01 Jun The Mavericks Conversation Isn’t Really About Basketball

By Tanya Ragan

Everybody has an opinion right now about the Mavericks and downtown Dallas.

Good. They should.

Because this conversation is not really about basketball. It is about growth, infrastructure, connectivity, investment, identity, and who gets to shape a city’s future.

I have watched people online act shocked that downtown stakeholders, business owners, property owners, and residents support investment in downtown Dallas. As if that is somehow controversial.

Of course we do.

That is the entire point.

I have lived downtown for years. I have worked downtown for nearly two decades. I have served on committees, worked with business owners, advocated for public safety, pushed for revitalization efforts, and invested both time and capital into the urban core because I believe in the future of Dallas.

Yes, I own property downtown.
Yes, I benefit from growth downtown.

And honestly, there is nothing wrong with saying that out loud.

The narrative that every developer, investor, or property owner is somehow disconnected from the community is lazy and outdated. Many of us are the community. We live here. We work here. We built businesses here. We stayed when other people left. We sat through vacancies, crime concerns, struggling retail corridors, empty office buildings, and years of conversations about reconnecting parts of downtown that had been neglected for decades.

Downtown Dallas did not revitalize itself by accident.

People worked for it.

The thing I think many people misunderstand about economic development is that it is not instant and it is never perfect. Cities evolve slowly until suddenly they evolve all at once. What people are reacting to right now is momentum. Dallas is growing rapidly, and major anchors matter. Sports franchises matter. Infrastructure matters. Connectivity matters. The urban core matters.

That does not mean every concern about development is invalid. I understand why people have strong emotions around incentives, displacement and growth. Those are real conversations, and they deserve thoughtful discussion. But pretending that investment itself is the enemy ignores the years of work that residents, stakeholders, entrepreneurs and business owners have put into creating safer, more vibrant and more connected urban neighborhoods.

Everybody says they want walkability.
Everybody says they want vibrancy.
Everybody says they want activation.
Everybody says they want a stronger downtown.

Until development actually shows up.

Then suddenly growth becomes controversial.

The reality is cities compete. Dallas is competing nationally for talent, business, tourism, corporate headquarters, and long-term economic relevance. We are not the Dallas of twenty years ago, and our infrastructure, planning, and urban strategy cannot operate as if we were.

Regardless of where the Mavericks ultimately land, I support continued investment, connectivity and momentum in downtown Dallas. I support connectivity between neighborhoods. I support long-term thinking. I support growth in the urban core rather than endless sprawl that pulls energy further away from the city center.

Most importantly, I support people who stayed committed to downtown long before it became trendy to do so.

This conversation is bigger than basketball.

It is about the future of Dallas.