By Patrick Cleary ’24, Sports Editor
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is selling a stake in the team for $3.5 billion. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Last month, the NBA approved the sale of a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks for $3.5 billion. The sale was made by Mark Cuban to the Adelson and Dumont families. He will now serve as minority owner. Since purchasing the team in 2000, Cuban has become the most high-profile owner in the league. He shuns the traditional owner’s box in favor of a courtside seat that puts him close to the action. There, he has become the most-fined individual in NBA history. He has paid millions for everything from threatening to tank the season on Twitter to claiming the NBA
Manager of Referees, Ed Rush, “wouldn’t be able to manage a Dairy Queen.”
Cuban enjoys the spotlight. It’s why he pays the fines. It is why he has starred on Shark Tank for over a decade. Why is he selling the team? Why is he cashing out with Luka Dončić on his roster? Why is he leaving the table with television revenues expected to triple in the next two years?
It all comes down to one factor: The sports economy is changing. League revenues are typically drawn from ticket sales and merchandise paired with new avenues such as streaming rights. This model is go-
ing away. The new reality is one based on real estate. The stadium is no longer just a venue to watch games. These shifts are why Cuban is bringing in this new ownership group for his beloved Mavericks.
After the sale was approved, Cuban spoke to reporters between shooting baskets on the Mavericks home floor before a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the interview, he repeatedly mentioned the new ownership group’s experience operating casinos. The new owners, the Adelson and Dumont families, made their money building casinos in Las Vegas, opening The Venetian and The Palazzo in 1999 and 2007, respectively.
Cuban could have sold to any number of buyers. He chose the Adelsons and Dumonts because they know how to build. He questioned the ability for the NBA to continue to raise greater sums from broadcasting rights. With cord-cutting on the rise, regional networks that host in-market games have begun to file for bankruptcy. Even mainstays like ESPN and TNT must contend with new players like Apple and Amazon. Along with this, Cuban has long wanted a new arena for the Mavericks. Now, he can expand those ambitions, building an entire district surrounding the stadium with hotels and casinos owned by the team. It is in line with other franchises looking to secure new revenues. Cuban made specific mention of the Golden State Warriors’ arena which opened in 2019. The Chase Center is part of an 11-acre development with offices, shops and public spaces.
It is about increasing the number of uses and calendar dates a venue can be used. An NBA team is only guaranteed 41 home games per year. An NFL team gets eight. Owning real estate and improving the facility means the team can make money even without games. Similar developments include the Green Bay Packers’ Titletown, which opened in 2017 and an $8 billion proposal by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen to build a hotel and casino outside Citi Field.
This is a worldwide trend. La Liga’s FC Barcelona is looking to emerge from financial ruin by building the EspaiBarca redevelopment. The project would expand Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium to 105,000 seats, flanked by a newly built complex with team offices, cafes, team store and other amenities. The point is clear: These projects are here to stay.
It is not just about owning the seat the fan sits in. It is also about owning the hotel they stay the night in and the restaurant they eat at once the game ends. In a way, it is similar to the old model before 24/7 sports media coverage where all that mattered was filling stadiums. With all this said, many may think the ordinary fan shouldn’t care about any of this. Most
support their teams from their couches nowadays. These projects matter because leagues are running out of ways to make money. Outside the MLB, leagues have enjoyed relative labor peace due to the consistent doubling and tripling of television revenue with every new contract. Owners have paid higher wages while players have collected a smaller percentage of revenue.
In 1998, NBA players received 57 percent of league revenue via the collective bargaining process. Nowadays, they clear about 50 percent. NFL players have seen a similar cut. Television contracts kept soaring, so everyone got taken care of financially. That is not a guarantee anymore. Without that golden goose, players and owners could become more combative. Strikes and lockouts will become more commonplace unless these developments are successful. That is what Mark Cuban saw when he sold high on the Mavericks. While it is nice to think about the cool new amenities to enjoy before going to a game, it is certainly worth consider-
ing that the games we love have changed.
