DALLAS — If you were a Mavs fan who turned on the game versus the Spurs on Bally Sports Southwest, you were met with the sight of players still in their warmup gear and a handful of crew members mopping the floor.
Dallas Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. was the keeper of the floor conditions during pre-game, constantly checking the grip and pointing at spots that were not up to snuff.
Mark Followill and Derek Harper, who voice the Mavs games for Bally, explained that "condensation on the court" was causing slippery conditions which delayed the start of the game 18 minutes as crews mopped ... and mopped ... and mopped through numerous commercial breaks.
The game went on from that point without a hitch, and the Mavericks dominated the Spurs, winning 142-116. The delay, however, is not the first time this has happened at American Airlines Center. As noted on the Bally Sports broadcast, there has been a few instances where the floor needed to be mopped for differing reasons.
Last season, the Mavericks vs. Timberwolves game in March was delayed by 15 minutes due to a leaky roof. A few months later, the same reason delayed the second half start of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors. That delay lasted 16 minutes as crews worked to fix the leak.
These instances resulted in repairs to the American Airlines Center roof over the summer in 2022.
Their was no indication or reports that this wet floor issue stemmed from a leaky roof, but it is worth noting that the arena is shared between the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars, whose ice rink sits below the basketball floor. WFAA has captured the American Airlines Center staff transforming the arena:
Could the condensation on the court have been a result from the moisture of the ice rink? Doesn't seem unfathomable.
WFAA reached out to American Airlines Center staff about what happened. We'll update this story when we hear more.
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