Mark Cuban Speaks on Details of Mavs Sale, Looks Ahead to 'Great Partnership'
DALLAS — The sale of majority ownership of the Dallas Mavericks to the families of Miriam Adelson and Sivan and Patrick Dumont was officially approved with a 29-0 vote by the NBA Board of Governors, forming what minority owner Mark Cuban views as a "great partnership" as he'll remain focused on basketball operations while maintaining ownership of a 27 percent stake.
The valuation of the Mavs reportedly exceeds $4 billion, with the ultimate vision being to leverage the real estate expertise of the Las Vegas Sands casino company to develop a casino-resort-style arena. With a partner like Miriam Adelson, who has an estimated net worth of $32.8 billion, there will also be a greater outlook for the team to compete as the NBA continues to gain ownership groups with major spending, including some of the world's richest.
"I feel really good. I think it’s a great partnership," Cuban said. "It’s what the team needed on the court and off. I’ll still be overseeing the basketball side of it, but having a partner like Patrick, Sivan, and Miriam and their ability to build and 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 out to."
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The sale agreement does not include language mentioning Cuban's involvement in basketball operations, but he clarified that there wouldn't be a detail included in such documentation. The plan is to partner with people he's known for "a long time," considering he could have sold for a higher amount to someone else.
"No, because you don’t do that in a sale agreement," Cuban said. "No, there’s no contractual (agreement). Like when I came in and bought the Mavs, there were no changes in contracts."
"It’s a partnership, right? They’re not basketball people; I’m not a real estate person. That’s why I did it," Cuban explained. "I could have gotten more money selling it to somebody else. I’m really excited about everything, but this was a great partnership. I’ve known these guys for a long time. They’re great at the things I’m not good at."
In a statement after the approval of the sale, Patrick Dumont expressed how they are looking forward to "working in partnership" with Cuban as they are committed to the success of the Mavs organization.
"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," Patrick Dumont said in a statement. "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."
Cuban's desire for continued influence over the Mavs' basketball operations stems from a continued passion, leveraging knowledge he's gained from multiple decades of being an NBA franchise owner. He continued to express the importance real estate will have in how organizations earn revenue amid uncertainties in the media landscape, referencing the Washington Wizards' plan to relocate from downtown D.C. to the Potomac Yard neighborhood in Alexandria, Virginia. The 70-acre development would be owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, featuring a performing arts center, an esports center, restaurants, retail, conference space, and more. With a "world-class partner" with expertise in real estate, the goal is to do it at an elite level.
"Because it’s what I love to do. But I’m also a realist, and also I’m self-aware. I know what I’m good at," Cuban said. "When I first bought the team, I knew more about the technology and the internet, and all the streaming and everything and everything than anybody else in the NBA. So I had a real advantage there.
"Now all of that, 23, 24 years later, that’s not the advantage anymore. Now you see what other teams are doing. You saw what the Wizards just did. The advantage is ‘What can you build and where?’ You need somebody that’s really, really, really good at that. And Patrick and Miriam are the best, literally, in the world.
"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 you weren’t in the past? That’s a huge win. And good people. They’re committed to Dallas. They’re committed to winning. They’ve got great hearts. I’ve known them forever."
While Cuban made public comments stating his intent to not sale majority ownership in the Mavs, he expressed how his sentiment about the idea changed based on a continually changing sports business landscape. The advantages that were held in media no longer exist, prompting the goal to shift toward eventually developing a casino and a destination resort but to do so with the right partners.
"It changed," Cuban said. "Media companies are going out of business. Or they’re consolidating. That world is changing. And so what went from an advantage was not so much an advantage anymore. . . .
"And I started talking about a casino and destination resort two or three years ago," Cuban explained. "And I knew, and I told you guys then, I wasn’t gonna be the one to build it. It makes sense; if someone’s going to come in as a partner and invest potentially billions of dollars, they will want equity."
In terms of how the basketball aspect of the Mavs benefits from the enhanced focus on real estate investment in such a capacity as everyone involved aspires to accomplish, simply having a greater spending capability is the main driver. Again, Cuban's bet is that long term, real estate will be at the forefront of the value of how NBA franchises will generate revenue.
"It’s another basic revenue that wasn’t there before," Cuban said. "I’ve never really focused on that side of things at all. The business side was the business side as long as we were decent. Cynt has done a great job. And I was happy. Losing money was like a part of the drill, but it just changed. When your largest revenue source goes away (laughs), and you guys know how the media landscape has changed,
"To able to get the best of both worlds with a great partner, it just doesn’t come along all the time. It’s better to be ahead of it than to be behind the curve."
It's been rumored that Irving will be the home of the Mavs' next arena, with research suggesting 100 acres of land was purchased by the Las Vegas Sands Corp. located on 2615 Spur 482, northeast of Texas Stadium that has since been demolished,
Cuban responded when asked if the new arena will be built in Dallas, "For sure."
However, will the new arena be in Dallas city limits? "Dallas proper," Cuban answered.
Adelson expressed through a statement after the sale's approval how they are looking forward to engaging with the local community in "Dallas and the greater DFW area," while engaging in a "meaningful way."
"The state of Texas has always been friendly to our family, and we look forward to being able to repay that kindness. I am excited to spend time cheering on the team and getting to meet members of its passionate fan base," Adelson said in a statement. "Everywhere we have a business presence, our top priority has been to empower our team members and engage with the local community in a meaningful way. I very much look forward to bringing that same commitment to Dallas and the greater DFW area."
