Rick Welts is leaving the Dallas Mavericks’ CEO office for the second time, roughly two years after Patrick Dumont brought him out of retirement to drive the team’s arena push. Welts, 73, stays through Dec. 31, and team president Ethan Casson takes over as CEO and alternate governor in a succession the front office had already teed up.

The timing matters for the metroplex. The Mavericks announced plans for a north Dallas arena targeting the 2031-32 season, which would end a downtown run that began in 1980-81. Welts brings a resume built on exactly that kind of project, having led the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center effort. Casson arrives as team president after running the Timberwolves and working with the 49ers, so the team calls this one a planned transition rather than a scramble.

For families around Waxahachie, the story is less about one executive and more about where a major DFW sports franchise puts its footprint for the next generation. Development, traffic, and entertainment dollars all follow arenas, and the answers will shape weekend plans well before 2031. What do you think: is a north Dallas arena the right move, or should the team have stayed downtown?