Mark Cuban 'All In' on Mavs Despite Majority Stake Sale, Aiming for Dallas 'Tourism Destination'
Unless something unforeseen happens in the future, no percentage of Dallas Mavericks ownership will affect Mark Cuban's involvement with the franchise he bought in 2000.
Cuban sold a majority stake of the Mavs to the Adelson and Dumont family in December. Cuban still owns a 27-percent stake in the Mavericks, and in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, he said he's still very much involved with them.
"I'm still actively involved in the basketball side,” Cuban told PEOPLE. “I'm all in on the Mavs still. You'll see me at games yelling and screaming at the refs, yelling and screaming for the Mavs. So that hasn't changed at all.”
Mark Cuban.
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With Cuban no longer completely in control of the Mavericks, his focus has turned elsewhere, as he said he's prioritizing turning Dallas into a destination for tourists. Those plans include potentially building a casino and other attractions that will make fans want to travel to Dallas and have seeing the Mavericks play among their many activities when they're in town.
“Just imagine a Venetian next to the convention center in Dallas. That would change everything,” Cuban said. “And imagine how, if you think about your friends from outside of Texas, there's not really that one thing that they say, ‘You know what? I'm saving up my money to come to Dallas for A, B, or C.'"
Adding more attractions surrounding the Dallas area can lead to more revenue for Cuban and the new majority ownership. The Mavericks were fifth in revenue last season, making $429 million, according to Statista. If there are more things to draw the casual fan, the Mavericks' value can increase even more.
"We're not really a tourism destination at this point," Cuban said. "And so I think casino resort gaming would turn Dallas and whatever locations replicated in Texas into probably one of the top three tourist destinations in the country. And so I think it makes sense to happen.”
With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Dallas also has one of the best duos in basketball and can be one of the best teams in basketball when everything is clicking, which naturally garners plenty of attention. If Cuban can turn Dallas into a destination for tourists, it'll draw even more fans and turn the Mavs into an even bigger brand, which would be a win for all involved as long as fans can still attend games at reasonable prices.
