​A conflict between Mark Cuban and the owners who took over the Dallas Mavericks in 2023 has escalated into a legal dispute in a Dallas County courtroom. Cuban accuses team governor Patrick Dumont of excluding him from what he calls the franchise’s most significant business undertaking in decades: the development of a new arena on the site of the former Valley View Mall. Earlier this month, Cuban filed a pre-suit petition that leverages a state law permitting him to request that a judge compel Dumont and the Mavericks’ ownership to disclose records related to the arena deal before a full lawsuit is filed. The petition characterizes Dumont’s conduct as “adversarial business practices” and argues that Cuban’s companies were contractually entitled to a role in what the filing describes as a “unique investment opportunity.”
A Deal Gone Sour
Cuban sold his controlling stake in the Mavericks in December 2023 to the families of Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law, Dumont, in a transaction reportedly valued at about $3.5 billion. Cuban retained a 27% ownership share and has asserted that he left the negotiating table under the impression that he would still oversee basketball decisions, while Dumont would manage the business affairs, including real estate and a long-sought casino resort initiative in Texas. Cuban contends that the arrangement never unfolded as he expected.
Instead of maintaining his authority over basketball operations, Dumont reportedly granted full control to then-general manager Nico Harrison. The repercussions of that decision became plainly evident in February 2025, when Harrison orchestrated the trade of franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers—a move that blindsided Mavericks fans and, according to Cuban’s filing, Cuban himself. The trade sparked widespread criticism from fans and league observers, and Harrison was ultimately fired in November as Dallas stumbled early in the 2025-26 season.
The Valley View Play
The Cuban dispute arrives just weeks after the Mavericks formally announced their arena plans. On June 1, the team disclosed that it had signed an agreement to purchase roughly 104 acres at the site of the former Valley View Mall in North Dallas, bringing long-simmering speculation and surveys to a close that had also explored a downtown City Hall site. The Mavericks’ lease at the American Airlines Center runs through 2031, and the new arena is targeted to open in the same year. If realized, it would mark the first time since the franchise’s 1980 inception that the Mavericks have played home games outside downtown Dallas.
Cuban is demanding access to the actual documentation surrounding the Valley View deal—the purchase contract, the financing details, and information about Arena Development Intermediate, the entity created to manage the project. He asserts that Dumont has excluded him from other related negotiations tied to the arena, including discussions involving the Dallas Stars, the Mavericks’ other principal tenant, as part of the broader arena development plan. Cuban’s pursuit of transparency highlights a broader contention about control and influence over the strategic direction of the franchise as it enters a pivotal phase in its urban layout and business footprint.