One of the NHL’s most successful team owners is formally entering the race to land an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, and is hoping to use a hometown presence to his advantage in what is expected to be a spirited battle.
Golden Knights owner Bill Foley announced he is pursuing an NBA franchise for Las Vegas, and he plans to house that team in the existing T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip that is home to the hockey team. He has retained Morgan Stanley & Co. as a financial adviser and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as legal counsel to aid the basketball pursuit.
In so doing, Foley is aimed to join the ranks of joint NBA and NHL team owners that includes the Knicks and Rangers’ Jim Dolan in New York, the Wizards’ and Capitals’ Ted Leonsis in Washington, the Nuggets’ and Avalanche’s Stan Kroenke in Denver, Smith Entertainment Group in Utah that controls the Jazz and Mammoth, and Harris Blazer Sports & Entertainment that has the 76ers in Philadelphia and Devils in New Jersey.
Most recently, Tom Dundon became part of that group, too, adding the Trail Blazers earlier this year to a sports portfolio that includes the Hurricanes.
Foley’s move arrived nearly three months after the NBA’s board of governors approved an exploration of expansion, exclusively to Las Vegas and Seattle. If the NBA does go to the Nevada city and major tourist destination, the league will be the last of the four major U.S. men’s pro leagues to establish a team there, joining the existing Golden Knights and Raiders and the A’s that will open a new ballpark there in 2028.
