McDavid, who made his fortune with car dealerships in Texas, has reportedly agreed in principle to buy AOL Time Warner's 19,000-seat arena in downtown Atlanta, where the National Basketball Association's Hawks and National Hockey League's Thrashers play.
McDavid owned 12.5 percent of the Mavericks from 1996 to 2000, under former owner Ross Perot Jr., until Mark Cuban purchased control of the NBA team.
Greg Hughes, a spokesman for AOL Time Warner's Turner Sports unit, denied that any agreement was reached, though he said the company was talking to a "number of interested parties".
McDavid in April 2000 considered making a bid for the NHL and NBA teams in Denver and their arena, which instead were purchased by Stan Kroenke for $450million.
AOL Time Warner, which also owns Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves, is seeking to sell its three sports teams after chief executive Richard Parsons said the company plans to reduce its debt to about $20billion by the end of next year from $25.8bn.
The three teams might fetch a total of $650m, though the Braves are likely to be sold separately from any deal for the Atlanta franchises.
