NBA to Select Winning Bid for Las Vegas Expansion Team Soon

The NBA plans to select the winning bid for the owner of the Las Vegas expansion team 'in the very near future.' The franchise and new arena are expected to be sold for $12 billion to $13 billion. There are three finalist groups, according to ESPN: Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie; Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry; and Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo. The league will hold an official approval process by the end of December on two expansion teams, but Las Vegas is expected to be settled before Seattle due to a more active bidding market with higher offers. In Seattle, there are no logistics of developing a new arena as Climate Pledge Arena is already set as the home for the new team. Additionally, the Las Vegas runners-up may have interest in joining the Seattle bid process. Nancy Walton Laurie is the daughter of Walmart co-founder James 'Bud' Walton and is married to Bill Laurie, the former owner of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. The couple resides in a suburb of Las Vegas and has a net worth of $17 billion, according to Forbes. Apostolopoulos showed interest in purchasing the Charlotte Hornets from Michael Jordan in 2023 but later pivoted to buying the Washington Commanders, which were sold to a group led by Josh Harris, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers. Lasry is the former co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and sold his stake in the franchise to Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam at a valuation of $3.5 billion. Colangelo, the former owner of the Phoenix Suns, began discussions with Foley about teaming up with his Las Vegas Jacks group, leveraging Foley’s ties to the city and the Jacks’ plans for a new arena, as well as relationships with key league stakeholders.