The Dallas Mavericks currently play at the American Airlines Center. However, rumors of a new arena have swirled over the past few years. While many details remain to be seen, Mavericks CEO Rick Welts provided one intriguing element of a potential new arena on Wednesday while speaking at WSJ's The Future of Everything event.

“We made the decision not to build it as a hockey facility… Basketball only. Basketball and entertainment,” Welts said. “You think about it intuitively, if you're building around a basketball floor versus building around a hockey rink, you're able to create a much better viewing experience for basketball fans. It's closer, better sidelines. You don't have to make the compromises, especially at the ends of the court, that you have to do if you're going to try to accommodate both NBA basketball and hockey.”

American Airlines Center hosts both the Mavericks and the Dallas Stars. It's a nice arena, but Welts wants the Mavericks' next home to focus primarily on basketball in addition to entertainment.

Welts is placing no shortage of attention on the fans' experience. Mavs fans will surely appreciate the effort.

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“What you have to think through is every moment of the fans' experience… From the time you leave your driveway at home until the time that you are in your seat and then reversing from the time you are in your seat until the time you get home, what can you do to make that experience work at every level? And to make it a positive, not a negative,” Welts continued. “Take away as much friction as you can on the things that are a pain in the a** about going to a live sporting event. I could sit home and watch any NBA game I want live, beautifully displayed on my giant television… What is going to compel people to actually come to a live event?

“And what things can you do to make that experience something that you just can't experience at home? Being at an NBA game, the kind of level of entertainment that across the league that you experience, you can enjoy NBA basketball at home, but you can't replicate that experience of being in the arena and seeing it live.”

The Mavericks won the 2025 NBA draft lottery and will be an exciting team to watch in 2025-26 and for years to come. For now, they will play at American Airlines Center, but it seems as if a new arena could emerge as a serious option down the road.