Ask a longtime Frisco resident for directions to the “Dr Pepper StarCenter” and most of them will still know exactly where you mean, even though the sign out front hasn’t said that in years. Names change around here fast — this city adds buildings faster than most people can update their mental map.
The Dr Pepper StarCenter Frisco is the former name of what’s now called Comerica Center, at 2601 Avenue of the Stars — the practice facility, executive offices, and community ice rink for the NHL’s Dallas Stars, and home arena for the Texas Legends NBA G League team. The naming-rights sponsor changed in 2019, but the hockey didn’t: it’s still two NHL-sized ice sheets, still free open practices, still the anchor of youth and adult hockey in North Texas. This guide covers what’s actually there today, using the name most people still search for.
Frisco built its “Sports City USA” reputation on exactly this kind of thing — a pro franchise’s full practice complex sitting open to the public in a suburb of under 250,000 people. If you haven’t seen the rest of what that means, our Frisco TX sports guide covers the full lineup, from the Cowboys’ headquarters to the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate.
| Detail | What to Know |
|---|---|
| Official name today | Comerica Center (formerly Dr Pepper Arena, 2009-2019; Deja Blue Arena, 2003-2008) |
| Address | 2601 Avenue of the Stars, Frisco, TX 75034 — at the Dallas North Tollway and Gaylord Parkway |
| Home teams | Dallas Stars (NHL practice facility), Texas Legends (NBA G League) |
| Arena capacity | Up to 6,000 for concerts, family shows and Legends games |
| Ice sheets | Two NHL-sized rinks (Children’s Health StarCenter Frisco) |
| Dallas Stars practices | Free and open to the public — security screening required |
| Public skating (2026) | Around $17 general admission, free for ages 3 & under, $6 skate rental |
| Texas Legends tickets | Starting around $10 for single games (2026 — check current) |
| Parking | Two on-site 1,000-space garages |
A Quick History: Why It’s Still “Dr Pepper StarCenter” to Half of Frisco
The complex opened in December 2003 as Deja Blue Arena at StarCenter, built as a public-private partnership between the Dallas Stars, the City of Frisco, and Frisco ISD — funded through a mix of tax reinvestment zone financing, hotel-motel tax revenue, and the local economic development corporations. It was one of the first big signals that Frisco was going to build its identity around professional sports, years before The Star or Toyota Stadium existed.
After a major renovation and reopening in June 2009, Dr Pepper Snapple Group picked up the naming rights and the building became Dr Pepper Arena — the name that stuck in local vocabulary for a full decade. When that sponsorship term ended in 2019, Comerica took over naming rights and it’s been Comerica Center since. The community ice rink portion, meanwhile, has its own separate branding now: Children’s Health StarCenter Frisco, part of a network of Dallas Stars-operated rinks scattered across DFW in Euless, Farmers Branch, Mansfield, McKinney, Northlake, Plano, and Richardson. So technically, “StarCenter” now refers to the rink network name, and the arena that used to carry the Dr Pepper name is the whole complex. Confusing, yes — but the address and the hockey haven’t moved.
Why an NHL Team Practices in a Texas Suburb
It sounds like an odd pairing on paper — professional ice hockey, built around a suburb that hits triple digits five months a year — but the Dallas Stars have been in North Texas since 1993, when the franchise relocated from Minnesota (where they’d been the Minnesota North Stars). The team settled its business operations in Dallas proper, but when it came time to build a dedicated, modern practice facility in the early 2000s, Frisco was still mostly ranchland and new subdivisions, hungry for exactly the kind of anchor project a pro sports partnership could deliver. The city, the school district, and the team struck a deal, and Comerica Center — under whatever name it carried that decade — became one of the first dominoes in Frisco’s transformation into what it now calls itself: Sports City USA.
