Rick Welts: “There’s no project to talk about” until the Dallas City Council acts. He also said the team’s arena plans would not include a casino.
By Devyani Chhetri
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
Azul Sordo / Staff Photographer
Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts says there is no deal, no project and no leverage tied to Dallas City Hall’s fate, and the team is not driving the debate over whether to repair or abandon the aging building.
“There’s no project to talk about until the city would signal to us that there’s something to talk about,” Welts told The Dallas Morning News in an exclusive interview Monday at the team’s Design District headquarters.
The “dominoes will fall based on what is being decided there,” he said. “And that will determine if there’s an opportunity” for the city and the Mavericks to engage and talk about it, “but that hasn’t happened yet.”
Welts spoke hours after residents and some City Council members questioned whether the speed in hashing out City Hall’s future is tied to potential negotiations with the NBA team.
Council members will vote Wednesday on whether to direct staff to seek redevelopment proposals for the site and search for new locations for emergency service call centers.
Business interests favor relocating City Hall, using that prime real estate to propel development downtown. Preservationists say the building remains a civic landmark and should be repaired rather than demolished.
Welts said city officials are aware the team wants to stay in Dallas and wants to begin crystallizing the whereabouts of a new home starting in July. The Mavericks are scheduled to leave American Airlines Center after their lease ends in 2031.
“We’re 100 percent focused on Dallas until we can’t be,” Welts said. “I hate to even go there, because we hope we never have to talk about it.”
He acknowledged the City Hall decision could affect the team’s site calculus.
“It may tip the scales a little bit in terms of the site and what we’re able to do and how much land we’re able to put together,” he said. “Kind of have to wait and see.”
No gambling
Welts also dismissed concerns raised at the council’s Economic Development Committee meeting Monday that a downtown arena could open a pathway to gambling because of ownership ties to Las Vegas Sands Corp., whose chairman Patrick Dumont also serves as governor of the NBA team.
Welts described the Mavericks and Sands Corp. as “completely different” and said, “There’s absolutely no plans whatsoever for any traditional gaming element in this.”
Beyond the arena, Welts shared fresh details about the entertainment district the team is envisioning with its next home. That includes:
- An arena next to the team’s new headquarters and training facility.
- A connected hotel allowing players and performers direct arena access.
- Player-focused design features, such as larger beds and higher ceilings.
Welts said the next move belongs to City Hall.
Mavs, City Hall and what’s next
- No deal, no project: Mavericks CEO Rick Welts said the team is not driving the debate on relocating City Hall. “There’s no project to talk about until the city would signal to us.” The “dominoes will fall” based on the City Council’s decision.
- Dallas, for now: The Mavericks want to crystallize a new home starting in July and their lease ends in 2031. “We’re 100 percent focused on Dallas until we can’t be.” City Hall’s fate could “tip the scales.”
- No gambling: Welts said the Mavericks and Las Vegas Sands are “completely different” and there are “absolutely no plans whatsoever for any traditional gaming element in this.”
Before joining the Dallas Morning News, Devyani Chhetri covered South Carolina politics and presidential primaries at the Greenville News. She went to Boston University for graduate school.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
