Their lease at the American Airlines Center expires in 2031 Mavericks would like to move to the new arena in the 2031/32 season, but there is no timetable yet for when the construction of the new building can begin, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic. Like the Mavs look at former Valley View Mall location, Team Leader Patrick Dumont made it clear to Clark that his priority was to build a new arena within the city limits of Dallas.
“The most important thing is that the Dallas Mavericks will stay in the city of Dallas.” – said Dumont. “That’s our goal. That’s what we want to happen. But we just need a new home. We need a home for the next 40 years that can really represent our city. Be big in Texas. And be able to give our fans the highest level of experience we can get in an NBA-only arena.”
As chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, Dumont has a wealth of experience with resorts and casinos, so it’s long been expected that he wants Texas lawmakers to loosen the state’s gambling laws so he can build a casino-resort near the Mavs’ new arena. However, he says that’s not the plan, even if gambling laws change in the coming years.
“I think a lot of people are thinking, ‘Gosh, if you’re going to build a home for the Mavs, aren’t you going to build a casino next to it?’ Dumont told Clark. “The answer is ‘No.’ There is not enough space to build what we want to build. They will not fit. And they’re on a different timeline anyway. … I said years ago that I dreamed of doing both side by side. Unfortunately, time or available real estate in the area we want to be in doesn’t seem to make it possible. We’ll have to think about those two separately, which is fine.”
Here are some more highlights from Dumont’s conversation with Clarke:
- Dumont noted that he fully trusts Masai Ujirivision of the franchise, telling Clarke that the two men share “shared values” of morality, hard work and responsibility. Explaining why he gave Udira the boon to replace Coach Mouse Jason Kiddwho was extended in 2025 and still had four years left on his contract, Dumont replied, “I support what the Maasai want to do. I think it’s really important. There’s no daylight between us.”
- Former majority owner of the Mavericks Mark Cuban talked about regretting who he sold the team to, and started a lawsuit in July against the Dumont and Adelson families earlier throwing off his suit in August. However, in his interview with The Athletic, Dumont hit the road, telling Clark that he considers Cubin a “great family friend” despite the recent history. “He’s the most passionate Mavs fan I’ve ever met.” – said Dumont. “I hope we can make him proud.” Dumont, who has the option to buy up to 20% of Cubin’s remaining 27% stake in the Mavs through the end of 2027, confirmed that his group plans to go that route and increase its ownership stake.
- Describing himself as a “patient” man, Dumont said he’s looking forward to evaluating the Mavericks’ roster over the course of next season and hinted that he’s in no rush to trade veterans such as Kyrie Irving to build around the reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg. “I believe in creating things with time” – he said. “That’s how you make them consistent, and that’s how you make them durable. I’m very excited about the future of this team. You’ve got Cooper. You’ve got Kyrie. We’ve got a bunch of young players who are aggressive and motivated. They want to win.”
