Dallas Mavericks kick-off delayed due to need to wipe up ‘court condensation’

DALLAS. If you were a Mavs fan and turned on a game against the Spurs at Bally Sports Southwest, you were met with the sight of the players still wearing their warm-up gear and a handful of crew members mopping up the floor.

Dallas Mavericks defenseman Tim Hardaway Jr. monitored the court before the game, constantly checking traction and pointing out places that were out of order.

Mark Followill and Derek Harper, voice-overs for Bally’s Mavs games, explained that “court condensation” caused slippery conditions that delayed the start of the game by 18 minutes as teams wiped… and wiped… and wiped numerous mops. commercial breaks.

From that point on, the game went off without a hitch, and the Mavericks dominated the Spurs, winning 142–116. The delay, however, is not the first time this has happened at the American Airlines Center. As noted on the Bally Sports broadcast, there have been several instances where the floor needed to be moped for various reasons.

Last season, Mavericks vs. Timberwolves in March was delayed 15 minutes due to a leaky roof. A few months later, the start of the second half of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors was delayed for the same reason. This delay lasted 16 minutes while crews worked to fix the leak.

These incidents led to the renovation of the roof of the American Airlines Center in the summer of 2022.

They didn’t have any indication or reports that the wet floor issue was due to a leaky roof, but it’s worth noting that the arena is shared between the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars, whose rink is under the basketball floor. WFAA captures American Airlines Center employees transforming the arena:

Could condensation appear on the court due to the humidity of the ice arena? Doesn’t seem incomprehensible.

The WFAA contacted American Airlines Center staff about the incident. We’ll update this story when we hear more.