Dallas Mavericks Eye New Arena Spot In Downtown Or Along I-635
The Dallas Mavericks plan to move either north or south for their new home.
Mavs CEO Rick Welts said the team has two options for its new arena: the 110-acre site of the former Valley View Center mall or Downtown Dallas. The Valley View site is along Interstate 635 next to Preston Road, while the current site of Dallas City Hall is a leading contender among the downtown options, The Dallas Morning News reported.
While Welts had previously said the team would announce the location of its new arena by the end of the first quarter, he revised that timeline to after the end of the NBA season. Once the site is secured, he said the team wants to open the new arena in 2031 when its lease at the American Airlines Center expires.
"Sounds like a long time, but for a 50-acre mixed-use entertainment district, an arena, public gathering places — we’re on the clock," Welts said to the DMN.
In November, Anthem Development broke ground on the mixed-use Premier at Dallas Midtown, the first project in the Valley View site’s long-awaited redevelopment. The six-story project will include 296 luxury multifamily units and 13.5K SF of ground-floor retail on 4 acres.
Beck Ventures CEO Scott Beck, who owns most of the Valley View site, told Bisnow in November that an arena for the Mavs would work with the zoning already in place at the property.
Years of deferred maintenance at Dallas City Hall have inflated repair estimates for the nearly 50-year-old building to between $152M and $345M. The Dallas City Council is awaiting assessments on the viability of repairing the I.M. Pei-designed building or moving out and tearing it down for redevelopment.
Another downtown option for the Mavs’ arena could be near the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, which is in the middle of a $3.7B redevelopment.
The Mavs are also in a legal battle with the Dallas Stars over the American Airlines Center. Both teams' arena leases expire at the facility in 2031, and each franchise has discussed moving to a new location in the region.
The Stars reportedly favor building a $1B arena at the site of The Shops at Willow Bend mall in Plano. A new arena would need less than a quarter of Willow Bend’s 90 acres, The Retail Connection co-founder and President Alan Shor said during Bisnow's DFW Executive Market Kickoff 2026 event last week.
That means the remaining 70 acres could be used for development opportunities and an entertainment district similar to what Welts mentioned for the Mavs.
Mixed-use entertainment districts have become increasingly common around the homes of professional sports franchises. The Dallas Cowboys blazed that path a decade ago with its 91-acre mixed-use development, The Star in Frisco, which draws 7 million visitors per year.
