NBA eyes record $10bn expansion fee as Seattle SuperSonics return could be ready in ‘five weeks’

The NBA is inching closer toward its biggest expansion decision in decades.

Commissioner Adam Silver said on Tuesday that the league continues to consider Seattle and Las Vegas as primary options for new teams.

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"In Seattle, we have had operational groups out to Climate Pledge (Arena)," Silver told reporters on Tuesday.

"You clearly have a state-of-the-art arena there. May require some modifications for NBA basketball. If we were opening in five weeks, we could be ready in Seattle.”

If the NBA adds two new teams, it would increase the total amount of franchises to 32.

The league last expanded in 2004 when the Charlotte Bobcats were added as the 30th team for a $300 million expansion fee.

Twenty-two years later, the NBA is eyeing a potential $10 billion expansion fee if a team is added in Las Vegas.

But there are issues surrounding where a new team in Nevada would play its home games.

“I’ll say that there was a discussion led by Patrick Dumont, of course, who is a Las Vegas resident and has operating experience there in Las Vegas, just sort of as an independent, objective party, led a discussion around the various sites, potential sites in Las Vegas,” Silver said.

“I think that there is real excitement around either a renovated T-Mobile Arena (or new arena).

“I think everyone acknowledges that T-Mobile’s there and still needs some significant improvements. But at the same time, there are groups who have presented plans to build what I would call a modern entertainment palace in Las Vegas. And it’s a unique market where you can truly see essentially 365-day-a-year activity.”

The Sonics could be an easier addition for the NBA, which controversially allowed the initial franchise to relocate to Oklahoma City in 2008.

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“The league has been targeting as soon as the 2028-29 season for the start of these expansion teams, and they are also projecting both teams to be in the top 10 in terms of market and revenue share moving forward,” ESPN's Shams Charania said.

“And so right now, Adam Silver is going to continue the bids process. It’s unclear when a final vote would be.

“I think over the next couple of months, we’re going to get clarity on the final offers, potentially $10 billion-ish in Las Vegas, potentially $7 billion range in Seattle, and then a potential vote to finalize expansion to 32 teams.”

Silver has previously said that the NBA hopes to decide before the end of 2026 on how potential expansion will proceed.

The league has wanted for years to place a team back in Seattle.

The 24-7-365 nature of Las Vegas is also appealing, while the NFL, MLB and NHL have all made major moves into Nevada in recent years.

“I just think when somebody’s looking at the kind of investment we’re talking about in an expansion franchise in Las Vegas and the economic opportunity to generate significant revenue outside of core NBA basketball, it’s understandable that groups are looking at property, looking at opportunities to build new arenas," Silver said.

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