Plano voters rejected Proposition A, the measure that would have let the city levy a package of visitor taxes to help pay for a new Dallas Stars arena in the area of The Shops at Willow Bend, according to unofficial returns released early Wednesday.
In Collin County's count, stamped 1:02 a.m. and covering every one of its 90 vote centers, there were 54,714 votes against the proposition (54.78%) and 45,170 in favor (45.22%). A small slice of Plano lies in Denton County. Its latest update, at 1:40 a.m., had 1,488 for and 1,347 against, with one of the city's two precincts there in.
Together that is 56,061 against and 46,658 for, a gap of about 9,400 votes.
The results are unofficial until the city canvasses the election.
What was on the ballot
Printed under the heading "THIS IS A TAX INCREASE," the proposition sought approval for a venue project: a multipurpose arena for professional or amateur sports, entertainment and civic events. To finance it, the city could have imposed any of five taxes, according to the county's sample ballot:
- a tax of up to 5% on short-term car rentals in the city
- a parking tax of up to $3 per vehicle for events at the arena
- an admissions tax of up to 10% of each ticket price
- a facility use tax of up to $5,000 per game on each member of a major league team playing there
- a citywide hotel occupancy tax of up to 2%, which would have put Plano's combined hotel tax at a maximum of 15%
The two sides
City leaders had estimated the taxes could raise $700 million to $900 million and said Plano's contribution to the arena would be capped at $700 million, FOX 4 reported Tuesday night. Mayor John Muns and Stars President and CEO Brad Alberts argued that the taxes would fall mostly on visitors rather than residents, the station reported.
