Dallas Stars fans are taking Pride Night into their own hands after the NHL team removed the annual LGBTQ+ celebration from its 2026–27 promotional schedule.
Longtime fan Tori Copeland was among those disappointed by the omission and has now teamed up with fellow fan Jason to organise an unofficial Pride Night during the Stars’ home game against the Buffalo Sabres on 14 November.
The event will benefit Dallas Hope Charities, which supports LGBTQ+ young people experiencing homelessness.
Pride Night Missing For First Time In Five Years
The Stars’ new promotional calendar includes events such as Star Wars Night, Anime Night, Black History Night, Noche Mexicana and Military Appreciation Night.
But Pride Night is absent for the first time in five seasons.
In its place, the team has introduced “Hockey Unites Us: Women In Sports Night” for March 2027.
Stars spokesperson Joe Calvillo said the new Hockey Unites format would allow the organisation to “celebrate and support a different underrepresented community each season”.
The team declined to specifically explain why Pride Night was removed.
For Copeland, the idea that LGBTQ+ inclusion and women’s inclusion should somehow compete for space was particularly frustrating.
She argued that the team could easily support both.
Fans Decide To Do It Themselves
After posting online that she would simply organise her own Pride Night, Copeland quickly found support from other queer and trans Stars fans.
Jason, a trans fan with connections to the organisation, joined the effort and helped turn the idea into a community event.
Their unofficial Pride Night will take place when Dallas hosts Buffalo on 14 November.
Since the plan was announced, supporters have donated tickets and merchandise, drag performers have offered to take part and Dallas lesbian bar Sue Ellen’s has expressed interest in hosting an afterparty.
What began as frustration over a missing theme night has quickly grown into something much bigger.
A Team With A History Of LGBTQ+ Support
The decision has surprised some fans because the Stars have previously been more publicly supportive of LGBTQ+ inclusion than many other Texas sporting organisations.
The team held annual Pride Nights and in 2017 became the first major professional sports team in Texas to publicly oppose proposed legislation restricting which bathrooms transgender people could use.
That history has made the current change feel particularly disappointing for some longtime queer supporters.
Jason described it as feeling like “a betrayal of sorts” from a team he loves.
‘We’re Always Going To Be Here’
For the organisers, however, the fan-led event is not simply about protesting the Stars.
It is also about making queer hockey fans visible and creating the kind of community celebration they still want around the sport.
Other NHL supporters are already taking notice, with fans connected to the Carolina Hurricanes reportedly asking Copeland for advice about organising their own LGBTQ+ event.
Copeland says the response has made the project feel bigger than one hockey team.
And for Jason, the message is simple.
“We’re always going to be here as queer fans,” he said.
If the official Pride Night is gone, the fans are making sure Pride itself isn’t.
