Texas youth hockey has become a lucrative enterprise, largely dominated by the Dallas Stars, whose monopolistic control over ice rinks has profoundly impacted young athletes and their families, transforming a community good into a for-profit venture. This investigation delves into how the Dallas Stars leveraged their influence to build an expansive ice empire, effectively dictating the terms of play for aspiring hockey players across the region.
The extent of this sports monopoly became starkly clear to Bry, then president of the Frisco Ice Hockey Association. After her club dismissed two coaches based on poor feedback, the Dallas Stars allegedly threatened to deny ice access, demonstrating their immense power over local youth hockey organizations. This incident underscored a troubling pattern: the Stars’ willingness to exert control over personnel matters, even if it meant holding children’s ability to play hostage.
Unlike other major professional sports leagues, a few NHL teams are deeply embedded in their regions’ youth sports ecosystems, with the Dallas Stars being a prime example. For decades, the Stars systematically acquired or developed nearly all ice facilities in North Texas, often with significant taxpayer investment. This strategic acquisition of ice rink control allowed them to consolidate power, effectively stifling competition and transforming amateur hockey into a highly profitable segment of their operations.
By monopolizing ice access, the Stars forced independent rinks out of business, leaving few alternatives for local teams. This lack of competition enabled the Stars to steadily increase ice rental fees for travel clubs and reduce practice hours, as revealed by financial disclosures. Families like Kat Pierce’s found themselves spending upwards of $30,000 annually on hockey expenses, with a significant portion going towards the rising costs imposed by the Stars’ controlled facilities, exemplifying the broader trend of youth sports commercialization.
The Stars’ dominance extends beyond just ice rental. They took over the operations of local high school hockey clubs, stripping them of autonomy in setting fees, hiring coaches, and securing sponsorships. They also excluded teams from non-Stars-run rinks from their leagues, fracturing once-community-wide activities and effectively controlling the pathways for Texas hockey players to advance. This absolute ice rink control meant that clubs and parents had little recourse, as the Stars held the keys to the only available playing surfaces.
The investigation also uncovered the Stars’ significant influence within the Texas Amateur Hockey Association, the regional governing body. Until recently, Stars employees held key voting board seats, raising concerns about conflicts of interest. Furthermore, the Stars’ “stay-to-play” tournament requirements, forcing families to book specific hotels, exemplify potential anti-competitive conduct in violation of antitrust laws, further cementing their sports monopoly over the entire youth hockey landscape.
The growing frustration among parents, coaches, and club leaders has sparked a movement for change. After an extensive investigation by USA TODAY brought these practices to light, several travel clubs withdrew from the Dallas Stars Travel Hockey League, forming the independent Texas Hockey League. This new league represents a significant effort to push back against the Stars’ less inclusive practices and foster a more equitable and accessible environment for Texas hockey players.
