LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Commissioner of the National Basketball Association said there are even more parties interested in owning an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas that have simply not gone public with their intentions.
Silver spoke to the media Tuesday night as the NBA Summer League continues in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack at UNLV.
Silver was asked about the growing interest in ownership across Las Vegas, after the latest announcement from Hall of Famer Jerry Colangelo and the proposal for the Las Vegas Jacks.
“In terms of the process that now for potential expansion here, multiple various serious groups are in the process of presenting plans to our bankers. And those plans not only include who the potential owners would be, but their vision for what Las Vegas basketball could look like, where they would play, how they would present the game. And it’s music to my ears,” Silver said, noting how the Entertainment and Sports Capital of the World bring interest and revenue to the game of basketball.
“It’s become a center of youth basketball in this country right now-not just the major facilities, but the number of courts in town, trainers, and again, the level of interest, the WNBA, of course, that’s had great success here,” he said.
FOX5 has tracked the bevy of recent interest from various groups from Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley committing $300 million to upgrade T-Mobile Arena, to the Las Vegas Diamond Arena developers acquired a final piece of land for a proposed NBA site.
Silver tells the media that there are other groups that have not gone public.
“Some groups have been public. The majority of groups have not been public,” Silver said about interest in Las Vegas. “There are lots of parties in Las Vegas who’ve chosen not to be public about their interest,” he said.
In 2024, LVXP announced its intent to develop the site off Sahara and Las Vegas Boulevard, after the All-Net Arena failed to meet construction benchmarks according to County timelines.
Various resort and landowners have also pitched their desired sites to match possible bids: MGM has thrown its support behind T-Mobile Arena. Leadership for Resorts World supports the exploration of arena possibilities on its large North Strip property.
This spring, City of Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley also floated a proposed site to attract interest to the city’s growing Downtown area.
Various NBA alums have reportedly floated the possibility of a stake in a franchise, from LeBron James (who has since stepped back from the effort), “Magic” Irving Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal.
Silver notes that a decision on expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas will happen by the end of the year; the NBA could even decide to not expand at all, or only expand in one city.
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