DALLAS | New Mavericks Arena

The NBA Board of Governors has approved Mark Cuban’s $3.5bn sale of a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks with a potential new arena to be built.

The 65-year-old bought the Mavericks in 2000 and will remain in charge of on-court operations. He is aiming for a state-of-the-art venue that includes a hotel and casino.

This would be in partnership with Las Vegas Sands, a casino and resort company, of which Patrick Dumont is chief operating officer. However, the plan faces a significant obstacle as sports betting and casinos are currently illegal in the state of Texas. It would take an act of the state legislature and voters’ approval to become legal statewide.

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Dumont also says the timing doesn’t matter as it relates to prospects for a new arena that would include a casino resort, because his family and that of the widow of Las Vegas Sands Corp. founder Sheldon Adelson are committed to Dallas long term.

“We’re patient,” Dumont said Friday in his first meeting with reporters since the December purchase, a few hours before the Mavs faced elimination in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against Boston. “We think long term. We’re not people who think in the short term.