The billionaire former owner of the Dallas Mavericks and developer of the arena where the team currently plays weighed in Feb. 4 on the question of where the franchise should head when it leaves American Airlines Center.
“I’m in the camp that City Hall should come down,” Ross Perot Jr. said during a meeting of North Texas business leaders. “It’s just too expensive to take care of, it’s not efficient and it doesn’t really work. I’m in the camp the arena should be in that area.”
Perot, founder and chairman of global real estate development firm Hillwood, was interviewed by Jennifer Chandler, president of Bank of America Dallas, at the annual meeting of the Dallas Regional Chamber. Wearing a dark business suit and running shoes on stage at the event at Fair Park, the real estate titan touched on the NBA team’s search and revealed his predictions about emerging industries transforming North Texas, from Hollywood-style entertainment production to artificial intelligence and rare earth magnet manufacturing.
The NBA’s Mavericks currently play at the American Airlines Center, the centerpiece of Victory Park in Dallas, which was developed by Hillwood. As owner of the Mavs at the time, Perot spearheaded construction of the $400 million-plus arena in 1999, and Hillwood went on to transform the industrial land surrounding it into the Victory Park mixed-use development.
Perot led an investment group that purchased the team from original owner Don Carter and was majority owner of the Mavs from mid-1996 until he sold a controlling stake to Mark Cuban in January 2000. Perot retained a minority stake in the franchise for several years afterward.
The Mavericks, now majority-owned by the family behind casino giant Las Vegas Sands Corp., are on the hunt for a new arena site and have reportedly narrowed the search to the old Valley View Center mall in North Dallas or downtown, possibly where City Hall currently stands.
Perot said the Mavericks’ owners shouldn’t hurry the site selection process. The team’s lease at the AAC runs through 2031.
“I don’t have a vote in it, but … my opinion [is] take your time,” he said. “You’ve got a great building [at AAC]. Do it right because the impact could be tremendous not only for the city but also for the team and the revenue of the team.”
Perot also discussed the impact of the entertainment industry, particularly Taylor Sheridan’s projects, on the regional economy. Sheridan, an acclaimed screenwriter, director and producer known for creating hit shows such as “Yellowstone” and “Landman,” is partnering with Perot and Dallas-based Hillwood to develop the state’s largest film and TV production studio at the company’s massive AllianceTexas development in north Fort Worth.
“I think we’ll be stunned at the impact the entertainment industry can have in this community if we continue to embrace it,” Perot said.
Additionally, the billionaire son of the late H. Ross Perot talked about the significance of artificial intelligence and data centers, noting Texas’ competitive advantage due to its natural gas resources.
He highlighted the development of AI supply chains in North Texas, driven by significant investments in manufacturing and technology, a proliferation of data centers and a strong workforce.
“AI is the next great revolution,” he said.
Perot also pointed to the growing impact of rare earth magnet production in North Texas. MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP) already produces neodymium-iron-boron magnets at a 250,000-square-foot plant at Hillwood’s Alliance development and the company wants to increase production of the magnets — possibly at a Hillwood-owned site in the suburb of Northlake — after striking a multibillion-dollar partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense. The potential $1 billion magnet factory could bring with it more than 1,000 jobs in addition to those already at Alliance.
Rare earth magnets are used in an array of products such as electric vehicle motors, catalytic converters, laptops and cell phones. China produces more than 90% of the world’s rare earth magnets, but President Donald Trump’s administration is aiming to change that.
Perot called MP Materials “a critical company to wean us off of Chinese magnets.”
He predicted more magnet makers will be attracted to North Texas.
“The state’s now competing for these huge new magnet facilities and magnet factories,” he said. “But think of the supply chain behind the magnets. They’re going to move into this market. So that is another great cluster that’s coming into the market.”