NBA has officially approved the expansion of the league, after a vote was held in New York on Thursday by the NBA Board of Governors, to “formally explore potential team expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle”.
“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“, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “We look forward to taking this next step and engaging with interested parties“.
While the phrasing is key (NBA approved that they will “explore the expansion”, not committing to it), media reports that both teams will be created, and each will pay an entry fee of about $7-10 billion, which would come from the recent sales of franchises like the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers, which were sold for for over $10 billion last year. Now it’s time to find potential owners, with an investment bank PJT Partners hired by NBA as a strategic adviser to evaluate potential owners.
