NBA Las Vegas expansion: Where the process sits after latest owners meeting

NBA Las Vegas expansion: Where the process sits after latest owners meeting The NBA moved a measurement person to expansion in Las Vegas and Seattle this past week. The latest deadline for bid groups passed on Thursday, just days after NBA team owners met and discussed expansion in New York. A bid group led by Golden Knights owner Bill Foley submitted a second bid letter to the league on Thursday, ahead of the deadline and remains in the running, according to a source with knowledge of the matter who spoke to the Review-Journal. There has been no indication that any of the other groups have withdrawn from the race for a Las Vegas team. The other groups include one led by billionaire Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill Laurie; one dubbed the Las Vegas Jacks, which features former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo and former NBA player and coach Vinny Del Negro; and another group that remains anonymous. When asked by the Review-Journal on Tuesday how many bid groups remained active in the Las Vegas bid process, NBA commissioner Adam Silver did not provide a specific figure. “Several progressive groups,” Silver said. “I’ll permission it astatine that.” Silver also noted that some groups previously interested in bidding for a Las Vegas NBA expansion team dropped out after earlier deadlines without naming the groups. A group led by billionaire venture capitalist Joshua Kusher and former Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger ended their pursuit of a Las Vegas expansion team and purchased the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion. Silver has said the NBA aims to make a decision by the end of this year, with an expansion taking effect for the 2028‑29 season. Proving bid case In Las Vegas and Seattle, the bidding groups are essentially demonstrating their financing to the league and PJT Partners, the firm brought in to help oversee the expansion process. Silver said the bid groups are structured similarly, with a lead investor and several smaller partners, largely because potential bid amounts could reach as high as $10 billion. Interest in Las Vegas is likely to exceed that in Seattle due to greater interest. “In almost each of these cases, given the values of these franchises, often there’s a lead investor, but then there are multiple parties who are part of an ownership group,” Silver said Monday post‑meeting. “It’s unusual in expansion because you have an opportunity to choose your partners. So, it’s not just the principal. I think they’re (board of governors and PJT) interested in the whole group. And beyond that, I think it’s what