The two leading NBA expansion markets are Las Vegas and Seattle.
March 25th could be a big day for National Basketball Association fans in Seattle and Las Vegas. The NBA Board of Governors will meet and one of the items that the 30 owners could discuss is expansion. The NBA owners could approve a mechanism that would trigger an expansion plan that could eventually award investors in Seattle and in Las Vegas franchises. It could be the first step in the process that would lead to a league expansion by the 2028-29 season. For years, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been discussing the possibility of the league adding two franchises. The thought was that once the league owners signed a new collective bargaining agreement with the players and the league signed a new American television deal that the owners would finally explore the possibility of expansion and that Las Vegas and Seattle would be the top two markets on the list.
The Seattle market was abandoned by the league in 2008 after the SuperSonics franchise owner Howard Schultz was unable to get a new arena built somewhere in the market. Schultz sold his business to a group of Oklahoma City investors led by Clayton Bewnnett. Bennett moved the franchise to Oklahoma City breaking a lease that was supposed to end in 2010. In 2013, Seattle investors made a bid to buy the Sacramento Kings franchise with the intention of moving the business to Seattle. NBA owners blocked the purchase and found a local buyer to keep the team in Sacramento. The Seattle market has a relatively new building that is NBA ready. The NBA has been doing business in Las Vegas for decades. The NBA’s summer league for rookies and other young players takes place there. The NBA owners may be interested in Mexico City and Vancouver but Seattle and Las Vegas are the clear favorites.
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