NBA takes huge step toward Las Vegas expansion team

The NBA is expected to select a winning bid for a Las Vegas expansion team in the “very near future,” reports Shams Charania of ESPN. According to Charania, three groups are considered finalists, with the cost for the team and a new arena expected to end up at least in the range of $12 billion to $13 billion.

The three groups in the mix are as follows:

• Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie: Nancy is the daughter of Walmart co-founder James “Bud” Walton, while her husband Bill previously owned the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. The couple lives in Vegas and — according to Charania, who cites Forbes — has a net worth of $17 billion.
• Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry: Apostolopoulos, a Canadian businessman and real estate executive, is the managing partner of the Triple Group of Companies and founded the private equity firm Six Ventures. The 46-year-old billionaire previously expressed interest in buying the Hornets from Michael Jordan in 2023, per Charania. Lasry, a former co-owner of the Bucks, sold his stake to Jimmy Haslam in 2023. This group also includes Jim Apostolopoulos and Peter Apostolopoulos, Steve’s brothers.
• Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo: Foley is the majority owner of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and the Premier League club AFC Bournemouth, while Colangelo is a four-time NBA Executive of the Year who previously owned the Suns. Colangelo is known to be interested in purchasing a Las Vegas expansion team via his Las Vegas Jacks group, which also includes former Turner Sports president David Levy and former NBA guards Jay Williams and Vinny Del Negro, among others, and wants to build a new Vegas arena. Colangelo’s group and Foley agreed to join forces rather than pursuing separate bids, Charania notes.

The NBA’s Board of Governors voted in March to formally explore adding expansion franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle. The league has been vetting potential ownership groups in both markets during the past few months and there appears to be momentum toward new teams ending up in both markets.

As Charania details, the league is expected to hold a “formal approval process” before the end of the year. Las Vegas has been the priority in the short term because there are more bidders involved and because there isn’t a ready-made arena for an NBA team to move into, like Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

T-Mobile Arena, where the Vegas Knights play, is considered a possible home for an NBA franchise, but commissioner Adam Silver confirmed at this month’s Board of Governors meetings that it would require renovations in order to be considered NBA-ready. It could end up being a short-term solution while a new arena is built.

According to Charania, another reason the NBA is focused on Las Vegas first is in case the groups who finish as runners-up want to get involved in the Seattle bidding process. Samantha Holloway, the majority owner of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, has been considered the frontrunner for an NBA expansion team in the city, though at least one other bidder is said to be in the picture.