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It's settled. The Dallas Mavericks are moving to Valley View, whether Mark Cuban likes it or not. It is the logical move, at least for the team. Why get involved in the contentious debate over the future of City Hall - a political quagmire that could drag on for who knows how long - when there's a large, shovel-ready site ready to go?
But even if we know where the team is moving, there's no clarity on exactly what it will build. An arena, obviously, but presumably also an entertainment district that will incorporate restaurants, bars, hotels and, if the Texas Legislature ever allows it, a casino.
Valley View offers plenty of space for all this development. The team's challenge is to avoid building a boring, soulless, antiseptic place that has no local character, which is to say, not replicating the experience of the sports-themed developments Victory Park, the Star in Frisco and Texas Live! in Arlington.
What should this new place look like? How do you make a basketball arena (let alone a casino) a compelling work of architecture and a dynamic place to watch a game? As an architecture critic and longtime NBA fan, I can offer some advice.
Start with an urban plan
The first order of business should be gathering a team of planners, architects and landscape architects who can create an appealing campus environment. They should prioritize a natural landscape, with plenty of park space and, perhaps, an amphitheater (think: Hollywood Bowl) that can also be used for concerts and large watch parties. To the greatest extent possible, cars should be kept at the periphery. When it comes to the architecture, don't reflexively hire one of the large corporate firms with a history designing arenas. Make space for local, independent practitioners who understand the city.
Be sensitive to the environment
Buildings and landscape should be sustainable and resilient. Use native, drought sensitive plants. Portland has built a mass timber airport terminal. Could Dallas have the first mass timber arena?
Garages are the front door
It is frustrating that Valley View is not better served by public transit. That's something to work on with the city. But it means the vast majority of people will arrive by car, and parking garages will be their first experience of the development. Don't treat these structures as afterthoughts. As much design inspiration needs to go into these spaces as the rest of the buildings. Two examples of appealing parking structures are in Miami: the Museum Garage, designed by New York architects Work/AC, and 1111 Lincoln Road, by the Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron.
A live-work environment
Adding apartments to the development will help make it a vital place. But don't build only luxury housing. Make space for the workforce that will keep this district operational. City leaders should use their leverage in negotiating with the team to make sure this happens.
Not a dumb box
Basketball arenas are a tricky design challenge because they are immense blank boxes (or ovals) that look inward, making them visually uninteresting and unpleasant to navigate on foot. The NBA's newest arena, the Los Angeles Clippers' Intuit Dome, resolves these problems fairly well, and would be a good model for a project in Dallas. The architects, AECOM, smartly built a shell of metal screens around the arena structure, creating a middle space between inside and out. The porous metal skin gives the building more character than the typical arena, and creates a pleasant space for fans to gather and orient themselves.
Embrace Valley View's history
Take inspiration from the old Valley View mall; the architecture of that behemoth, with its flattened colonnades, is best left in the past, but a reimagination of the abstract murals of glass tile, created by Dallas architect Brenda Stubel, that fronted the facades of the mall's anchor tenant, Sanger Harris, would be a welcome nod to local history.
Get fans close
The success or failure of a basketball arena ultimately resides in the fan experience, and not just for those who can afford to sit courtside. Putting as many fans as close to the floor as possible should be a priority, both because it gives the most people the best views, and because density creates the electric atmosphere that fans and athletes crave. That goal can come at the expense of luxury seating. At the aforementioned Intuit Dome, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer sacrificed luxury seating to create "The Wall," a steeply raked section reserved for diehards. The Mavs could implement a similar arrangement or develop their own creative idea. To say that the team still needs to make up with fans for the Luka debacle is an understatement. The Mavs have promised a "premium experience" for all fans. Live up to this commitment.
Put video in its place
Another innovation at Intuit Dome is the shifting of video boards from a drop-down cube that hangs over center court to a halo band above the upper deck. The result is a more visually dramatic and open bowl, with fewer distractions.
Circulation is key
Navigating an NBA arena can be disorienting, tedious and unpleasant. (American Airlines Center is especially disconcerting in this department.) Broad corridors and aisles are essential for easing congestion. Wherever possible, introduce natural light. Take a cue from NorthPark Center and avoid floating kiosks and concession stands in the middle of corridors, where they block space and cause distraction. Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets, has one of the league's stronger visual environments. Designed by the New York firm SHoP Architects, it keeps clutter to a minimum in spaces that have a clean, industrial aesthetic.
Get people outside
The arena experience can be claustrophobic. An antidote: Let fans go outside. The most appealing feature of Kaseya Center, home of the Miami Heat, are the terraces along its concourses, which have views of the city's skyline and allow fans to step outside for a drink before and after games and during halftimes. The Mavs could take that idea a step further by creating a system of ramps and terraces that lead to a rooftop park with views of downtown Dallas.
Make wayfinding easy
It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of wayfinding in an arena. Graphics should be bold, clear and plentiful. Think creatively about visual orientation; sections coded to color, for example, can help visitors figure out where they are, and where they need to go.
A new graphic identity
While we're on the subject of graphic design, it's well past time for a new team identity. The weird horse-head logo is one of the least compelling in the league, and makes no sense: A maverick is a cow, not a horse. The team has put together some impressive alternate jersey designs in recent years, and it's nice to see the throwback cowboy hat version make the occasional return, but the default uniforms are the graphic equivalent of a missed free-throw.
Say no to Big Brother
For better and worse, our experience of public space is mediated by technology. It will be tempting to create an app that will act as a ticket and provide other information to visitors. Keep this app simple, and make sure it is bug free and works on all platforms. The app created for Intuit Dome, for example, is a glitchy curse on fans that slows entry to the arena. Also, resist the temptation to use facial technology to track fans. Going to a basketball game should not mean having your data mined and your privacy violated.
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