Las Vegas and Seattle “could take the next step toward landing” NBA expansion teams Wednesday, with “the initial step in the process up for vote” at the league’s BOG meetings in N.Y. To approve this “key step” in the expansion process, 23 of the 30 NBA owners “must vote in favor of exploring expansion.” The NBA “would aim to have the teams in Las Vegas and Seattle begin play for the 2028-29 season” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/24).
The “expectation is that owners will spend a significant amount of Wednesday discussing expansion.” A vote of approval “would jump-start talks and the buzz around expansion,” and it “could lead to a final decision as early as this summer” on whether the league expands beyond its current 30 teams. The idea of a Seattle team “wearing the green and gold and occupying that currently empty locker room” at Climate Pledge Arena “could take its most significant step toward reality Wednesday” (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/24).
Formal vetting for buyers of teams is “usually a months-long process involving detailed, forensic examinations of the financial capabilities of potential ownership groups to finance what is expected to be an NBA record-setting expansion fee” of as much as $10B for each city’s new ownership. Both cities are “believed to have multiple groups that could potentially bid on a team” (THE ATHLETIC, 3/25).