MAVS PROPOSE ARENA: IS THE TEAM REACHING FOR THE STARS?

          The Mavericks asked the city Monday to pay for half the
     cost of a new $220M downtown arena, "vowing to create an
     ambitious urban renewal project in exchange," according to
     Todd Gillman of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS.  Mavs negotiator
     Tom Luce said the city would recoup its $110M share in taxes
     from the surrounding "megadevelopment," which Mavs Owner
     Ross Perot Jr. has valued at $1B "or more."  City officials
     "noted that the proposal, the result of six months of talks,
     holds no guarantees on the amount of private investment." 
     City Council member Donna Blumer: "This needs a lot of
     work."  City Manager John Ware "agreed that team owners must
     get more specific" on their downtown investment.  Stars
     officials called the plan "encouraging," and Gillman says
     there was an indication of "a potential thaw between the
     teams."  Luce "emphasized" the deal does not "hinge on the
     Stars participation," but that the city was "saving a place
     at the table for the Stars" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 3/11).