Bill Foley is already making his pitch for the NBA’s next Vegas franchise, and he’s doing it from a position of experience.
The Golden Knights owner says he’s building a group to chase an expansion team, and the response has been strong enough that he may need to scale back how much he planned to ask from institutional investors. Foley said the interest picked up after he spoke with Morgan Stanley, his bankers, and he believes the market is there for another major-league team in Las Vegas.
He’s not walking into this blind. Foley brought the Golden Knights to town in 2017, and he’s convinced he can repeat that success in basketball - maybe even top it.
“We did a couple things really well,” Foley said. “We’re going to do it on steroids with an NBA team.”
The NBA is still weighing whether to expand, and Las Vegas is one of the cities in the mix along with Seattle. The league’s process is moving forward, with investment bank PJT Partners serving as a strategic adviser and interested parties already in contact with the NBA.
Foley called it “a very competitive process,” adding, “I’m sure the NBA wants it to be competitive. I’m sure that helps the franchise value.”
Las Vegas is shaping up as the more crowded fight. Foley says he knows of five groups alone, and the list of names attached to the city keeps growing.
Magic Johnson is fronting a local effort. Bloomberg has reported interest from former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner.
Marc Lasry, the former Milwaukee Bucks owner, has also shown interest in the past.
Another bid is taking a more formal shape. A group led by longtime NBA executive Jerry Colangelo, former Los Angeles Clippers coach and player Vinny Del Negro, ex-Turner Broadcasting president David Levy and a group of finance executives is working on its own plan.
That group says it already has $8 billion committed and wants to raise as much as $13 billion to buy a team and eventually build an arena. The effort, led by Del Negro and Prime Capital Financial chairman Scott Colangelo, has been in motion since 2024 and already has a name in mind: the Las Vegas Jacks.
An application for that name was filed in May 2025.
Foley’s edge, in his view, is simple: he’s done this before, and he’s done it in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights rank in the top four in the NHL in sponsorship revenue, Foley said, and he plans to bring that same business approach to an NBA club. He also owns a stake in T-Mobile Arena, which he sees as a major advantage if the league awards Las Vegas a team.
A new franchise would otherwise have to spend billions on a building, and Foley pointed out that a new arena might not be ready in time for a debut. He said T-Mobile Arena would still need work to be NBA-ready, including $300 million to $400 million in refurbishment.
He also said a team would need a business office and possibly a practice facility. Foley would like to add about 1,000 seats - mostly suites - to the building, and if the NBA comes to Vegas, he could also buy majority control in the arena.
For Foley, the broader case for Las Vegas is bigger than one team. He sees a city that can support another major pro franchise, especially with the Golden Knights, Raiders and Aces already there and the Athletics on the way. He believes the NBA team would sell out every game and carry a global appeal that goes beyond what he found with hockey.
Las Vegas may be the 40th-largest media market, but Foley sees it as one of the country’s biggest tourist destinations. Another bidder put it even more bluntly, saying “Vegas would be the crown jewel of the NBA.”
“It’s an exciting prospect,” Foley said. “The NBA is a whole different animal in terms of its global reach.”
He also knows nothing is guaranteed. Foley said he has not been told the league is definitely bringing a team to Las Vegas, and he’s heard the same possibilities Adam Silver laid out in March: two teams, one team or no expansion at all. Even so, Foley believes his group is in a strong position.
“We’ve already brought a major-league franchise to Las Vegas,” he said. “We’ve jumped through all the hoops. … I believe we’re in a really good spot to compete.”
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