03:00 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 29, 2008
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

The Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Cowboys have teamed up to bring the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend to the metroplex.

An announcement is planned Thursday before the Mavericks' season opener against Houston to unveil the Cowboys' new stadium in Arlington as the site for the All-Star Game, multiple sources said Wednesday. The ancillary events, such as the dunk contest, 3-point shootout and other activities, will be at American Airlines Center, with other venues, perhaps including the Dallas Convention Center, also being used.

The Mavericks have been working with the Cowboys and the NBA for several months in an attempt to land the 2010 game. Owner Mark Cuban confirmed to The Dallas Morning News in May that the Cowboys and Mavericks were working on putting together a bid for the game.

Cuban previously had resisted all overtures about bringing the league's midseason extravaganza to Dallas because most of his season-ticket holders would have no chance of seeing the game since the league eats up virtually all of the tickets in an NBA arena for the game.

However, with the Cowboys' stadium capable of seating perhaps nearly 50,000 for a basketball game, all of the season-ticket holders could be accommodated.

All-Star Weekend has evolved through the years into a 72-hour festival of the NBA's culture, as well as the game. The parties generally are as tough to get into as the basketball games. With Victory Plaza becoming an entertainment hub, the area should have no trouble hosting the extracurricular activities.

The Mavericks hosted the All-Star Weekend in 1986 at Reunion Arena. The game has been played at football stadiums before, most recently in 1996 at San Antonio's Alamodome and 1989 at Houston's Astrodome. The San Antonio game drew more than 36,000 and the one in Houston had 44,000 in attendance.

This year’s All-Star Game is at Phoenix.

That joint is BAD!

http://stadium.dallascowboys.com/