The ripple effect is still visible today. Texas has one of the fastest-growing youth hockey populations in the country, and a meaningful chunk of that growth traces directly back to Frisco having NHL-caliber ice available to families who’d otherwise have to drive to Dallas proper or further. Kids who grew up skating at what was then Dr Pepper Arena have gone on to play college and even pro hockey — a strange but real legacy for a city best known nationally for football and baseball.
Watching the Dallas Stars Practice — Free
This is the detail that surprises people who don’t already know it: Dallas Stars practices at Comerica Center are open to the public and free. You’re not watching from a distant upper bowl seat either — the practice rink puts you close to NHL players doing genuine on-ice work, not a scripted media event. It’s the same relationship Frisco built with the Cowboys at The Star, just on ice instead of turf, and honestly a lot less crowded most days.
Practice schedules shift week to week around the Stars’ road trips and game calendar, so check the team’s official practice schedule before driving over — there’s no guarantee on any given weekday, and the team occasionally closes a session for internal reasons. Expect a security screening at the ice rink entrance; bags get checked, same as most professional sports facilities post-2020.
What you actually see: players running drills, goalies facing shooting lines, coaches barking corrections you can hear from the glass — none of the choreographed polish of a game broadcast, which is exactly the appeal. Bring the kids on a weekday morning during the school year and you’ll often find a thin crowd, mostly retirees and a handful of die-hards, which means real proximity to the players and, occasionally, a stick tossed into the stands or a moment to get an autograph as the team heads to the locker room. It’s the kind of low-key access that a lot of NHL cities simply don’t offer.
Texas Legends Basketball at Comerica Center
The arena side of the building — the part that used to be purely “Dr Pepper Arena” before the ice rinks got their own StarCenter branding — is home to the Texas Legends, the NBA G League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. It’s a genuinely good, low-pressure way to see professional-caliber basketball without Dallas prices: single-game tickets start around $10 for the 2025-26 season, occasionally dipping lower on resale platforms for less marquee matchups. The Legends run kids’ zones on both ends of the court and in-game activities aimed squarely at families, which fits the same family-friendly programming philosophy you’ll find at Riders games across town.
Season runs roughly November through April, mirroring the broader G League calendar, with the exact home schedule posted on the team’s site each fall. If you’re building a winter trip around Frisco sports and want a lower-cost night out than an NHL or NFL ticket, the Legends are the move — you’ll often get closer seats for less money than you’d pay for parking at an American Airlines Center Mavericks game.
The atmosphere leans casual and loud in a good way — G League crowds tend to be smaller than top-tier pro sports, which means kids can actually see the court from most seats and the between-quarter promotions (t-shirt tosses, mascot bits, halftime contests pulled from the stands) feel closer and more participatory than the big-arena version. It’s also a legitimate basketball-development stop: the Legends exist specifically to develop players and coaches for the Mavericks organization, so you’re occasionally watching a future NBA rotation player or coach a season or two before the call-up. Worth knowing if you like being able to say “I saw him when.”
Public Skating, Lessons & Kids Programs
Beyond watching pros, Comerica Center’s ice rinks run a full slate of programs for anyone who actually wants to skate — from first-timers to competitive youth hockey players.
Public Skating Sessions
Public skating is open to all ages and skill levels, with sessions scheduled throughout the week (check the current calendar, since times shift seasonally). General admission runs around $17, kids 3 and under skate free, and rental skates run about $6. Never skated before? Beginner sessions include “bucket zones” — the walker-style props that keep first-timers upright — typically available on Friday evenings, weekends, and specialty-themed sessions. Group rates apply for parties of 10 or more, dropping to roughly $17-$21 per person depending on group size, but you need to book those in advance to get the discount.
Learn to Skate & Hockey Lessons
For kids and adults who want actual instruction rather than just open-ice time, Learn to Skate classes run around $18 per class when registered in advance, and skaters get free rental skates on class day — a nice touch that saves you the rental fee stacking on top of the lesson cost. There’s typically a sibling discount for families registering more than one kid together. From there, the program ladders up into the Dallas Stars’ broader youth hockey system — Little Rookies for ages 4-8, Junior Rookies for 9-14, and the girls-specific Victory Green league, all feeding into travel and rec programs as skills develop.
