The NBA could soon be tipping off in Las Vegas and Seattle after the NBA Board voted to formally explore potential team expansion to the two cities.
The NBA said that as part of the process to expand the league to 32 teams it has engaged investment bank PJT Partners as a strategic adviser to evaluate prospective markets, ownership groups, arena infrastructure, and the broader economic implications of expansion.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, “Today’s vote reflects our Board’s interest in exploring potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle – two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball.
“We look forward to taking this next step and engaging with interested parties.”
The NBA is targeting the 2028-29 season for start of play for the new franchises and
expansion fees are projected to reach $7–10 billion per team.
The Seattle SuperSonics would likely return to Climate Pledge Arena, while a new Las Vegas team could play at T-Mobile Arena or a newly built venue.
Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley has made it clear that she is keen on bringing an NBA franchise to Sin City.
She plans to pitch a site in downtown that she says would be a perfect fit for an NBA arena and has noted that Clark County has become a hub of pro sports action in the United States.
The NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights play at T-Mobile Arena, the Las Vegas Raiders of the NFL compete down the road at Allegiant Stadium, while the MLB’s relocating Athletics franchise will also soon call the city home.
Those three facilities were built at a combined cost of $4.3 billion, and Mayor Berkley believes there’s space for a new NBA venue in the downtown Vegas area.
Berkley said, “I know they were considering a number of locations, I’m not sure they are considering a location in Las Vegas; they’re all in the county. I don’t have a problem with that.”
No NBA team has ever called Sin City home, but basketball has recently increased its presence in Nevada, through the Summer League and the NBA Cup.
The three-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces have also played in the shadow of the iconic strip since relocating from San Antonio in 2018.
“Whatever is happening in the county with T-Mobile, or Allegiant — a fabulous, fabulous stadium — and what’s going to happen with the A’s and their stadium on Trop.
“We have an alternative, and I would like to propose it to them (NBA) to see if they would even come down and see it for themselves.”
It’s around five miles north of the iconic Strip and would put an expansion team at the heart of downtown.
Mayor Berkley added: “It’s near a freeway, it won’t be as congested (as) on the Strip. It’s an alternative that they may want to examine, and I’m not sure that anybody has proposed it yet.”
A final decision on the NBA’s expansion teams is expected by the end of 2026, and only then will any new arena site be officially announced.
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