The NBA Board of Governors voted in approval of the league to begin formally exploring potential team expansion exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle.
“Today’s vote reflects our Board’s interest in exploring potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle – two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We look forward to taking this next step and engaging with interested parties.”
As part of the process to explore expansion, the NBA has engaged tabbed bank PJT Partners as a strategic adviser to evaluate prospective markets, ownership groups, arena infrastructure, and the broader economic implications.
Expected NBA expansion cities
Bidding for NBA expansion teams is expected to reach $7 to $10 billion for each one. The Los Angeles Lakers set the record price for a United States professional team when the Buss family sold a majority stake to Mark Walter for $10 billion.
It’s believed the league wouldn’t add the two new teams until the start of the 2028-29 season. The NBA last added an expansion team in 2004 with the then-Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats then rebranded to the Charlotte Hornets at the start of the 2014-15 NBA season.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas has become a hotbed of sorts for new sports teams, with the WNBA’s Aces the most recent addition. Prior to that the NHL expanded into Las Vegas with the Golden Knights in 2017, and the NFL planted their flag with the Raiders moving from Oakland in 2020. MLB is poised to arrive with the Athletics targeting 2028.
With respect to the NBA, Las Vegas already is the host city for the semifinals and championship game of the Emirates NBA Cup.
It was believed LeBron James would play a significant part in owning an NBA team in Las Vegas, but he recently said that no longer is the case. It’s possible James will revisit the possibility, whether in Las Vegas or another city, once he retires as current players are not permitted to be part of a team ownership group under the CBA guidelines.
Seattle
Seattle, known for its passionate fanbase, has gone without an NBA team since the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City at the start of the 2008-09 season and changed their name to the Thunder.
The Sonics played in Seattle from 1967-08. If an expansion team returns to the city, it’s expected to do so under the SuperSonics name.
KeyArena, now known as Climate Pledge Arena, has undergone significant renovations since the Sonics last played there. It’s currently home to the Seattle Kraken (NHL) and WNBA’s Storm. The NHL expanded into Seattle with the Kraken in 2021.
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