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One of the NHL’s most successful team owners is formally entering the race to land an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, and is hoping to use a hometown presence to his advantage in what is expected to be a spirited battle.
Golden Knights owner Bill Foley announced he is pursuing an NBA franchise for Las Vegas, and he plans to house that team in the existing T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip that is home to the hockey team. He has retained Morgan Stanley & Co. as a financial adviser and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as legal counsel to aid the basketball pursuit.
In so doing, Foley is aimed to join the ranks of joint NBA and NHL team owners that includes the Knicks and Rangers’ Jim Dolan in New York, the Wizards’ and Capitals’ Ted Leonsis in Washington, the Nuggets’ and Avalanche’s Stan Kroenke in Denver, Smith Entertainment Group in Utah that controls the Jazz and Mammoth, and Harris Blazer Sports & Entertainment that has the 76ers in Philadelphia and Devils in New Jersey.
Most recently, Tom Dundon became part of that group, too, adding the Trail Blazers earlier this year to a sports portfolio that includes the Hurricanes.
Foley’s move arrived nearly three months after the NBA’s board of governors approved an exploration of expansion, exclusively to Las Vegas and Seattle. If the NBA does go to the Nevada city and major tourist destination, the league will be the last of the four major U.S. men’s pro leagues to establish a team there, joining the existing Golden Knights and Raiders and the A’s that will open a new ballpark there in 2028.
“Las Vegas has earned its place among great sports cities in America, and an NBA team belongs here,” Foley said in a statement. “We built the Golden Knights into a championship organization from the ground up, and we are prepared to do it again—with the same standard, the same commitment to this community, and the same insistence on winning. We have the market, a proven, world-class arena, and a best-in-class organization.”
To Foley’s point, the Golden Knights have reached the playoffs eight times in their nine seasons of existence, reached the Stanley Cup Final three times, and won a league championship in 2023. One of three conference championships happened this past season, with the team ultimately falling in the Stanley Cup Final to the Hurricanes in six games.
The Foley-led group will likely include “a limited number of strategic and minority partners” as well. The arrival of an NBA franchise to Las Vegas would also involve long-discussed upgrades to T-Mobile Arena.
High-Stakes Race
Foley, however, will hardly be alone in the pursuit of a Las Vegas NBA team—something that has quietly percolated within the business of sports for several years.
Notably, that situation has involved several current and NBA legends. Magic Johnson, an owner in numerous NBA teams, has been particularly active in his own pursuit in recent months and has met with several area leaders on the issues, including Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo.
Shaquille O’Neal, meanwhile, has periodically signaled his interest in being part of an ownership group in Las Vegas.
Industry rumors have also pointed to other potential investor groups that have not yet surfaced publicly.
Lakers star LeBron James for several years was openly coveting being part of a Las Vegas ownership group, saying in 2023 that the idea of a team there “just makes sense.” After the NBA vote in March to consider expansion, however, James changed his stance entirely, saying he no longer was pursuing that.
An expansion fee for an NBA Las Vegas franchise is expected to run between $7 billion and $10 billion—a hefty sum even for billionaires like James.
