MAVERICKS OWNER DISAPPOINTED AT SLOW ARENA TALKS

     Mavericks owner Don Carter is unhappy with the slow pace of
negotiations with the City of Dallas to build a new arena.  City
Manager John Ware set a deadline, with the city council's
approval, to have a proposed $142M arena completed by the start
of the 1997-98 season.  Carter: "After the holidays are over,
we're going to have to get rid of our excuses. ... If we're going
to do it in the timetable we set, we don't have a choice."
Carter says several key issues remain that could be "deal
killers" -- most important is the fate of Reunion Arena.  Since
the proposed arena will sit behind Reunion, Carter wants the
Mavs' current home torn down.  But Dallas Mayor Steve Bartlett's
staff is studying alternative uses for the 17-year-old building.
Carter:  "That's not open for negotiation. Either they put us in
front or somewhere else downtown, but we will not sit behind it"
(Sylvia Martinez, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 12/21).