Figure Skating Academy
The rink also runs a Figure Skating Academy and free trial sessions for anyone curious about the sport before committing to lessons — useful if you’ve got a kid who’s watched too much Olympic figure skating and wants to try it themselves. Freestyle sessions are available for skaters already working on jumps and spins outside of formal class time.
Youth & Adult Hockey Leagues
Frisco’s ice hockey scene runs deeper than most people expect from a Texas suburb. The Dallas Stars Minor Hockey League (DSMHL) organizes youth travel and rec hockey across every age bracket, and there’s a full adult league structure too — the Stars Senior Hockey League (SSHL) for adult rec players and the Dallas Stars Women’s Hockey League (DSWHL) for adult women’s teams. If you grew up playing hockey somewhere colder and assumed that chapter of your life ended when you moved to Texas, it didn’t — you’ll find leagues, pickup sessions, and camps running nearly year-round.
Camps and clinics run through school breaks and summer, structured similarly to what you’d find at a hockey academy up north — half-day and full-day options, skill-level grouping, and off-ice training mixed with ice time. There’s also an adaptive sports program for players with disabilities, which is worth knowing about if a standard league setup isn’t the right fit for your family. None of this is small-scale hobby stuff; Frisco genuinely functions as one of the hubs of organized hockey in the entire state.
Birthday Parties, Ice Rentals & Group Events
Comerica Center’s ice rinks book birthday parties year-round — a genuinely different party venue than the usual Frisco bounce-house circuit, and a memorable one if your kid’s into hockey or figure skating at all. Typical packages bundle ice time, skate rentals, a party host, and a reserved space for cake and gifts, similar in structure to what you’d get at a bowling alley or trampoline park, just on skates instead. Booking ahead matters more here than at most party venues, since ice time is a genuinely limited resource shared between public sessions, lessons, and league play.
Ice rentals are also available for private groups, teams, and events outside of standard programming hours, and there’s a “Zam Fan Experience” package for the truly hockey-obsessed that lets fans ride along on the Zamboni during ice resurfacing — a small, weird, delightful thing that’s exactly the kind of access this facility is known for.
Planning Your Visit: Parking, Getting There, What to Bring
Getting there: Comerica Center sits right at the intersection of the Dallas North Tollway and Gaylord Parkway, a couple of minutes from The Star and Stonebriar Centre, which makes it easy to stack with other Frisco sports and shopping stops in a single day. If you’re coming from outside DFW, check our guide to getting to Frisco TX for the airport and highway options.
Parking: Two 1,000-space garages sit on-site, so unlike some Frisco venues you’re not hunting for overflow lots on event nights. Parking is typically free for practices and public skating; check current rates for ticketed Legends games and concerts, which sometimes carry an event parking fee.
What to bring: If you’re there for public skating, dress in layers — rinks run cold regardless of the Texas heat outside, and gloves make a real difference for first-timers who’ll be hitting the ice a lot. If you’re watching a Stars practice or a Legends game, standard arena rules apply: expect a bag check at the door, and check the venue’s current policy on outside food and drink before you pack a cooler.
Best time to go: Stars practices cluster during the regular season (October through April, with gaps during long road trips), so if watching the team is the goal, plan your Frisco trip inside that window. Public skating and lessons run essentially year-round, making the rink one of the better indoor, air-conditioned options in Frisco during the brutal July and August stretch — worth knowing if you’re building a summer visit and need an indoor backup plan.
Food nearby: Comerica Center itself runs standard arena concessions for Legends games and events, nothing you’d plan a meal around. The real advantage is location — you’re a few minutes from the restaurant density around Stonebriar Centre and The Star District, both of which have far better options than anything inside the venue. Grab a proper meal on either side of your visit rather than counting on concessions to carry you.
