An NBA franchise in Las Vegas has been on the cards for many years now, with a roll call of some of the world’s richest investors reportedly interested in the expansion.
Plans to launch the team have accelerated in June, several months on from NBA commissioner Adam Silver officially giving his blessing to explore the project.
Bill Foley – who owns Premier League club Bournemouth and, significantly, the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights – has thrown his hat in the ring. So too have former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Josh Kushner through their venture capital firm Thrive.
Elsewhere, the developers behind the Las Vegas Diamond Arena have also acquired what is being characterised as the final piece of the puzzle in terms of the land needed to accommodate a 21,000-seat NBA venue, complete with a private jet terminal.
At one stage, the workability of sports in Vegas was doubted among some of the industry’s biggest brains. The idea was that the city’s relatively transient population, the NFL’s stance on gambling and a feared lack of hospitality suite pick-up would put a ceiling on a ‘Big Four’ sports league’s presence in the city.
But the commercial success of the Las Vegas Raiders, the city’s NFL side, put paid to that notion.
Only the Dallas Cowboys generated more revenue than the Raiders in the NFL last year, with the Raiders’ total turnover reaching $832m.
Operating income meanwhile, according to Forbes, totalled $179m. They also have one of the highest revenue per fan ratios in the NFL, and they are valued at $7.7bn.
The only concern will be whether the NBA franchise could saturate the demand for sports in Vegas, but there are myriad examples of cities of similar sizes who have accommodated multiple blue-chip teams.
New York, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area all support multiple franchises across multiple leagues without cannibalising fan bases or sponsorship opportunities.
Las Vegas, with its 2.2 million metropolitan population and 40-plus million annual visitors, occupies unique territory, too. Its transient visitor economy actually creates built-in demand for entertainment and premium hospitality experiences that traditional markets cannot match.
The Raiders’ trajectory has proven instructive in another regard as well. The franchise, which relocated from Oakland in 2020, demonstrated that Vegas could not only sustain professional sports but leverage it as a catalyst for broader economic development. Allegiant Stadium’s anchor presence has spurred hotel renovation, real estate investment, and premium dining expansion across the city.
An NBA team would likely accelerate this momentum further, particularly given basketball’s appeal to the international visitor demographic that comprises a significant portion of Vegas tourism.
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