Patience the watchword as NBA mulls expansion to Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — The phrase “Trust the process” is not just exclusively Philadelphia’s.
You can argue it’s the case in both Las Vegas and Seattle as the NBA continues its meticulous and somewhat slow and agonizing due diligence in determining whether it will expand from the current 30 teams.
Tuesday was another step and it didn’t yield any definitive results. There are multiple bids for the Las Vegas expansion franchise and it does take time to vet the groups, check the financials see the proposed plans for where the team will play and other items on the checklist.
So forgive commissioner Adam Silver if he didn’t have a ton of news to share on the subject following the Board of Governors meeting in New York. But he appears bullish on Las Vegas joining the NBA.
“Several active groups. I’ll leave it at that,” he said in his news conference Tuesday. “I’ll say that there was a discussion led by Patrick Dumont, of course, who is a Las Vegas resident, enormous operating experience there in Las Vegas, just sort of as an independent objective party. Led a discussion around the various sites, potential sites, in Las Vegas.”
Dropping Dumont’s name was interesting given his family’s residency in the city and that the majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks could weigh in on what Las Vegas offers.
Among the groups reportedly interested are Bill and Nancy Laurie, who joined the party right before the biding opened and could be the favorites. Nancy Laurie is the daughter of Bud Walton and her family are the proprietors of Walmart. She and her husband are worth a reported $17 billion according to Forbes. Her sister is married to Stan Kroenke, who owns the Denver Nuggets along with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and, most recently, purchased Major league’s Baseball’s Los Angeles Angels. So the potential of having another Walton in the NBA isn’t a bad thing.
The Lauries also live in Henderson so having ownership that is local makes them an attractive option.
And if you’re talking about local ownership, there’s still Bill Foley, the owner of the Vegas Golden Knights who has a stake in T-Mobile Arena. And there’s Jerry Colangelo’s group which claims it is ready to go and would build a new arena if awarded the franchise. And Magic Johnson is part of a group that wants in.
“I think that there is real excitement around either a renovated 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.
“There was some discussion about how much the Sphere has impacted Las Vegas – what a technological marvel that is, what it’s meant as a showcase and even what it’s meant economically for Las Vegas. So some discussions around in a similar vein.”
Foley has gone on the record that he plans to put $340 million to upgrade T-Mobile Arena which opened 10 years ago. He plans to do the renovations even if he doesn’t get the NBA expansion franchise.
But as I’ve said all along, this is a business decision first and foremost and it’s going to come down to controlling the basketball revenue streams that will determine who gets the team. I’ve used the Clippers’ Intuit Dome as the prime example. The Clippers went from being the third tenant in downtown Los Angeles’ crypto.com Arena to being the landlords of the Intuit Dome. Steve Ballmer gets all the revenue — tickets, parking, suites, signage, club seating, concessions and anything else connected to the arena.
It’s why Seattle isn’t an issue. Samantha Holloway, who is seeking the bid for the expansion franchise for that city, owns Climate Pledge Arena, where the team would play. And it’s why Silver remains cautious in his remarks when it comes to Las Vegas.
“I think right now we’re at the point where there will be next-round bids coming in shortly, not final bids, but next-round bids coming in,” he said. “My personal view is it’s premature to start locking in a site. I think there are several different locations that would be very viable for NBA basketball in Las Vegas.”
If I’m an NBA fan living in Las Vegas, I may have to remain patient. Because if it results in a group other than Foley getting the team, it’s going to need time to construct the arena where the team will play. And if that’s the case, it could push back the start of an NBA Las Vegas team to 2029 or 2030. Even though we can build things quickly here, it still takes a couple of years to construct an arena.
It may mean the NBA waits to award a Las Vegas franchise. It may opt to go with Seattle. Or it could simply put the entire expansion discussion on pause. Regardless, the price tag is still going to be steep. The numbers being thrown around are as much as $10 billion for Las Vegas, a little less for Seattle, somewhere in the $7 billion range. Those fees have yet to be determined but will likely be established in the next month or two as the process plays out.
So stay patient Las Vegas. It’s still going to happen. When, nobody is sure. But Silver has always been supportive of Las Vegas and given what the bidding has produced, there’s no reason to dampen his enthusiasm on the city joining the NBA.
Christmas is coming. Perhaps, so will the announcement of Las Vegas joining the NBA.