Mavericks’ Dumont Talks Arena, Ujiri, Cuban, More

With their lease at American Airlines Center set to expire in 2031, the Mavericks would like to move into a new arena for the 2031/32 season, but there’s still no timeline for when construction might begin on a new building, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic. As the Mavs look into the former site of the Valley View Mall, team governor Patrick Dumont made it clear to Clark that his priority is to build the new arena within Dallas city limits.

“The most important thing is that the Dallas Mavericks are going to stay in the city of Dallas,” Dumont said. “That is our goal. That is what we want to have happen. But we just need a new home. We need a home for the next 40 years that can really represent our city. Be Texas big. And have the ability to show our fans the top level of experience that we can have at an NBA-only arena.”

As the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, Dumont has an extensive background operating resorts and casinos, so there has long been an expectation that he wants Texas lawmakers to relax the state’s gambling laws so he build a casino-resort destination alongside the Mavs’ new arena. However, he says that’s not the plan, even if the laws related to gambling change in the coming years.

“I think a lot of people think, ‘Gee, if you build a home for the Mavs, won’t you build a casino next to it?'” Dumont told Clark. “The answer is, ‘No.’ To build what we want to build, there is not enough space. They won’t fit. And they are on a different timeline anyway. … I said many years back, it was my dream to do both next to each other. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the timing or the available real estate in the area we want to be in makes it possible. We are going to have to think about the two separately, which is OK.”

Here are a few more highlights from Dumont’s conversation with Clark:

• Dumont indicated he has complete confidence in Masai Ujiri’s vision for the franchise, telling Clark that the two men hold “shared values” related to morality, hard work, and accountability. Explaining why he gave Ujiri the go-ahead to replace Mavs coach Jason Kidd, who was extended in 2025 and still had four years left on his contract, Dumont replied, “I support what Masai wants to do. I believe that’s really important. There is no daylight between us.”
• Former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban has spoken about regretting who he sold the team to, and took legal action in July against the Dumont and Adelson families before dropping the suit in August. However, Dumont took the high road in his interview with The Athletic, telling Clark that he considers Cuban a “great family friend” despite that recent history. “He is the most passionate Mavs fan I’ve ever met,” Dumont said. “I hope we can do him proud.” Dumont, who has the ability to buy up to 20% of Cuban’s remaining 27% stake in the Mavs before the end of 2027, confirmed that his group plans to take that route and increase its ownership stake.
• Describing himself as a “patient” person, Dumont said he’s looking forward to assessing the Mavericks’ roster during the coming season and implied that he isn’t in any rush to trade veterans like Kyrie Irving in order to build around reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg. “I believe in building things over time,” he said. “That’s how you make them resilient, and that’s how you make them durable. I’m very excited for the future of this team. You have Cooper. You have Kyrie. We have a bunch of young players who are aggressive and motivated. They want to win.”