Mavericks CEO Rick Welts says the team still wants a downtown arena, but with no land, no talks with City Hall and no design, the project remains in its earliest stages.
The updates came during an interview with former Mayor Tom Leppert and Kyle Waldrep on the Intersections podcast released online this week. Among the highlights:
Land constraint
Welts said the team needs roughly 50 acres, and “right now there aren’t 50 acres available downtown,” a limitation that effectively narrows the field for any urban site.
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While he reiterated that downtown would be ideal, he emphasized it “is not the only place in Dallas we can build,” keeping options outside the core in play.
The team previously has identified the former Valley View Mall site as a possibility. The Mavs lease on their current home, American Airlines Center, runs through 2031.
Former Valley View Mall site seen on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
No deal, no design
For all the attention on a potential City Hall redevelopment, Welts said the Mavericks have not even begun substantive talks with the city.
“We haven’t even been able to talk to the city about what that deal would look like,” he said, adding that the arena itself has not yet been designed, another sign the effort is still conceptual.
Mixed-use ideas
Welts described a broader mixed-use vision for any 50-acre site, anchored by a new arena, team headquarters and a practice facility.
Beyond that, he pointed to other elements tied to the development, including a training complex that “probably would include a medical facility run by a medical company you’re very familiar with.”
He also cited interest from Live Nation in building a 4,000- to 5,000-seat venue and in having a four-star hotel connected to the arena so performers and players could move between the two without leaving the building.
Aerial view of Dallas City Hall (right) and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Dallas
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
Why downtown
Welts said dense, urban locations deliver the greatest payoff, saying such projects “are incredibly successful in a dense environment” and can serve as a catalyst for surrounding development.
But he also signaled urgency, noting “time is not on our side.” He said that while a downtown site like City Hall is “a very viable option,” the team has no control over it and cannot negotiate unless it becomes available.
From staff reports