I was recently interviewed in The New York Times for an article on Mark Cuban's sale of a controlling interest in the Mavericks, and partnership for a new arena, casino, and real estate development with Las Vegas Sands.
To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/business/dallas-mavericks-sale-mark-cuban.html?searchResultPosition=1
Beyond what made it into the article, I shared my thoughts that Cuban felt the asset was overvalued based upon questionably sustainable broadcast revenues, and this was a good time to cash out to position himself at the center of the next major revenue driver: gambling. With Las Vegas Sands as a partner, there was an obvious resort development and gambling play, and there had to be some confidence that the state legislature would eventually make this possible in Dallas, and they'd be able to assemble the land necessary for the vision.
The Mavs already reside in what was originally Ross Perot Jr.'s ambitious vision for an arena-focused entertainment district, Victory Park. Unlike the Stars ownership, who are real estate developers invested in land near the American Airlines Center, when Cuban bought the Mavs, he saw the surrounding development as little more than a hindrance to fan parking access. Now, having seen many major league peers create valuable new neighborhoods around their venues, Cuban probably wants to imitate what has worked, have the ownership control he doesn't have in Victory Park, and push it to a new level with casino and resort integration.
The Victory Park development in Dallas
I previously wrote about Victory Park and real estate development/subsidies related to the American Airlines Center:
Does the Arena Matter: Comparing redevelopment outcomes in central Dallas tax increment financing districts. Land Use Policy.
Pyrrhic Victory: Tax Increment Financing, "But For," and Developer Capture in the Dallas Arena District. Marquette Sports Law Review.
This is part of a larger trend toward team-driven real estate development around sport venues. The venue has to be a sufficiently compelling experience to compete with other options, whether that's live broadcast or highlight videos on social media. Then there's a related opportunity in creating a team-controlled destination surrounding the venue that can diversify activity and revenue streams beyond gameday, and more plausibly sell the value proposition for public subsidies as regenerative urban development to increasingly skeptical politicians and voters. This development focus also provides a potential solution to the challenge for clubs and governments of capturing new sport betting revenues, which can perhaps be best done through direct partnerships with major gaming and resort companies for integrated online, casino, and in-venue gambling.
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