{"id":686201,"date":"2026-03-27T19:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T19:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/686201\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T19:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T19:36:18","slug":"city-approached-team-over-a-year-ago-about-moving-out-of-city-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/686201\/","title":{"rendered":"City approached team \u2018over a year ago\u2019 about moving out of City Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dallas Mavericks<\/a> CEO Rick Welts said Friday morning that Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert first approached the Mavericks \u201cover a year ago\u201d about City Hall likely being an available site for the Mavericks\u2019 new arena and entertainment district.<\/p>\n

\u201cCity Manager Tolbert came to us and said, \u2018Look, I\u2019ve got to move out of City Hall. I can\u2019t afford to operate what we do in that building going forward for the taxpayers,\u2019\u201d Welts said during a sports economic panel hosted by the Greater Dallas Planning Council. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we said, \u2018OK, you know that doesn\u2019t have anything to do with us, but at some point in time, you\u2019ll tell us what\u2019s available, and then we can sit down and have a conversation about it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Tolbert responded Friday with the same statement she gave Monday to Dallas Morning News city columnist Robert Wilonsky, who initiated discussions about City Hall being a potential location for the Mavericks\u2019 new home.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSince being named Interim Dallas City Manager and subsequently appointed to the permanent role, I have met with representatives of the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars regarding their futures in Dallas. These discussions have included the teams\u2019 need for a modern fan-friendly arena experience,\u201d she said in the statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegarding discussions about the future of city hall, the Dallas City Council directed me to explore options, including the disposition of the City Hall site. It is our practice not to negotiate in the media.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Fair and transparent\u2019<\/p>\n

Council member Adam Bazaldua said Friday it was as if the city created \u201ca problem in order to furnish a solution, to help the Mavericks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I have been adamant about searching for the truth,\u201d Bazaldua said. He said the process has lacked transparency, and \u201ceven the biggest voices in support of justifying this process and being fair and transparent have lied to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Bazaldua and five other council members pushed city officials to revisit cost estimates and present a detailed plan to compare the cost of repair versus relocation. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about nostalgia of a building. This isn\u2019t about a conspiracy theory. This is about a clear, predetermined outcome, and a process that was flawed and was not afforded the proper public input opportunity,\u201d Bazaldua said.<\/p>\n

Council member Paul Ridley called Welts\u2019 comments \u201calarming,\u201d noting that it was the first time he\u2019d heard the city manager admit that Dallas couldn\u2019t afford to operate City Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut to have said that a year ago to a sports team executive without authorization from the City Council, to put City Hall on the market, is just astounding,\u201d said Ridley, who represents the downtown area where American Airlines Center sits. \u201cIt clearly exceeded her authority and she should publicly explain herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ridley said the discussion with Welts about the City Hall site felt like information that had been intentionally kept from the City Council, especially given the public meetings held since last fall about the building\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cResidents of Dallas had a reason to be suspicious about this process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Council member Bill Roth declined to comment.<\/p>\n

The News reached out by phone, email and text to all 14 council members and the mayor for comment.<\/p>\n

Council member Bill Roth declined to comment. Council member Jaime Resendez said he had no information about Welts\u2019 statements Friday. \u201cI don\u2019t want to speculate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Build this in Dallas\u2019<\/p>\n

As the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 pursuit of a new arena ramps up, Welts pledged to build the best NBA arena in history and reaffirmed that the franchise will do everything possible to build its new home in Dallas.<\/p>\n

\u201cDallas is what\u2019s really important,\u201d Welts said during the hourlong panel, which also included Dallas Wings CEO and managing partner Greg Bibb and took place at Park City Club. \u201cTake away anything from today, our commitment is to do everything in our power to build this in Dallas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mavericks plan to move into a new arena when their lease with American Airlines Center expires in 2031. They have narrowed their focus for the new arena to two locations: the 110-acre former home of Valley View and downtown Dallas. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not up to us to decide whether City Hall is available or not,\u201d Welts said. \u201cIt definitely would inform the design. … But we\u2019re waiting for the city. It\u2019s up to the city to decide what\u2019s in the best interest of Dallas taxpayers going forward in terms of the future that building. And we\u2019ll proceed off of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recent vote \u2018a big step\u2019<\/p>\n

To date, Welts characterized discussions with the city as \u201cincredibly productive.\u201d And Welts said the City Council\u2019s 9-6 vote on March 5 to approve a resolution to explore options for leaving City Hall was \u201cvery important for us.\u201d <\/p>\n

He explained that the vote enables the Mavericks and the city to formally discuss what the Mavericks\u2019 50-acre entertainment district and arena could look like in the downtown footprint if the city opts to move operations out of the 47-year-old I.M. Pei-designed building.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are now, for the first time, able to actually enter in discussions about what a framework of a deal would look like,\u201d Welts said. \u201cSo that was a big step, a big step in the process. We\u2019re on the clock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welts explained the timeline to open a new arena in 2031, saying about 30 months of construction needs to begin in late 2028. They expect to announce the site of the new arena by July 1.<\/p>\n

The arena will operate about 175 days a year with a variety of events, particularly entertainment and basketball games. Welts expects it to be a prime venue for NCAA Tournament regionals and potentially the Women\u2019s Final Four.<\/p>\n

Welts also outlined his vision for the 50-acre entertainment district. It will include the team\u2019s corporate headquarters, practice facility, restaurants, retail, a 4-star hotel adjacent to the arena and a potential 4,000- to 5,000-seat entertainment venue, with Live Nation already expressing interest in building that. <\/p>\n

The Mavericks\u2019 current partnership with UT Southwestern, the team\u2019s official medical provider, also could expand to the academic medical center partnering in the future training facility and medical complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking to have it anchored by the best NBA facility that\u2019s ever been created,\u201d Welts said. \u201cTo create a facility that will hopefully set a new bar for fan experience as well as player experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welts said the new arena will offer the best premium hospitality experiences, including clubs and social venues. He said the current design of American Airlines Center limits those possibilities and does not cater to the expectations of the modern-day fan. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think if Dallas had it all to go over again, I think there might have been a little bit of a different approach on American Airline Center,\u201d Welts said. \u201cIt does not serve, I think Greg said, the needs or the expectations of a sports fan in 2026 who goes to a professional sporting event. We don\u2019t have any of the hospitality amenities that one would expect in other markets, and I think we\u2019re really looking forward to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff writers Devyani Chhetri and Everton Bailey Jr. contributed to this report. <\/p>\n

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The league\u2019s new collective bargaining agreement will set the 2026 salary cap at $7 million, up from $1.5 million in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts said Friday morning that Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert first approached the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":686202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,64,1596,3139,154718,222,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-686201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-mavericks","12":"tag-rick-welts","13":"tag-sports-business","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116302825902390344","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}