<\/p>\n
Miriam Adelson (left), controlling shareholder of the Las Vegas Sandals Corp., and her son-in-law Mavericks Governor Patrick Dumont (center), remain in the court side during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Shafkat Anowar\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Once it became obvious that a resort\/casino south of downtown wasn\u2019t in the cards, so to speak, it was probably only a matter of time before the\u00a0Mavs<\/a> and Stars<\/a> followed AT&T out of the heart of city. At least the Mavs will still get their mail in Dallas, which is no small thing.<\/p>\n When the dust settles and the Wings move east<\/a>, the city with its name on most of the local uniforms will claim the same number of franchise tenants as Arlington.<\/p>\n And as many as\u00a0Plano<\/a> and Frisco put together.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Maybe Dallas should charge the\u00a0burbs for rent of its name.<\/p>\n Before blaming the Vegas people for the latest desertion from our midst, which we\u2019ll get to in a moment, let me remind you this is Dallas, where, if a problem can be put off until tomorrow, so much the better. Don\u2019t blame Kimberly\u00a0Bizor Tolbert, either. The issue is older than the city manager. All that deferred maintenance at City Hall? Before Texas and Oklahoma threatened to take their ball and go home-and-home, the Cotton Bowl went 50 years without anyone so much as calling Roto-Rooter.<\/p>\n The Dumont\/Adelson family did what\u2019s best for the Mavs in moving to Valley View<\/a>, where they\u2019ll have twice as much room for all their toys. Besides an arena, team headquarters and practice facility, they\u2019re planning a luxury hotel, restaurants, green space and just about anything else a sports baron commands these days to remain in the black.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Plus, the\u00a0Mavs avoid looking like the city blew up City Hall to accommodate their money-grubbing wishes.<\/p>\n Just the same, Patrick Dumont shouldn\u2019t think the move will absolve the owners of blame. The way the locals see it, everything was just fine until Vegas showed up. Next thing you know,\u00a0Luka\u2019s a Laker, American Airlines Center an antique and an I.M. Pei icon in peril.<\/p>\n If the Great Unwashed, as\u00a0Blackie would say, can\u2019t understand all the ins and outs, they know how to use a calendar. Same with Nolan Ryan and the Rangers the second time around. If he was a little late for most of the improvements, his arrival dovetailed nicely with the desired results.<\/p>\n The problem for the Vegas people is they got this in reverse. They\u2019re in drastic need of a token of goodwill.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n As usual, I\u2019m only happy to oblige when it comes to spending someone else\u2019s money. In order to fade a little of the heat they\u2019re feeling, seems to me they ought to pay for all of it, lock, stock and luxury suites. Not like it hasn\u2019t been done before.<\/p>\n Maybe you remember that Rick Welts, the Mavs\u2019 CEO, was hired not only for his Hall-of-Fame acumen as an\u00a0NBA executive but his stewardship of the Chase Center in San Francisco<\/a>, a sparkling model of innovation for a new age. For all its bells and whistles, the most remarkable thing about the $1.4 billion structure might be that not a cent of public money went into it. You read that right. Funded entirely by the owners, loans, corporate partnerships and advance suite sales.<\/p>\n A commitment along those lines would go a long way toward making potential customers feel like they\u2019re not just here to be fleeced. Not to mention it\u2019d make a nice mea culpa.<\/p>\n Because let\u2019s face it, the Vegas people started all this civic hubbub when, first thing out of their mouths, they said American Airlines Center just wouldn\u2019t do.<\/p>\n Now, I\u2019m probably the wrong guy to render judgment, seeing as how I\u2019ve only been to a half dozen or so of the\u00a0NBA\u2019s current arenas. For that matter, I live in a house even older than me. So you could say I\u2019m not constantly seeking the latest in technological advances. A three-pronged outlet is pretty much the extent of my requirements.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Fortunately for your edification, our Brad\u00a0Townsend not only functions as the lone media type in semi-annual contact with the Mavs owners, he\u2019s a continental sort who\u2019s actually visited each of the league\u2019s arenas. He says AAC holds up better than any gym of the same vintage. But, at the same time, it was also built to house both basketball and hockey franchises, making it a dying breed.<\/p>\n The problem with\u00a0AAC \u2014 besides the fact that it has only 105 suites compared with Chase\u2019s 136 and none at floor level, a prime selling point these days \u2014 is that the sight lines favor hockey. Not basketball. The Mavs say they want a more intimate experience for their customers as well as one that better serves their increasingly elevated demands.<\/p>\n Frankly, I think they\u2019d settle for a team that made the playoffs more often than not and didn\u2019t sell off franchise icons in the middle of the night. They still don\u2019t get it, if you\u2019re wondering. The way they see it, sure, dealing\u00a0Luka was a mistake<\/a>, and they\u2019d do it differently if they could. But it was just business. Nothing personal.<\/p>\n As Liam\u00a0Neeson told one of the bad guys in Taken, it was personal to us. \u00a0We\u2019re not likely to get over it any time soon. We can\u2019t be bought off, either. But that\u2019s not to say someone shouldn\u2019t try.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n