The NBA seems to be gathering steam as it weighs whether to add up to two new franchises.
Earlier this month, the league and PJT Partners, the financial firm it hired to advise on expansion exploration, asked bidders interested in bringing a franchise to Las Vegas or Seattle to submit information, including cap-table sketches, investors in potential groups and a potential price they’d pay for the team, industry sources with knowledge of the process told The Athletic. Deadlines for submissions were different for each city.
Those sources, like others in this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations. Groups interested in bringing a franchise to Las Vegas. It have a second bidding deadline in September, when they have been ask to submit a more detailed portfolio. The deadline for that submission is not known.
The NBA declined to comment on the process. The league has a Board of Governors meeting scheduled for September, and commissioner Adam Silver has said he hopes to decide on expansion by the end of 2026. Silver has not committed to adding any teams and has said the league may exit this process, which officially began in March when owners voted to explore expansion in those cities, without adding any.
While the NBA has identified a second deadline for bidders in Las Vegas, the sources said there is only one for Seattle at the moment. Those sources also believe the NBA will select an owner in Las Vegas before the league moves on to a decision in Seattle.
The expansion fee for franchises in each city is unknown. The NBA has made it known that it is seeking $7 billion-$10 billion for each new team. A Las Vegas franchise is expect to be on the high end of that range. With some industry sources floating $9 billion as a price point. Seattle is expect to draw less for its expansion fee.
How do NBA expansion teams get their players?
Bill Foley, owner of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, and Walmart scion Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband. Bill Laurie, are believe to be two of the leading contenders to get the team in Las Vegas. The sources said, along with another yet undisclosed bidding group.
It is believe that other bidders remain. A group including legendary NBA executive Jerry Colangelo, former LA Clippers head coach and player Vinny Del Negro, ex-Turner Broadcasting president David Levy and a group of finance executives are bidding as well and have indicated they can raise up to $13 billion for a bid and new arena. Investor Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger had been involve in a Las Vegas bid as well. But pivoted this month and bought the Los Angeles Lakers. Several sources said they believe the Laurie group is the front-runner, though that is not a consensus view. Sportico was the first to report that group’s interest in a Vegas franchise.
Foley brought an expansion NHL team to Las Vegas a decade ago. The Golden Knights, who play in T-Mobile Arena, have had immense success in the desert, including two Stanley Cup Final appearances and a 2023 title.
“We did a couple things really well,” Foley told The Athletic last month. “We’re going to do it on steroids with an NBA team.”
Samantha Holloway, owner of the NHL Seattle Kraken, is the only known bidder for an NBA team in Seattle. Silver has said that he “wouldn’t conclude that because there aren’t other public groups coming forward, that therefore there isn’t other interest in Seattle. There is.”
Holloway, who consolidated the Kraken and a majority control of Climate Pledge Arena under one umbrella company (One Roof Sports and Entertainment) this spring, has spoken openly about her desire to bring a team back to the city.
“If done the right way, (an NBA team) is additive” Holloway told The Athletic earlier this year. “It’s been important that we’ve had enough time to build the Kraken brand and get to where we want to be. There’s always room to grow, but it’s a great time to add basketball, and they’re complementary if done correctly.”
Does the NBA need expansion?
The NBA has tap-danced around bringing a team back to Seattle since the SuperSonics left in 2008. While Silver hasn’t definitively said that the NBA will add new teams. He said last month that he was heart by the response the league had receive to that point.
The NBA has a long-standing relationship with Las Vegas. The city has hosted the league’s primary summer-league competition since 2004 and a bevy of preseason games. It was the site of the NBA Cup semifinals and finals for the first three in-season tournaments (this year’s final rounds are heading elsewhere).
Silver seemed optimistic during a news conference last month about the NBA’s future in Las Vegas.
“This has become the city, an entertainment hub globally,” Silver said. “It brings enormous interest to the game of basketball. Something that I wouldn’t have predicted beyond the NBA. It’s become a center of youth basketball in this country right now. Not just the major facilities but the number of courts in town, the trainers and, again, the level of interest. The WNBA of course that’s had great success here. I really appreciate what we’re seeing so far, so it’s very encouraging. No votes have been taken yet. We’ve got a ways to go in terms of discussions with interested parties, but I’m optimistic about the future here.”
