Irving City Council considering rezoning land owned by Adelson family for possible destination resort, including an arena​on February 28, 2025 at 1:05 am

IRVING, Texas — The Adelson family, majority owners of the Dallas Mavericks, purchased a large plot of land near the former site of Texas Stadium in Irving at the end of 2023, and it now appears work is beginning to build a destination resort on that land. 

Irving City Council members considered a zoning change for the land on Thursday afternoon, rezoning the land from transit-oriented mixed use to high-intensity mixed use. Three of the authorized uses for this zoning highlighted at the meeting are destination resorts, casino gaming and casinos. 

Philip Sanders, assistant city manager for the city of Irving, said the Adelsons identified the possibility of a “destination resort concept” on the land.

“It maximizes the opportunity for a transformational development, which is really what I think the city envisioned on that property,” Sanders told council members Thursday. 

There were numerous requirements listed to make the destination resort happen, including a minimum of 1,750 guest rooms, as well as either an arena with a minimum of 15,000 seats or an indoor theater with a minimum of 4,000 seats. 

Casino gaming would also be a consideration if it is legalized. As it stands, it’s not legal in the state of Texas, but there have been efforts made by the state to change this. Legislature would have to be passed and voters would have to approve legalizing gambling. Should this happen, another requirement of the resort would be the inclusion of a casino, Sanders told the city council. 

Should casino gaming be included, Sanders said the gross square footage of the resort would be at least 4 million square feet. It would likely be a series of interconnected structures rather than one single building. 

There are many steps needed still to move forward, including adopting development standards and amending hotel standards. 

The plan is expected to be presented to the city’s planning and zoning commission during their March 4 meeting, and city council will take formal action on the plan during their March 20 meeting. 

Irving District 2 Council Member Brad LaMoregese called the plan a transformational project.

“It’s gonna be interesting times going forward,” LaMoregese said. “This is gonna be so different than anything I think we’ve ever done.” 

The Mavericks have played the franchise’s home games in two arenas in Downtown Dallas: Reunion Arena (1980 to 2001) and American Airlines (2001 to present day). 

Mavericks Governor Patrick Dumont was adamant about the Mavs not leaving the state for Las Vegas in an interview with the Dallas Morning News.

“The Dallas Mavericks are not moving to Las Vegas,” Dumont said. “There is no question in that. That is the answer, unequivocally. The Dallas Mavericks are the Dallas Mavericks and they will be in Dallas.”

Dumont has not publicly denied eventually moving the team elsewhere in the metroplex, however. Technically, the plot of land is still in Dallas County, which some may semantically argue as still being “Dallas,” though it lies within Irving city limits. 

WFAA reached out to the Adelsons’ resort company, Las Vegas Sands, for comment, as well as to the city of Irving and the Dallas Mavericks. Ron Reese, a spokesperson with Las Vegas Sands Corp., replied with the following statement:

“As large scale developers it’s paramount we engage with local stakeholders in an effort to unlock the maximum economic benefit possible should future development take place.”

The City of Irving sent WFAA the following statements: 

“This item is not so much a proposal, per se, but a zoning change consideration. During today’s work session, the Irving City Council voted to send the item to Irving’s Planning & Zoning for review.”

WFAA did not hear back from the Mavericks as of Thursday afternoon.