Regarding personnel decisions, whether hiring or firing a coach or signing a free agent, Cuban says he will maintain the power to make them.
"Yeah, unless we want to go hire somebody that costs a couple hundred million dollars a year, yeah," Cuban said.
With Patrick Dumont being the Governor of the Mavs instead of Cuban, some have questioned if, at some point, the new majority ownership could decide to strip the power to operate basketball operations if they are not satisfied. Cuban stated that Dumont would have the "final say" but is confident they'd work it out.
"It’s like anything they’d have final say, for sure," Cuban said. "He’s the governor. (But I have a contracting job, and I get a salary.) So I’m sure we would work it out.
Regarding the messaging conveyed by the new majority ownership to Cuban, they are willing to spend whatever is necessary to make the right basketball moves, with the big-picture goal being the development of a new arena.
"They’ve basically just said, ‘Do what you’ve got to do. I want a new arena.’ Financially, we’re in a far better position as of this afternoon than we were yesterday afternoon to be able to compete like that. What did someone say about being a middle-class billionaire? Those are facts in this day and age. It really matters. Having the partnership and having eventually new and deeper revenue sources allows us to be better."
When asked if he's still a middle-class billionaire, Cuban used an analogy he commonly uses on ABC's Shark Tank: it's better to own a smaller percentage of a bigger asset than it is to own a larger percentage of a smaller asset. The calculation made is the valuation of the Mavs will be much more valuable after the real estate plans come to fruition without sacrificing commitment to staying in Dallas.
"Relatively speaking, yeah. But I still own 27 percent [of the Mavericks]," Cuban said. "And those of you who watch Shark Tank on Friday nights on ABC know that I say all the time that, for this particular case, 27 percent of a watermelon is a whole lot better than 27% of a grape. And so I think the value of the asset went up significantly.
"Again, from the fan side, it’s a huge plus. They’re committed to the city. ... It’s not like, ‘OK, we’ll see what happens.’ I came in [in 2000]. I wanted to be a basketball person. That’s not them," Cuban explained. "I wanted to be the tech guy and I raised hell, technology, changing all that. That’s not them. Their version of impact is going to be creating that destination that hopefully changes tourism in Dallas and Texas forever. I mean, that’s a huge impact. Being part of an organization like that, that gives you a foundation financially.
"If you look at the teams that spend the most money right now, it’s not because of their media deals," Cuban explained further. "It’s because of their real estate empires that they’ve built ... And I have no knowledge in that at all. It’s been hard enough learning the pharmacy and basketball business, let alone trying to learn real estate as well."
When asked how active Cuban will be in helping to get gambling legalized in Texas, he admitted that sports betting doesn't interest him much. However, he envisions such an outcome as being a positive for the state. Regardless, a development emblematic of The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas but in Dallas is the goal.
"Because I think it’s the right thing for the state of Texas. You know, honestly, I don’t care so much about sports betting. That really doesn’t interest me."
"I don’t want to speak for Miriam and Patrick. I’ll let them speak for themselves," Cuban said. "But if you look at destination-resort-casinos, the casino part is tiny relative to the whole destination aspect. Can you imagine building The Venetian [Resort] in Dallas, Texas? That would be insane. I think that type of impact is equivalent to what we tried to do with technology back in 2000, about 24 years ago."
Cuban doesn't feel emotional about selling majority ownership since the experience he'll have with continued involvement in the team won't change, meaning he will continue to attend games in the same fashion he always has with his kids. The main difference is being unable to attend NBA Board of Governors meetings.
"Not really. My kids were like, ‘Will we still have the same tickets?’ Yeah. ‘Same seats.’ Yeah. Adam [Silver] was like, ‘You know I can still fine you for screaming at the refs.’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ The only thing that changes, really, is I don’t get to go to the Board of Governors meeting except when the alternate governors go, and I’m fine with that, trust me, because I wasn’t going through a lot of them as it was."
In terms of what the new majority owners are like, Cuban explained how he doesn't anticipate Miriam coming to many games but said they likely will attend a game sometime in January. He conveyed how they are "good people with good hearts."
"Miriam probably won’t be here as much, but Patrick and Sivan are just really good people with good hearts," Cuban said. "They’ve got young kids that love basketball, so you’ll see their kids running around just like you saw my kids running around when they came to games. Good family. Good people. I’m excited for the partnership."
When asked to compare if his vision was to maintain majority ownership generationally similar to how Jerry Jones has done with the Dallas Cowboys, Cuban explained the difference being how, due to the present age of his children, the timeline wouldn't add up until he's possibly 85 years old when they are in a position to take have involvement in the management of a team.
"It’s different, right? If you look at the age of my kids — 14, 17, and 20 — and I’m 65. I know I look 25 and act 15, but I’m 65. Just do the math. If it takes 20 years for one of them to really learn or any of them know if they really want to do it. And then if they decide they don’t want to do it, and all of a sudden I’m 85 years old? And my kids decide they want to do better things, then what?
"So I wanted to get ahead of it," Cuban explained. "If I would have had kids 20 years earlier, like Jerry did, then it might have been different. But the math is math. And so like I said, I’m self-aware, and I don’t want to be in a position where I look back, ‘Woulda, coulda, shoulda. But now it’s just like if you get to pick the partnership that you needed and wanted?"
How was Cuban notified of the sale being approved?: "I looked at my bank statement," he joked.
