Imagine a second arena. Imagine a second convention center and tourist hub, except this one would include an opulent arena, multiple luxury hotels and abundant fine dining.

And casino gambling.

While pondering realistic, foreseeable-future scenarios for downtown Dallas, it’s hard to imagine one that would be more transformative. But would it be for the better?

That is the deeply layered, multibillion-dollar question that must be answered — likely within the next five years — as the Mavericks and Stars weigh arena possibilities.

Both franchises’ lease agreements to play in American Airlines Center expire on July 28, 2031. Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont and incoming president and CEO Rick Welts, whose hiring was announced Wednesday, say the franchise intends to honor that lease.

But last February, after his family’s purchase of the Mavericks from Mark Cuban, Dumont told The News: “We believe very strongly that there’s an opportunity to develop destination resorts in the state of Texas, at some point.

“When that does happen, there might be an opportunity for us to build a brand-new arena for the Mavericks as part of an entertainment complex that’s large-scale, in a destination resort, with hotel rooms and space for both business and leisure tourism.”

It’s not a coincidence that Dumont hired Welts, who spent seven years overseeing the development, construction and 2019 opening of San Francisco’s $1.4 billion Chase Center.

“That’s very relevant experience for the type of investment and what we’re trying to create here in Dallas with the Mavericks,” Dumont said this week, calling Chase Center one of the world’s top arenas.

For Dumont’s Las Vegas Sands Corporation to fund such a project, gambling would need to be legalized in Texas.

That would require the Texas Legislature to pass a referendum allowing Texas voters to decide whether to legalize gambling. As recent legislative sessions have shown, gambling faces an uphill battle in Texas, but Dumont and Sands understand they are in for a wait, likely beyond the 2025 session to 2027 or 2029.

What if gambling is legalized, but a deal can’t be struck to build a casino, luxury hotels and fine dining in Dallas? The alternate reality would be building them on the Sands-owned 108-acre tract in Irving near the old Texas Stadium site.

This story is part of a special report, “Decoding downtown,” which examines the state of downtown Dallas ahead of 2025.

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