Mavs and Sponsor Chime to Financially Support Sideline AAC Workers
DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks issued the following statement today regarding the continued payment of hourly staff who work Mavericks’ game nights at American Airlines Center:
"In light of the postponement of the NBA season, it is of utmost importance to Dallas Mavericks management and ownership that we do what we can to minimize the adverse financial impact that will be felt by staff who would otherwise be working our games at American Airlines Center. As such, the organization, along with American Airlines Center leadership, is currently making arrangements to ensure that scheduled event staff will receive payment for the six home games that were to take place during the 30-day NBA hiatus.
"As part of its mission to provide financial peace of mind, Mavericks jersey sponsor Chime, the leader in U.S. challenger banking, has also allocated funds to support this effort.
"Staff includes security, police, parking attendants, housekeeping, in-arena entertainers and guest services staff, among others. It is our hope that this will allow our valued team members to satisfy their economic needs during this unprecedented time.
"In addition, the Mavericks and Chime share a commitment to their local communities and are working with our current nonprofit partners to identify support and service opportunities throughout North Texas during this time.''
This is of course all about a pledge Mavs owner Mark Cuban made at a ground-zero moment Wednesday night at the AAC at what might've been the final NBA game of the season.
“When some of the things were coming up that we might not play games – this was yesterday – I reached out to the folks at the arena and our folks at the Mavs to find out what it would cost to support, financially support, people who aren’t going to be able to come to work," Cuban said. "You know, they get paid by the hour, and this was their source of income. So, we’ll do some things there. We may ask them to go do some volunteer work in exchange, but we’ve already started the process of having a program in place. I don’t have any details to give, but it’s certainly something that’s important to me.”
