Are the Dallas Mavericks narrowing down potential sites for a new basketball-specific arena? Sort of, but Mavericks CEO Rick Welts stressed to The Dallas Morning News that a decision is far from imminent.
Late Monday, Bloomberg TV, citing its interview with Welts earlier in the day, reported that the Mavericks are looking at two unspecified sites for the arena and entertainment complex. Both sites, Welts said, are within Dallas city limits.
But when reached by The News, Welts said his comments to Bloomberg should not be construed to mean that potential arena sites have been narrowed to two.
“What I said was we have been presented several sites by the city and we are doing a deeper dive on two of them currently to see how viable they are,” he said. “Neither may work and we may refocus on others.”
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In late May, Welts told The News that the city of Dallas had suggested multiple potential sites, but that the Mavericks had asked the city to look at additional sites, adding, “The process is going to go on, I would guess, for months. But, no, we’re not like on the 10-yard line.”
Welts has told The News that the Mavericks are looking for a site that consists of 30 to 50 acres. Although the Mavericks say they intend to fulfill their American Airlines Center lease, which expires in the summer of 2031, Welts has set a goal of selecting a new arena site by late 2025 or early 2026.
Earlier this year, real estate experts who spoke with The News offered several potential locations, including near the Dallas convention center project; the former Valley View Center site; and the current Dallas County jail.
Related:If the Mavs stay in Dallas, where could they go?
On Tuesday morning the Mavericks announced the hiring of Ethan Casson, 51, as team president.
Casson told The News that he will report to Welts and oversee most of the franchise’s day-to-day business operations, enabling Welts to focus on “macro-level strategic initiatives,” including the new arena and entertainment district.
Casson, however, also has extensive sports venue experience that will benefit the Mavericks franchise in the larger picture.
Casson was the Minnesota Timberwolves’ CEO of nine years, ending last month when the franchise underwent an ownership change. He oversaw the $150 million makeover of Target Center in 2016-17 that revitalized not only the franchise, but downtown Minneapolis.
And as a San Francisco 49ers executive from 2010-16, Casson played an extensive role in the building and development of Levi’s Stadium, which opened in 2014 and hosted the Super Bowl in February 2016.
It was Casson who negotiated the 49ers’ 20-year, $220 million stadium naming-rights agreement with Levi Strauss & Co.
Clearly Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont strongly considered Casson’s venue background — as was the case when Dumont hired Welts in late December 2024, citing Welts’ seven-year shepherding of San Francisco’s $1.4 billion Chase Center, which opened in 2019.
“I love how aggressive and transparent Patrick and Rick have been about the not what-if, but when,” Casson told The News about Dallas’ arena plans.
“This isn’t a pie in the sky,” he said. “This isn’t a hypothetical. This is, ‘Hey, we are going to do this.’ This is going to be one of the most transformative projects in the world, and it’s going to be for Dallas and for the Mavs fans.
“I love that. Put a stake in the ground. Let’s go.”
Dallas Mavericks name former Timberwolves, 49ers executive Ethan Casson as team president
He will report to Mavericks CEO Rick Welts and oversee much of the franchise’s day-to-day business operations.
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Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.