North Texas Performing Arts Forced Out of Plano Mall, Seeks New Home

North Texas Performing Arts, the nonprofit that has operated the Willow Bend Center of the Arts inside The Shops at Willow Bend for more than three decades, has been told it must leave the Plano mall within the year as redevelopment plans take shape for the property at West Park Boulevard and the North Dallas Tollway.

The organization posted a statement to its website acknowledging the displacement directly. "North Texas Performing Arts is working proactively as redevelopment plans emerge for The Shops at Willow Bend, including the possibility of a new professional sports arena," the statement reads. "We have been requested to make plans to leave the Shops at Willow Bend to make way for this redevelopment."

Darrell Rodenbaugh, CEO of NTPA, told The Dallas Morning News that the mall's landlord delivered the news in a meeting a few weeks ago. In a YouTube message posted to the organization's channel, Rodenbaugh addressed the challenge publicly: "While this is a major change for us and it creates some very real challenges, we want to do everything we can to work cooperatively and constructively to support this redevelopment plan." Plans now call for the group to relocate outside the property within the year, Rodenbaugh said.

Centennial, the mall's co-owner and operator, declined to comment.

The Willow Bend Center of the Arts occupies what was once vacant retail space on the mall's second floor near Dillard's, converted into theaters and rehearsal studios. NTPA's Plano location, which serves as the organization's flagship and headquarters, has operated there since 1991 and has welcomed what the nonprofit describes as millions of students, patrons, members, and sponsors over that span. The organization serves youth ages 5 to 18 through classes, camps, productions, and workshops.

NTPA is not the only tenant navigating disruption at the mall. Crayola Experience, another anchor attraction at The Shops at Willow Bend, has closed temporarily again, according to reporting from The Dallas Morning News. The mall has drawn sustained public speculation about its future as a possible site for a professional hockey arena, with local coverage repeatedly connecting the property to the Dallas Stars, though no official confirmation of any arena plans has been made public.

NTPA's search for a new permanent home is now underway. Families and students currently enrolled in NTPA programs can reach the organization at 972-422-2575 or customerservice@ntpa.org. The organization's Plano Summer Camps 2026 programming is still listed as active on its website, leaving open questions about how the relocation timeline will affect upcoming programming and the thousands of young performers who call the Willow Bend stage their home.