UPDATEDx5 Map: Mavericks parade ends with Victory Park street party on Thursday

by Sarah Blaskovich , Elliott Muñoz

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Fans can begin lining up at 7 a.m. Thursday. Streets are closed at 8 a.m.

DALLAS — World champion basketball team the Dallas Mavericks will celebrate with fans in Dallas at a parade at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Google Maps (click to enlarge)

Here's the route for Dallas Mavericks' victory parade on Thursday, June 16. It ends at Victory Plaza. Coincidence?

UPDATE: Expected to attract 250,000 people, the parade begins at Young and Griffin streets near the Dallas Convention Center, runs west on Young Street, north on Houston Street, west on Continental Avenue, and north on Victory Avenue [see map]. The parade ends in Victory Plaza with a street party.

The party in Victory Plaza will hold about 3,000 people will fit in front of the American Airlines Center. Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the party will "spill out onto the street" for a total of 10,000 people.

City officials confirmed that Mark Cuban was in fact paying for the parade and festivities, which will cost $500,000 to $1 million. Inside the American Airlines Center, season ticket holders can attend a free party.

Tweeted by @mcuban on June 13, the day after the Dallas Mavericks won their first championship

Attendees to the parade and after-party are encouraged to show up early and are asked to carpool or take DART, said Mayor Dwaine Caraway. Streets near the parade will be closed at 8 a.m. "There will be some waiting involved," he said, and encouraged everyone to come with an extra dose of patience. Come hydrated and ready for the heat, too; Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Eddie Burns said firefighters will be on special watch for heat exhaustion.

[UPDATE: Dallas police have asked people not to camp out for the parade. "It is against city ordinance," writes Frank Librio, Dallas spokesperson, in an email.]

As to whether the parade was considered for an evening time slot, which would have appeased the 9-to-5ers, John Crawford, president and CEO of Downtown Dallas, Inc. said, "We think the timing is set correctly."

Photo by Elliott Muñoz

John Crawford, president and CEO of Downtown Dallas, Inc. reflected on the last 18 months: an All-Star game, a World Series, a Super Bowl, and now the world-champion Dallas Mavericks.

He and Caraway alluded to the fact that 250,000 people flooding downtown Dallas was plenty. Caraway also mentioned that the 10 a.m. time slot is the "coolest part of the day" and that they were thinking ahead to Father's Day weekend, when people might go out of town early.

The excitement for the Mavs' win certainly hadn't worn off at City Hall, and the panel of dignitaries at a Tuesday press conference seemed proud to show off the city's successes. According to Phillip Jones, president and CEO of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, between $15 and $16 million has been spent in Dallas because of the Mavs' work in the NBA Finals.

UPDATE x2: Get more detailed information from the captions and accompanying photos from Tuesday's press conference:

UPDATE x3: DART and the TRE are expanding their services on Thursday for the parade. With a quarter-million people expected in downtown Dallas and Victory Park, the police department hopes that many people will carpool or take DART. Here are some useful notes, as sent by DART:

DART Rail will operate a rush hour schedule between 6 and 9 a.m. with trains every 15 minutes.

DART Rail Red Line trains north of downtown Dallas will operate every 7.5 minutes as scheduled.

All DART trains will convert to 10 minute service no later than 9 a.m. from end of the line stations. This will continue through the parade and AAC events.

All Green Line trains will operate with three cars through the event. It connects customers directly with Victory Station and there’s ample parking at North Carrollton/Frankford, Trinity Mills, Bachman, Market Center, Buckner, Lake June and Lawnview stations.

DART Rail ridership is growing, and the lots at Parker Road, Bush Turnpike and Downtown Garland stations have limited vacant space. Consider using Arapaho Center Station if Parker Road and Bush are full or Forest/Jupiter or LBJ/Skillman if Downtown Garland is full.

The parade route is an easy walk from any of these stations: Akard, West End, Union or Convention Center. Akard and West End serve Red, Blue and Green lines. Union and Convention Center serve the Red and Blue lines.

Convenient DART bus service is available from the Addison Transit Center (Routes 205 and 183) and Lake Ray Hubbard Park and Ride (Route 283). Midday service is available for post-event trips.

60 additional buses will be available at West End Station (25) and Victory Station (35) after the events.

TRE is adding rail cars where possible to the seven trains arriving at Union Station between 6:38 and 9:26 a.m. Additional trains will be stationed at Union Station for post-event service.

UPDATE x5: The city announced that several streets will close at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, and it will affect traffic in nearly all parts of downtown. See the full list of streets affected here.