arena built without luxury suites and the last NHL arena to use an American Sign and Indicator scoreboard. The scoreboard's color matrix messageboards were replaced in 1991 with Sony Jumbotron video screens.

The arena hosted the Dallas Mavericks from 1980 to 2001 and the Dallas Stars from 1993 to 2001, both moving to the American Airlines Center in 2001. The last full-time sports tenant was the original MISL Dallas Sidekicks, which folded in 2004 (a new team of the same name played in the PASL from 2009 to 2017). It also hosted the WCT Tennis Tournament, the Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament (1982–1983 and 1985–1996), the 1986 NCAA Final Four, World Class Championship Wrestling, and WWE events.

Notable political events included speeches by Ronald Reagan, Ross Perot, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

Reader's Guide

Reunion Arena was located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. It was a multi-purpose venue used for sports, concerts, and political rallies. The arena's capacity was 17,000 for hockey and 18,190 for basketball. It was demolished in November 2009 and the site cleared by the end of that year. The site is now scheduled to become apartments.

Did You Know?

• The first musical act to perform at Reunion Arena was Parliament-Funkadelic on April 29, 1980, two days after the arena opened with a Dallas Symphony Orchestra concert on April 28, 1980.
• Barack Obama filled the arena to capacity of 16,914 at a presidential campaign rally on February 20, 2008.