By Dorothy J. Gentry
Sports Editor
Photo: Dorothy J. Gentry
When Mark Cuban told his children that he was no longer the majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, his kids asked a series of questions:
“Will we still have the same tickets? Will we still have the same seats?” Cuban’s response: “Yeah.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told him: “You know I can still fine you for screaming at the refs,” (something Cuban has been famous for over his 23 years of ownership and has been fined millions for.) Cuban’s response: “Yeah.”
“The only thing that changes really is I don’t get to go to the NBA Board of Governors meetings except when the alternate governors go and I’m fine with that, trust me. I wasn’t going to a lot of them as it was.”
Despite his notion that ‘things won’t change,’ the fact is things HAVE changed as, with the turn of the new year, the true face of the Mavs franchise is no longer in control.
On Wednesday morning, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale of the team to the Adelson and Dumont families out of Las Vegas.
Controlling interest in the Mavs now belongs to Dr. Miriam Adelson, and Sivian and Patrick Dumont. Adelson is the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Patrick Dumont, Adelson’s son-in-law and president and chief operating officer of the Las Vegas Sands company, will serve as the Mavericks governor (formerly called owner) – a post Cuban held since purchasing the team in 2000. Dumont now has a 73% stake of the team; Cuban is now the alternative governor with a 27% stake in the team.
Adelson is the largest shareholder of the Las Vegas Sands Casino.
Cuban Speaks:
Hours after the NBA Board of Governors approved the sale, the 65-year-old Cuban was on the court of the American Airlines Center in shorts and a smile, taking part in his usual pregame shooting session before the team played.
“Nothing’s really changed except my bank account,” Cuban said smiling in reference to the reported $3.5 billion sale. “I feel really good. I think it’s a great partnership. It’s what the team needed on the court and off.”
Cuban confirmed that his now 27% minority ownership stake in the Mavs includes a deal for him to continue running the franchise’s basketball operations. He acknowledged that there is “no contractual language” in the agreement regarding his authority over basketball operations and that ultimately Dumont would have “final say” as the team’s governor.
“I’ll still be overseeing the basketball side of it but having a partner like Patrick and Sivan and Miriam and their ability to build and to redevelop the arena and whatever comes next beyond that, just puts us in a much better position to compete. That’s all. That’s what it comes down to,” Cuban told the group of reports assembled at AAC.
In a prepared statement Dumont said: “We are honored to be the new majority owners of the Dallas Mavericks and part of the NBA family. We appreciate the faith the NBA and its Board of Governors have placed in us. Our family loves basketball, and we plan to display our passion for the sport by owning and investing in a world-class basketball organization that wins games and proudly represents its community.”
“We look forward to working in partnership with Mark Cuban as stewards of this great franchise and bringing another NBA championship to the city of Dallas. We are committed to the long-term success of the Mavericks and delivering a world-class hospitality experience for our fans, players, employees, sponsors and partners,” he said.
Cuban does not expect Patrick Dumont to be heavily involved in basketball personnel decisions.
“He basically said, ‘Just do what you got to do. I want to win,’” Cuban said about Dumont. “I mean, financially, we’re in a far better position this afternoon than we were yesterday afternoon to be able to compete like that. So having the partnership and having eventually new and deeper revenue sources allows us to compete better. I talked to Patrick a lot and Miriam and Sivan, and they’re committed to winning.”
Cuban has said that while he runs the basketball operations of the Mavs, he expects the Dumonts and the Adelson to focus on the business of the franchise. This includes the long-term vision of building a destination resort/hotel/arena and casino. When asked by reporters, Cuban said the arena would be built in the Dallas city limits. There have been reports that land in Irving has been purchased by the new owners.
Gambling isn’t legal in Texas and resistance is high in the Texas Legislature. Cuban said he would be “as active as I need to be” in lobbying to get gambling legalized in the state.
“I think it’s the right thing for the state of Texas,” Cuban said, citing the economic benefits and jobs a casino could bring. “Could you imagine building the Venetian in Dallas, Texas? That would be insane. That would just change everything.”
As he reflects on the sale of the team and what role he will still play, Cuban saw it as a given that he would continue running basketball operations and called it a necessary part of the deal.
“I know what I’m good at. When I first bought the team, I knew more about the technology and the internet and all the streaming and everything than anybody else in the NBA. And so I had a real advantage there. Now all of that, 23, 24 years later, that’s not the advantage anymore,” he said.
“The advantage is what can you build and where? And you need to have somebody who’s really, really, really good at that. And Patrick and Miriam, they’re the best in the world at what they do — literally around the world. And so when you get a world-class partner who can come in and grow your revenue base, so you’re not dependent on the things that you were in the past, that’s a huge win.”
Cuban summed it all up with these words: “They’re not basketball people. I’m not real estate people. That’s why I did it. I could have gotten more money selling it to somebody else, even though obviously I’m really excited about everything. But this is a great partnership. I’ve known these guys for a long time. They’re great at the things I’m not good at.”
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