Dallas Mavericks Seeking Arena Site Within City Limits

The Dallas Mavericks are moving “full speed ahead” on plans for a new arena, and the team is pledging to stay within the city limits.

Team leadership says a site needs to be identified before the end of the year to keep the timeline on track. Mavericks CEO Rick Welts said the team is committed to staying in Dallas, despite speculation about its resort site in Irving, the Dallas Business Journal reported.

The team has been in talks with city leaders, including Mayor Eric Johnson and City Manager Kimberly Tolbert, about locking down a site in time to open an arena by the 2031–2032 NBA season, when the team’s lease at the American Airlines Center expires.

“That may sound like a long time to you. It’s not,” Welts said. “We’re on the clock.”

No location has been disclosed nor discounted, but Welts said the team is seeking 30 to 50 acres within city boundaries for the venue and an adjacent entertainment district. Dallas officials are helping scout possible sites, he said.

Welts, who previously oversaw the development of the $1.4 billion Chase Center in San Francisco during his time with the Golden State Warriors, said the Mavericks are leaning toward a basketball-only facility as the “best option” following the trend of the league’s newest arenas.

The arena development has been linked to a potential casino-entertainment complex near the site of the former Texas Stadium in Irving being pushed by the Mavericks’ majority owner Las Vegas Sands.

Last month, the Irving City Council approved zoning for a scaled-down version of Sands’ resort project near the former Texas Stadium site without the casino or nightclub originally pitched. Gambling is illegal in Texas, though the approved plan keeps the door open for future zoning amendments if statewide legalization ever moves forward.

The Mavericks share the American Airlines Center with the Dallas Stars NHL team, whose lease also ends in 2031. Stars CEO Brad Alberts recently said the hockey team’s future home will depend on how the Mavericks’ plans unfold.

For the Mavericks, the arena push is part of a broader reset. The team’s leadership has dealt with the retirement of longtime CEO Cynt Marshall and fallout from the Luka Dončić trade earlier this year.

— Judah Duke