Dallas Mavericks Owner Las Vegas Sands Holds 259 Acres in Irving

Miriam Adelson’s family owns more land near Dallas than previously thought, adding to the intrigue surrounding the Adelsons’ recent purchase of the Dallas Mavericks.

An affiliate of casino-resort developer Las Vegas Sands, whose owner is Miriam Adelson, in July acquired about 259 acres across eight properties at State Highway 114 and Loop 12, near the former Texas Stadium site in Irving, the Dallas Business Journal reported.

It was previously reported that the Adelson family owned just 108 acres in the suburb northwest of Dallas.

The properties, valued at just over $36 million by the Dallas Central Appraisal District, are part of a long-envisioned development site that’s been a focus for Irving’s economic development officials for about a decade.

The properties include frontage along the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. While most of the land is within Irving’s city limits, 22.5 acres fall in unincorporated Dallas County.

The Adelsons’ Irving assemblage hints that Las Vegas Sand could be plotting one of its signature casino-resort developments. The company helped pioneer casino resorts thanks to its late founder, Sheldon Adelson.

The Adelsons’ political influence could sway state legislatures to legalize casinos and sports betting in Texas. Mark Cuban, who’s selling a majority share of the Mavericks, was planning a casino resort in partnership with Las Vegas Sands, but a proposal that would have allowed such developments was killed by Texas lawmakers earlier this year.

The Irving properties are unrelated to the Adelson family’s majority purchase of the Mavericks, a Las Vegas Sands spokesperson told the Dallas Morning News. The holdings are part of the Sands’ long standing interest in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The company could buy more Irving real estate in the future, the spokesperson said.

The Dallas Cowboys’ bygone venue, Texas Stadium, was demolished in 2010. Over $300 million worth of infrastructure, including a bridge between the Texas Stadium site and the Sands’ assemblage, has been in development since at least 2015.

City of Irving leaders anticipate the property value within a 452-acre tax increment financing zone to grow between $1.6 billion and $5.4 billion by 2041, with potential for 10,000 residential units, the outlet reported.

—Quinn Donoghue