Mavericks' newest hire doubles down on future plan fans are dreading

Ever since the American Airlines Center opened up in 2001, it has been the ultimate venue in downtown Dallas for concerts, Dallas Stars games, Dallas Mavericks games, and many more events, but Mavericks fans have long known that the Mavericks and new CEO Rick Welts are contingent on building a new arena for the team with their lease on the AAC expiring in 2031.

There's still been some faint hope held onto by some fans that Dallas could renew their lease and choose to stay in the arena it's called home for 24 seasons already, but a recent hiring Dallas made all but obliterates that idea. It was announced on Tuesday that Dallas will be hiring Ethan Casson to serve as the team president, as Welts views Casson as someone who can help accelerate the building of a new arena after Casson spent nine seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves organization.

"He will be my partner in charting the team into the future," Welts said in regard to Casson. "Including the building of our new arena and entertainment district in Dallas, and our transition from a basketball organization to a sports and entertainment company operating our own venue."

Casson hiring confirms Mavericks will leave long-tenured home of AAC

Not only does Welts envision him and Casson getting the groundwork done on a new arena here, but he and the Mavericks clearly seek the independence of having an arena exclusively for basketball and whatever else they see fit. While it makes sense why Welts and the Mavericks don't want to share their entertainment venue with an NHL team, the uncertainty of where this arena will be is something that already has some fans a little unsure about this transition.

The Mavericks are undoubtedly the hottest commodity out of any of the professional sports teams in Dallas that actually play downtown, which is something that resonates with many fans living in or around the city of Dallas, especially since the Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys both play in Arlington.

If the Mavericks build this arena outside the city of Dallas, this very well could affect their attendance at games, though, it's undoubtable the Mavericks will have some level of fan interest going forward after landing Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall in this past draft, as building this arena outside the city of Dallas was an even riskier proposition after the grim outlook the Mavericks were facing following the Luka Doncic trade.

Welts and Casson are poised to act in lockstep to build this new arena for the Mavericks in the next 5-6 years, as the push to get a new arena for the Mavericks has never been higher for the organization. However, they must act carefully considering the AAC is still pretty modernized for its age, and they could've easily bargained to renovate it a little bit instead of shifting gears toward a new arena so quickly, as there have been so many awesome memories (and more to come) for the Mavericks in that arena since it opened, including hosting NBA Finals games in 2011 and 2024.

While the AAC isn't TD Garden or Madison Square Garden, it's grown to be an iconic home for the Mavericks and is one of the older NBA arenas. Fans have grown to associate the AAC and the Mavericks as one throughout this century so far, so Welts and Casson must make the new arena meaningful and find ways to still pay homage to the franchise's history once they sign off on the construction of it, as many fans could be very uncertain of the new arena if it's built outside of downtown Dallas.