The NBA is expected to select the owner of its Las Vegas expansion franchise in the “very near future,” according to ESPN, with a $12-13 billion price tag for the team and arena combined. Three finalist bidding groups remain.
The three finalists
The remaining groups are Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo; Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie; and Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry.
Foley is the majority owner of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and brought professional hockey to Las Vegas in 2017. Colangelo, a Hall of Famer, sold the Phoenix Suns in 2004 for $401 million, a record at the time, and was a four-time NBA Executive of the Year. The Foley-Colangelo group includes former Turner Sports president David Levy, former NBA player and coach Vinny Del Negro and ESPN basketball analyst Jay Williams.
Nancy Walton Laurie is the daughter of Walmart co-founder James “Bud” Walton, with a net worth of $17 billion. Bill Laurie is a former owner of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. The couple owns a home in Henderson, Nevada.
Apostolopoulos is a Canadian billionaire who attempted to purchase the Washington Commanders and the Charlotte Hornets in recent years. Lasry previously co-owned the Milwaukee Bucks and sold his stake in 2023 to Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam at a $3.5 billion valuation.
Las Vegas vs. Seattle timeline
The league is prioritizing Las Vegas ahead of Seattle for logistical reasons. Las Vegas requires a new arena to be built, a more complex process than Seattle’s situation.
“There was not as much discussion around Seattle as there was around Las Vegas because with Las Vegas, it’s not even clear what the site will be, let alone the arena yet,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said following the league’s board of governors meeting this month. “In Seattle, we have had operational groups out to Climate Pledge Arena. You clearly have a state-of-the-art arena there.”
Climate Pledge Arena, home to the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, could host an NBA team with modifications. The project would be simpler and faster than Vegas, where arena plans remain fluid.
The arena question in Las Vegas
The league is evaluating two paths for Las Vegas. The T-Mobile Arena, which currently houses the WNBA’s Aces and NHL’s Golden Knights, exists but needs significant work. “I think everyone acknowledges if a team were to stay there, it still needs some significant improvements,” Silver said.
The alternative is new construction. Several bidding groups have presented plans for modern arenas that would anchor larger casino and hospitality developments, capitalizing on Las Vegas’s year-round entertainment draw.
“I think that there is real excitement around a renovated T-Mobile Arena,” Silver said. “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.”
What’s next
Silver has said the league hopes to settle the expansion matter by the end of the year, with formal approval expected before Dec. 31. ESPN reported in March that the NBA would hope to have expansion teams begin play in the 2028-29 season.
Seattle’s expansion bid is expected to reach around $7 billion, significantly less than Las Vegas, reflecting the ready-made arena and faster timeline.
Las Vegas has been the longtime host of the NBA Summer League and hosted the All-Star Game in 2007. The city would become the fourth major pro sports market with NBA, NHL (Golden Knights), WNBA (Aces), and soon-to-arrive MLB (Athletics) franchises.
Reporting from CBS Sports, ESPN, Bleacher Report and NBC Sports contributed to this story.
