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 Dallas Desperados arena football team used the arena for its 2003 season. The last full-time sports tenant was the MISL Dallas Sidekicks, inactive after fall 2004. 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.

In Their Own Story

The Zamboni had already made its last pass. The ice was smooth and white under the arena lights, and the Zamboni driver was parked at center ice, engine ticking down. Modano stood alone at the blue line, stick dragging a shallow groove across the surface, and the empty seats around him held the ghost of forty thousand voices. He could still hear it—the specific, rolling thunder of a Reunion crowd on a Tuesday night in March, the way the sound bounced off the white walls and came back to you a half-second later, layered, almost like the arena was breathing. He dropped his stick, let it clatter against the boards, and walked toward the tunnel. Behind him, the scoreboard still glowed: STARS 4, OILERS 2. Final. He didn't look back. He never did. The building would be gone in a few years, the ice would be scraped away, the seats hauled out by the truckload. But the groove his stick had left, the faint smell of cold rubber and warm sweat, the particular way the lights caught the ice at that angle—that stayed. That was Reunion. That was the Stars.

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 May 9, 1980, not The Who as widely promoted.
• Reunion Arena was the last NBA or NHL arena built without luxury suites.
• The arena hosted the 1986 NCAA Final Four.
• Barack Obama filled the arena to capacity of 17,000 at a presidential campaign rally on February 20, 2008.