Samantha Holloway hires investment banks as advisors for NBA expansion efforts

SEATTLE - Seattle Kraken owner Samantha Holloway has hired investment banks JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Moelis & Co. to advise their efforts to secure an NBA expansion franchise.

A spokesperson for Holloway and One Roof Sports & Entertainment confirmed the moves to FOX 13 Seattle on Wednesday, which had been reported by Bloomberg News and The Seattle Times.

The move is the latest step from the Kraken's ownership group as they attempt to bring the Sonics back to Seattle after a nearly 20-year absence.

The NBA announced in March that they were exploring expansion exclusively to Seattle and Las Vegas. The Kraken announced their intention to pursue a bid shortly after NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the plans at the NBA Board of Governors meeting.

"I think that what we will do is we will put together a bid that has it all," Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke said. "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."

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The cost of NBA expansion is expected to be at least $6 billion, with various reports claiming the number will come in significantly higher. A decision on whether the league will move forward with expansion is not expected until later this year as Silver said it was unlikely to happen by the league's July meeting in Las Vegas.

"I think this summer would be premature, but there is time between the summer and the end of the calendar year," Silver said at an Associated Press Sports Editors commissioners meetings in New York in late April, via Tim Booth of The Seattle Times. "It is still my hope for both Seattle and Las Vegas that we would be positioned to make decisions and decisions about specific groups by the end of the year."

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 include the majority ownership stake of Climate Pledge Arena, Kraken Community Iceplex, One Roof Foundation, the Coachella Valley Firebirds and Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, and the Memorial Stadium renovation project. The group purchased a controlling stake in Climate Pledge Arena prior to the announcement from the NBA that they would be exploring expansion officially.

"We started this journey eight years ago intentful to bring the NBA back, and we are going to lean in," Leiweke said. "The announcements we made earlier in the week were all laying the groundwork, and we're excited. And if we're fortunate enough someday to bring it back and help lead, we'll do it the same way, in the same fashion we've done everything else: fans, community and with passion for this place we live."

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