Matt Foley lived in a van down by the river. Bill Foley wants to put a basketball team in a stadium down by the casino.
Yes, after years of professional sports leagues avoiding Las Vegas, Sin City could be completing the superfecta of franchises. Vegas already has the NHL’s Golden Knights and the NFL’s Raiders. The A’s of Major League Baseball are expected to move there in 2028.
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And the NBA is likely next.
Golden Knights owner Bill Foley has announced that he will be pursuing an NBA franchise. Foley has hired Morgan Stanley to serve as the “exclusive financial adviser” in an effort to “structure an ownership platform” that will be built around his existing holding.
“Las Vegas has earned its place among the great sports cities in America, and an NBA team belongs here,” Foley said.
Earlier this year, the NBA decided to target Las Vegas and Seattle as the locations for a pair of expansion franchises.
“This is the NBA’s decision to make,” Foley said. “Our job is to provide the league a Las Vegas option that is ready, credible, and built to last.”
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Obviously, other potential owners could get involved. In the end, it likely will come down to money. Likely, a whole lot of it; the expansion fee is expected to land between $7 billion and $10 billion.
The final number will become highly relevant to the valuation of NFL franchises when they are sold — and to the expansion fee the NFL would charge if/when expansion is on the table.
Recently, UFL co-owner Mike Repole casually said the NFL is “talking about two more expansion teams,” as if it were already a given. The NFL has officially (or unofficially) said nothing about expanding.
Given the current push for more inventory, expansion could be as inevitable as an 18th regular-season game.
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