NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said on Tuesday that there has been more discussion about the league expanding to Las Vegas and Seattle.
In March, the NBA Board of Governors formally authorized the investigation of possible expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas. This week, however, they spent more time talking about Las Vegas than Seattle, according to Silver.
The league is considering a Sphere-style arena for its Las Vegas expansion franchise, Adam Silver stated on Tuesday. He said the owners are comparing a newly constructed venue with an updated T-Mobile Arena.
“There’s real excitement around T-Mobile Arena,” Silver said. “I think everyone acknowledges if a team were to stay there, it needs some significant improvements.
“But at the same time, there are groups who have presented plans to build what I would call a modern entertainment palace in Las Vegas. It’s a unique market where you could truly see essentially 365-day-a-year activity.”
Patrick Dumont, a Las Vegas Sands executive and the governor of the Dallas Mavericks, have been spearheading discussions about potential arena locations in the region.
Seattle may be ahead of Las Vegas when it comes to an expansion NBA franchise
“In Seattle, we have had operational groups out to Climate Pledge,” Silver added. “You clearly have a state-of-the-art arena there.
“It may require some modifications for NBA basketball, but if we were opening, you know, in five weeks, we could be ready in Seattle. So, because we can only take on so much at once, more of the discussion was around Las Vegas.”
The fact that Seattle already has a better area for basketball may make an expansion team there happen first, according to Silver.
“In Las Vegas, it’s not even clear what the site will be, let alone the arena yet,” said Silver. “Therefore, it’s a much longer timeline before we can throw the ball up for NBA basketball.”
At least four ownership groups are pursuing an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas. They include Golden Knights owner Bill Foley; Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband, Bill Laurie; former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo and former NBA player Vinny Del Negro; and one anonymous group.
The next deadline for the bid groups involved in the Las Vegas process is Thursday, according to Silver.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a group that secures a Las Vegas expansion team is expected to pay more than one in Seattle, with the expansion fee anticipated to be between $7 and $10 billion.
“It’s our goal to have decisions by the end of the year,” Silver said. “And that continues to be our goal.”