Copyright New York Post
It’s a good old-fashioned showdown in Dallas between two of the city’s major league sports teams. The Mavericks filed a lawsuit in the Texas Business Court this week against their American Airlines Center roommates, the Stars, leading the hockey team to countersue the NBA team, in a dispute that appears to stem from a breakdown in the relationship between the two clubs. The Mavericks’ suit claims that the Stars are in breach of contract and alleges the NHL team is getting in the way of improvements to the shared arena. It also claims the Stars are “holding the American Airlines Center hostage.” The Mavericks are asking the court to affirm a prior seizure of the Stars’ portion of the joint operating company — Center Operating Company — that oversees the venue’s management. The Stars have countersued to “restore normal operations at the [American Airlines Center] and prevent the Mavericks’ attempted hostile takeover,” Stars counsel Joshua M. Sandler said in a statement to the Dallas Morning News. Dallas Sports Group, which owns the Mavericks, said in a statement to Front Office Sports: “After repeated failed attempts to bring the ownership of the Stars to the table and address improvements and operations of the AAC, DSG must, unfortunately, rely on the courts to confirm ownership of the AAC lease and allow DSG to make the desired improvements to the venue.” The deterioration of the relationship between the Mavs and Stars stems from the teams’ diverging plans for where they’re going to play in the future. The lease for both teams at American Airlines Center runs through 2031. The Mavericks have started looking to build a basketball-only arena. The Stars have been looking to build a new home of their own, with Front Office Sports reporting that Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, is a leading candidate. The Mavs also alleged that the Stars are in breach of a long-held agreement that their team headquarters be based in Dallas. The Stars’ headquarters are in Frisco, though the Dallas Morning News reported that they had opened up a headquarters in Dallas. The City of Dallas owns the American Airlines Center and Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert told CBS News Texas that she hoped both teams would remain committed to the city. “That would be the best outcome for the two teams and their fans,” Tolbert said.
