The National Basketball Association -NBA- is considering adding a franchise in Las Vegas, although it has neither approved the expansion nor awarded a team. In March, its owners authorised an examination of Las Vegas and Seattle. On Tuesday, ‘ESPN’ reported that the league was assessing three finalist groups for the Nevada city: Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie; Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry; and Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo. The proposed investment could reach $12 billion to $13 billion, including the franchise and a new arena. Commissioner Adam Silver aims to make a decision before the end of 2026.
The bid shows how much the major leagues’ relationship with Las Vegas has changed. For decades, the city’s association with gambling made them wary. In 2016, as a Raiders relocation was being discussed, Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, said the league would have to examine Las Vegas from a gambling standpoint. The National Hockey League -NHL- approved the Golden Knights that year; the Raiders’ and Aces’ moves were approved in 2017. Those decisions came before the 2018 US Supreme Court ruling that struck down federal restrictions on the legalisation of sports betting. The NBA was already familiar with the market: its summer league has been held in Las Vegas since 2004.
The cost of an NBA franchise in Las Vegas
The reported $12 billion to $13 billion indicates the scale of a potential deal involving both a team and an arena. The NBA has not announced an expansion fee, and the franchise’s venue has yet to be settled. Silver has raised the possibility of adapting T-Mobile Arena, where the Golden Knights play, or building a new facility. That choice would affect both the cost of a bid and the business its owners could develop around the venue, from premium seating and sponsorship to concerts and other events.
For the NBA’s 30 current owners, an expansion fee would provide a one-off payment. If the league added two teams, however, they would subsequently share central revenues among 32 franchises rather than 30. What Las Vegas could generate after joining the league therefore matters as much as the initial payment. A team would bring 41 regular-season home games, plus any playoff fixtures. Silver recently described it as “a unique market where you could truly see essentially 365-day-a-year activity”.
Golden Knights and Aces: the value of Las Vegas teams
The Vegas Golden Knights were the first major franchise created specifically for Las Vegas. Foley paid a $500 million expansion fee to enter the NHL, and the team began playing in 2017. It reached the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season and won the title in 2023. In December 2025, ‘Forbes’ estimated its value at $2.2 billion. The original fee and the later valuation measure different things, while the NHL’s wider commercial growth also matters. Even so, the team gave other leagues an early example of a major franchise establishing itself in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Aces took a different route. The Women’s National Basketball Association -WNBA- approved the San Antonio Stars’ relocation, and the team began playing in Nevada in 2018. Mark Davis bought it for about $2 million in 2021. ‘Forbes’ valued the Aces at $420 million in 2026 and estimated their 2025 revenue at $34 million. The team sold out every home game in 2024, while franchise valuations rose across the WNBA. Its figures reflect both the business built in Las Vegas and the league’s broader commercial expansion.
The Raiders, visiting fans and another stadium
The Las Vegas Raiders moved from Oakland in 2020. Their games reveal a distinctive feature of the local market: nearly 62% of those attending in 2025 came from outside the city. ‘Forbes’ now estimates the club’s value at $10.3 billion and its revenue for the latest season assessed at $887 million. Valuations have risen throughout the National Football League -NFL-, but in Las Vegas the team also plays in a stadium that draws crowds for concerts and other events. Construction of Allegiant Stadium was authorised to receive up to $750 million in public funding, a precedent that makes financing an important question for any new NBA arena.
That visitor demand helps explain the interest in adding more games to the city’s calendar. Las Vegas’s tourism authority recorded 38.5 million visitors in 2025 and estimated their total direct spending at $50.8 billion. Those figures cover tourism across the city, rather than spending generated solely by sporting events. Another relocation could add to its roster of teams: the Athletics, of Major League Baseball -MLB-, plan to begin playing in Las Vegas in 2028, when the stadium under construction near the Strip is due to be completed.
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