Everything You Need to Know About Thursday Morning's Mavericks Championship Parade

By Robert Wilonsky,

Photo by Patrick Michels

Mayor Dwaine Caraway points out the exact spot at City Hall Plaza where he and council members will enjoy his winning-bet stone crabs and cigars. Arthur and Archie are not invited.

​In a moment we'll get to Patrick's account of what city officials had to say about Thursday morning's Dallas Mavericks championship march through downtown Dallas, which kicks off at 10 a.m. at the Dallas Convention Center and winds up at the American Airlines Center about an hour later. But the Mavs' Gina Calvert sends some basics, including the route ...

Photo by Mike Mezeul

Don Carter, seen yesterday at Love Field, will participate in Thursday's parade.

​The parade will start at the Dallas Convention Center at the intersection of Griffin and Young Streets and head west on Young Street, turning north onto Houston Street, west on Continental and north onto Victory Ave., ending at the corner of Victory Ave. and Olive Street.

... and other info, like when folks can begin lining up (7 a.m., an hour before Dallas Police will close the streets) and who's participating (everyone you'd expect, including team founder Don Carter). Those who can't make it don't have to miss it: FOX Sports Southwest will broadcast live. Calvert also includes this addendum: "At the conclusion of the parade, a special season ticket holder only event will be held inside American Airlines Center. The event will be broadcast on the HD big-screen TV on the AT&T Plaza."

Now, then. This just in from City Hall, thanks to Patrick.

Mayor Dwaine Caraway expects a crowd pushing 250,000: "We cannot stress enough how important it is to come downtown early," he said during a media briefing held on the plaza. He added: Dallas Area Rapid Transit will run trains every 10 minutes, and there will be 50 buses waiting to whisk parade-goers away from the AAC after the wingding.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown then took the podium and said, "One of the things we are celebrating is the class of the Dallas citizens and the way the celebrate. If you plan on coming to downtown Dallas causing problems, we will quickly deal with you."

Brown's biggest concern, he said, is Victory Park itself: Given the massive number expected for the parade into the plaza -- which cannot hold a fraction of a fraction of a quarter million -- Brown said they were cutting off access to and around the plaza once they guesstimated that 10,000 had made their way there. He'll do what he has to keep it "orderly."

DPD, he said, will also live-tweet the parade should there be need to make changes to the plan that's in place. Also: DART cops and Dallas County Sheriff's Department deputies will be scattered throughout downtown to flesh out the force.

As noted since Sunday night, Mark Cuban is paying for the parade -- which Caraway said would have cost the city anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million. Said Jim Oberwetter, president of the Dallas Regional Chamber, "The team owner, in the form of Mark Cuban, handled himself with diplomatic skills we didn't even know he had."

At which point Phillip Jones, head of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, said, hey, everyone's a winner: He insisted that since Sunday night's win, some additional $15 to $16 million has been spent in the city. Most, no doubt, by Cuban. Drinks for everyone.