Mark Cuban Sues Mavericks Over Locking Him Out Of New Arena Deal

Former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has filed a dispute in Dallas County, Texas, court, alleging that Dallas Mavericks majority owner Patrick Dumont engaged in “adversarial business practices” and is seeking a judge to compel the team's executives to disclose details of the franchise's new arena plans.

The Mavericks had planned to develop a site in North Dallas that housed a shopping mall. The 104-acre site, called Valley View, would include a new arena with a practice facility, along with entertainment plans around it.

Cuban said in the filing that he wants information on "the financing of a new Dallas Mavericks arena at Valley View and the exploration and identification of locations for the new arena, among other things." He also said that he was “contractually entitled to participate” in the Valley View deal.

Cuban, despite selling a majority stake in the Mavericks, still owns 27% of the team, and he claims that he would still be in charge of the basketball operations. The billionaire sold his stake in the team in 2023 to Miriam Adelson and Dumont, who is Adelson's son-in-law. Adelson's husband, Sheldon, who was the founder, former chairman, and CEO of the casino company Las Vegas Sands, died in 2021.

That agreement, according to the petition, was made via a handshake deal. Instead, Cuban claims that Dumont gave Nico Harrison that job. Harrison was fired as general manager in November partly because of bungling of the blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The team has played in the American Airlines Center, located in the Victory Park neighborhood of downtown Dallas, since 2001. The lease of the arena, which also hosts the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars, expires in 2031

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mark Cuban sues Mavericks over locking him out of new arena deal