Adam Silver: Decision on NBA expansion 'very much on track' by end of year
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver talks about latest steps towards league expansion
We're hearing from the NBA Commissioner about the latest steps towards league expansion and a potential return of the Seattle SuperSonics.g
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday night that the league is still on track to make a decision on possible expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas by the end of the year.
"I’m still hopeful this process would be wrapped up by year-end and I still feel we are very much on track," Silver said.
The league held its meetings at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where at least four groups have publicly expressed interest in an expansion franchise bid. In Seattle, only One Roof Sports & Entertainment – Kraken owner Samantha Holloway's group – have expressed public interest in a bid.
Silver said Paul Taubman, the CEO of PJT Partners – the bank used by the NBA – briefed ownership on the expansion process during the meetings.
"There were discussions both at committee level and before the board from Paul Taubman, our outside banker, about how the process is going, what he’s hearing from the groups," Silver said. "As I said earlier, price is one component, but I think there was as much interest in who the groups would be, what the overall composition of ownership and, of course, where they would play."
Silver said that just because interest hasn't been public doesn't mean there hasn't been additional interest in Seattle from other groups.
"Most of the groups that are interested have not been public. And any group that has chosen to be public is their decision. I wouldn’t conclude that because there aren’t other public groups coming forward that therefore there isn’t other interest in Seattle. There is." Silver said.
Holloway announced their intention of pursuing an expansion bid in March when Silver revealed their current expansion exploration would be limited to only the Seattle and Las Vegas markets. Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, and former NBA executive and Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo lead the two groups to most recently express public interest in Las Vegas.
The backstory:
The Kraken announced the creation of One Roof Sports and Entertainment in late March to serve as the umbrella company for all the group's sports assets, which included the acquisition of a controlling stake in Climate Pledge Arena. Additionally, Melinda French Gates joined the Kraken ownership group in June as a minority investor.
One Roof S&E owning the controlling interest in Climate Pledge Arena certainly gives them a leg-up as a group. Any competing bid would need to have a plan for where they would play, either as a tenant under One Roof S&E at Climate Pledge Arena, or at a separate arena that would need to be constructed elsewhere in the Seattle area.
Of course, building a new arena would also vastly increase the price of the project. The expansion team alone is expected to be at least $6 billion – though various reports suggest an even higher price tag – with a new arena likely costing a couple of billion more, along with the process that would be required to get the land, approval and permits for a new building.
The Kraken hired investment banks JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Moelis & Co. to advise their expansion bid efforts in May.
"I think that what we will do is we will put together a bid that has it all," Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke said in March. "And I would say the most important thing in our bid is the ability to do it and do it well. And that's going to be very important for the NBA if ultimately they push ahead and want to expand, they're going to want to make sure that it's done well, that there's no drama, that there's no slips, there's no mistakes, and to be honest with you, the confidence I feel in our ownership group, we've not made any mistakes.
"Our track record is fantastic, and I'm super proud of it. I'm super proud of Samantha, our building is ready, and most importantly, the fans are ready."
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
MORE NBA NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE
Wilt Chamberlain's Lakers warm-up jacket found at Goodwill could sell for $250,000
The LeBron James era in Los Angeles is over
Washington big man Hannes Steinbach drafted 14th overall by Charlotte Hornets
James Harden arrested in Houston area, charged with unlawful carry
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.