The Dallas Mavericks had reportedly been in discussions for months and were nearing a self-imposed deadline before deciding on the former Valley View Mall location to plan the team's new arena.
The Dallas Mavericks are building the front office from the ground up with new president Masai Ujiri taking over all basketball operations and hiring a new head coach ahead of next season.
The new leadership will likely build the roster under their vision, as well, but having a generational talent like Cooper Flagg in the fold is certainly a head start in basketball-related rebuilding talks.
And now, the organization is building it's future residence from the ground up. Literally.
This week, the team announced that it has chosen a location in North Dallas as the site for a new arena, corporate office and entertainment district. The spot used to house the Valley View Mall, but since its demolition in 2023, has gone largely abandoned.
There are multiple factors to consider with such a move, and the Mavs were never going to make everyone happy. I would say most die-hard MFFLs would've preferred the team to stay in Downtown Dallas, but the months leading up to this decision told us that the Mavericks' legal battle with their American Airlines Center co-tenant, the Dallas Stars, was going to lead to a complicated renovation project.
The Mavs have been in or around Downtown since the franchise's inception in 1980. The team's original home, the site of now-demolished Reunion Arena, was a consideration for this move. As was the Dallas City Hall real estate, though that would've also been a major intercity construction effort, with sentimental value and legacy plaguing decision-makers and residents alike.
So, they are starting anew. What is there to like?
"It's in Dallas, first of all, and that's first and foremost," said minority owner Mark Cuban. He seemed to have a surprised tone when hearing the breaking news live on The Haymaker Network with radiomen Ben Rogers and Jeff "Skin" Wade, but that's a topic for another day.
"People know Valley View and how to get there," Cuban added. "[Interstate] 635 is right there. They'll have to do some work to improve the access, which they will.
"It'll be great for the community there. ... I guess now that [team executives Patrick Dumont and Rick Welts are] not doing a casino, then that's more than enough space. I think that's a great choice."
Cuban is referencing the Mavs' statement regarding the proposed idea for a new entertainment district, which the team said no longer focuses including an attached casino and/or sportsbook. The state government has been uncooperative in majority owners Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont's rallying for gambling legalization statewide.
With regards to the traffic, Cuban's acknowledgement of the necessity for improvements is crucial. That Preston Road area - near where three highways converge onto a condense suburban area - is already a madhouse for traffic. The construction efforts and future traffic on gamedays is expected by many to be a nightmare unless major reinforcements are done.
Whether it's connecting a DART line to that neighborhood, streamlining highway connectivity, or simply being smart with the flow of traffic in and around the new arena, this issue won't be easily fixed.
The popular Galleria Mall is also nearby. Surely, Flagg's Mavs will host a Christmas Day game or two once the new arena is open. I can't imagine how hectic that area will be in the holiday months.
NBA reporter and Mavs correspondent Marc Stein believes the new building will be ready in time for the team to move in as their lease on the AAC expires in the summer of 2031. Stein thinks the new location will be ready for the 2031-32 season (though that's the latest possible option, considering the lease).
That means five more seasons in Downtown for the Mavs. For the meantime, Cuban is giving it a thumbs up.
I'm confident many Mavs fans will need more news on whether they begin to come around to the ideas for the team's new home.
