Billionaire NBA owner buys tiny Texas town for $2.8 million

Billionaire owner of the NBA team the Dallas Mavericks has surprised many by splashing out on a tiny town where no one lives.

What do you with a AUD$6 billion fortune? Buy an entire ghost town, of course.

Mark Cuban, an entrepreneur and owner of the NBA team the Dallas Mavericks, surprised many this week by deciding to purchase the tiny Texas town of Mustang.

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It was a perplexing investment given Mustang is only 300 square metres, has no residents and the last businesses to operate there — an adult book store and strip club — closed down many years ago.

But Cuban explained he decided to buy the town for personal reasons.

“Did it to help out a friend. No plans yet!” he told NBC News.

Mustang had been on the market for about four years once main owner Marty Price fell ill and wanted to sell, according to Dallas real estate agent Mike Turner.

Price was a Mavericks season ticker holder and had struck up a friendship with Cuban.

“Mark Cuban stepped up and it was a natural for him to buy it,” Turner said.

“With his resources and imagination, I’m sure there are endless possibilities.”

Mark Cuban splashed out on a ghost town in Texas. (Photo by Rich Fury / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

The town was first listed on the market in 2017 for AUD$5.7 million, but that price was later halved to around $2.8 million.

Cuban and Turner haven’t revealed the final sale price, but it’s believed the 63-year-old paid much less than the original asking price.

Mustang, which is about 100km south of Dallas, hasn’t had any residents in many years and is prime for development, according to locals.

“I’ve been a lifelong resident (of the area and) seen a lot come and go over there, but it’s always been less than desirable,” local business owner Jerry Newsom said.

“They’ve had strip clubs and adult video stores and all kinds of stuff over there. So anything that Mark Cuban will bring in … would be better than what’s been there.”

“I don’t know what if anything I will do with it,” Cuban told the Dallas Morning News.

Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

Cuban, who is a judge on the reality TV show Shark Tank, will be hoping buying Mustang will prove more fruitful than some of his recent financial moves.

In June, he revealed he had been hit hard when the Titan cryptocurrency crashed and last year he forecast the Dallas Mavericks would lose AUD$134 million due to the effects of Covid-19 on the NBA season.

Cuban has been a majority owner of the Mavericks since 2000 and is often seen courtside attending games, taking a more public role than other team owners.

The Mavericks have made a solid start to the NBA season and are currently fifth in the Western Conference standings with an 11-10 win-loss record.

Originally published as Billionaire NBA owner buys tiny Texas town for $2.8 million