Mavericks suing Stars is another step in new arena campaign

The Dallas Stars moved their headquarters from Dallas, Texas, to Plano in 2003. 22 years later, the Dallas Mavericks are suing them for breach of contract.

On Tuesday, the Mavericks and their new owners, the Adelson family, filed a petition asking the court to formalize their actions from October 2024, when they seized the Stars' half of the company that operates the American Airlines Center, the arena the teams have shared since 2001. The Mavs have withheld the Stars' share of the arena proceeds since then, holding the money in escrow.

Mavericks ownership change has inspired new animosity

Mark Cuban sold his controlling interest in the Mavericks in November 2023 to Miriam Adelson, the widow of Sheldon Adelson and the 44th-richest person in the world. Adelson's son-in-law, Patrick Dumont, took over from Cuban as Mavericks team governor, and then endorsed the unpopular trade that sent franchise icon Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The debate stems from a disputed plan between the Stars, Mavericks and the city of Dallas in which the city and the NBA team would fund $300M in renovations to the AAC, which would require the Stars to extend their lease from 2031 to 2061, while the Mavericks would move into a new NBA arena.

The Mavericks and the city claim the Stars agreed. The Stars say they didn't. As a result, the Mavericks responded to the collapse of the deal by purchasing the Stars' half of the arena company for $110. That's not $110M; that's one hundred ten dollars.

Both teams want renovations, but mostly new arenas

While both teams have six seasons remaining on their leases, they're eager to get new homes, ideally with taxpayer assistance. The city and the teams would like to upgrade the AAC to enhance the fan experience and extend its useful life after the teams' departures.

The Stars have discussed moving to other Texas cities, including a $1B arena proposal in Plano, 25 miles north of Dallas. The Mavericks want a basketball-only arena in Dallas.

The appeal of these new buildings isn't just having a more modern facility than the 24-year-old AAC. It's the potential for controlling real estate around the new buildings, like housing, retail stores and restaurants. There's also the rumored plan that the Adelson family, owner of many casinos, hopes to develop an arena in conjunction with a casino, should Texas legalize gambling.

That could be a tough sell for Texas voters, but the Adelson family hasn't hesitated to spend on its political interests. Miriam Adelson donated $100M to Donald Trump's presidential campaign last fall, while Newsweek reported that the family made $524M in political donations from 2010 to 2020. Adelson has reportedly given over $3.2M to a pro-gambling candidate for state Senate.

A new arena would be lucrative for the Mavericks and their new owners — a casino even more so. The Mavericks didn't hesitate to strong-arm their NHL counterpart. They likely won't hesitate to use financial and political pressure to get a new building as well.