Accessibility: As a modern, purpose-built sports complex, Comerica Center meets standard ADA accessibility expectations — accessible seating, elevators, and accessible parking near the entrances. If you have specific accessibility needs, it’s worth a quick call to the front desk ahead of a Legends game or public skate to confirm current arrangements, especially for wheelchair seating at ticketed events.
Pairing It With the Rest of Frisco’s Sports Scene
Comerica Center is one stop in a genuinely unusual concentration of professional sports infrastructure. A few minutes away sits The Star, the Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters and practice facility, and Toyota Stadium, home of FC Dallas and the National Soccer Hall of Fame. On the baseball side, Dr Pepper Ballpark hosts the Frisco RoughRiders, the Texas Rangers’ Double-A affiliate, from April through September. If you’re stacking a multi-day sports trip, all four venues sit within about a 15-minute drive of each other, and a couple are close enough to walk between on a cool day.
For families building a broader itinerary around it, our Frisco TX family vacation guide and Frisco TX vacation planning guide cover where to stay and how to sequence a trip that mixes sports venues with the rest of what the city offers. If you want to stay close to this corner of town specifically, hotels near The Star puts you within a short drive of Comerica Center, Toyota Stadium, and Stonebriar Centre alike, and our broader Frisco TX hotel guide covers options across the rest of the city if you’d rather base yourself elsewhere.
None of this happened by accident. Frisco has spent two decades deliberately courting professional sports franchises as an economic development strategy, and it worked well enough that the city now markets itself nationally around the label. If sports venues are only part of your trip, our full guide to things to do in Frisco TX rounds out the rest — shopping, museums, parks, and the food scene that’s grown up around all these new arenas and stadiums.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dr Pepper StarCenter still the name of the arena in Frisco?
No — the arena has been officially called Comerica Center since 2019, when the naming-rights sponsorship changed. The community ice rinks now carry the separate “Children’s Health StarCenter” branding. Most locals still search for and refer to the complex by its old Dr Pepper name out of habit.
Can you watch the Dallas Stars practice for free at Comerica Center?
Yes. Dallas Stars practices at Comerica Center are open to the public at no charge, though schedules shift with the team’s road trips and can be canceled without much notice. Check the official practice schedule before making a special trip, and expect a security bag check at the rink entrance.
How much does public skating cost at the Frisco StarCenter?
General admission runs around $17 as of 2026, with kids 3 and under free and skate rental about $6 extra. Group rates apply for parties of 10 or more if booked in advance. Prices are set network-wide across the Dallas Stars’ community rinks, so check current pricing before you go.
What sports teams play at Comerica Center?
The Texas Legends, the NBA G League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks, play their home games in the 6,000-seat arena. The Dallas Stars use the complex as their practice facility and executive offices rather than playing regular-season NHL games there — those are played at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Can kids take hockey or figure skating lessons at the Frisco StarCenter?
Yes. The rink runs Learn to Skate classes for beginners (around $18 per class), a full youth hockey ladder from Little Rookies through travel-level teams, girls-specific leagues, and a Figure Skating Academy with free trial sessions for kids curious about the sport.
Is Comerica Center the same building where the Dallas Cowboys play?
No — that’s a different, common mix-up. The Dallas Cowboys are headquartered at The Star, a separate complex a few minutes away that includes their indoor and outdoor practice fields and the Ford Center. Comerica Center is exclusively the Dallas Stars’ and Texas Legends’ facility. Both are worth visiting on the same trip since they’re so close together.
Final Thoughts
Call it Dr Pepper StarCenter or Comerica Center — either way, it’s one of the more accessible pro-sports facilities in North Texas, and one most visitors never think to put on the itinerary next to The Star or the ballpark. Free Stars practices, cheap Legends tickets, and a rink that actually teaches your kid to skate instead of just letting them fall down for an hour: that combination is hard to find outside a city that’s spent two decades deliberately building itself around sports.
