While the NBA's Conference finals are making headlines, tectonic plates are shifting underneath the NBA's crust. The NBA's scuttlebutt radar detected signals that could change the composition of the league. If a report from Portland 750 AM host and Oregonian sports columnist John Canzano is correct, the NBA is positioning itself to expand into Las Vegas and Seattle as soon as the league's current media rights deal expires in 2024. Bill Simmons leaked rumors of the NBA looking into expansion to Seattle and Vegas. The names of the owners of the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians were thrown into the mix of people interested in owning an expansion team. Simmons is likely to have links with John Henry's organization. The connection is obvious due to the fact that the Red and Reds are owned by the same company. Maybe the next best thing is having an ownership stake in the team that he plays for if he can't play with his son. The Paul G. Allen trust contains the late billionaire's pro sports franchise assets. Jody Allen, Allen's sister, wants to sell the Portland Trail blazers in the next 18 months. A sitting team president of an NBA franchise believes that the league's owners are unlikely to allow the Trail Blazers to relocate to Seattle after their sale. Clean. The flexible head is designed to last seven years and has a variety of different functions to use to fit your style.
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The NBA's 30-team structure has not changed since the league awarded Charlotte an expansion franchise. Expansion to Seattle would be the second instance of the NBA making an apology for a mistake they made in the early 2000s. The original Hornets co-owners, George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge, were punished for cutting and running to New Orleans when Charlotte was awarded a franchise.
The NBA is the only major professional sport in Seattle. The relocation of the Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City has been on the NBA's to-do list for 15 years. Chris Hansen, a hedge fund manager from Seattle, tried to buy the Kings for $625 million and relocate them, but his attempt was unsuccessful. The NBA's focus on planting permanent roots in Vegas is related to the future. Team USA training camp is held in Vegas every summer, and the NBA was one of the first leagues to embrace Vegas with its Summer League.
The Oak View Group, an entertainment business development and sports management group, announced plans earlier this year to build a $1 billion arena in Las Vegas. Oak View will have a resort and arena on 25 acres and an entertainment district on 41 acres. The $3 billion arena construction is putting the cart before the horse, but it is good business. It took two years for Charlotte to be awarded to Robert Johnson over Larry Bird's group. The OVG's arena would open in time for the Vegas franchise's inaugural season if an announcement is made in 2024.
At the World Congress of Sports last October, Silver suggested that expansion was on the horizon.
At some point, Vegas will be on the list, Silver said.
Don't read too much into his fear. Expansion fees will appeal to owners who vote for expansion. The expansion fees for the original Charlotte Hornets was over 30 million. By 1994, the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies had paid $125 million and $400 million, respectively.
Welcoming two new franchises based in major cities into the fold means they will have more leverage in negotiating their next TV deal and those new ownership groups will potentially have to pony up a combined $5 billion in expansion fees to be spread among the league's 30 existing NBA franchises will make up for the billions of dollars in losses they incurred during the Pandemic with the help of these fees. The NBA's domestic expansion will likely come to an end in the near future once these two teams are smashed into the bloated 30-team league.
We have a lot of smoke signals. The mood in 2002 when expansion to Charlotte also appeared because of concerns about whether their venues were NBA-Ready was reminiscent of Silver's coyness about potential expansion. Vegas and Seattle will not face that obstacle. The home of the NHL's Golden Knights is the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which opened in 2016 as a multi-purpose indoor arena. The new NBA cathedral will contribute to the sports venue arms race.
If the NBA has maxed out with 30 teams and if 32 creates diminishing returns by sending their competitive balance off a cliff, they should not be concerned. Revenue-sharing is stretched and the talent is watered down by two additional franchises. The NBA hasn't teased this type of expansion to multiple marquee destination cities since 1989 when Miami, Charlotte, Minnesota and Orlando joined the league.
If globalization is a family home with a yard, then the NBA Board of Governors has been trying to make as many teams as possible. Louisville, St. Louis or Nashville won't attract enough of a financial advantage to offset the financial burden of adding another franchise. The NBA will run out of cities to conquer in North America if they add Vegas and Seattle.
The NBA played regular-season games in Mexico City. The league will play its second regular-season game in Paris, France in January of next year. A generation of NBA superstars might consider signing with a European-based franchise to play closer to their families now that the NBA landscape has changed. After expanding to Vegas and Seattle, Silver and the owners might want to go overseas or into Latin America. We are putting the cart before the horse. NBA Pangaea is the only frontier left if Vegas and Seattle come to fruition.
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