Las Vegas is the hottest professional sports market in the United States, with three major teams either starting or moving there in the past eight years.
And MLB’s Athletics will be a fourth in 2028, assuming stadium plans and financing get cemented.
The missing piece is still an NBA team. Several proposals for a new basketball arena have been made, and rumors are now that the leader in the clubhouse is a developer that is targeting a spot next to the Rio Hotel & Casino.
Key Highlights
- The Rio has 22 acres on which Oak View Group could build an NBA arena.
- Oak View previously wanted to build south of the Las Vegas Strip.
- Las Vegas and Seattle are considered front-runners for teams if the NBA expands.
Plenty of Room at Rio Site
According to Scott Roeben of the ear-to-the-ground Vital Vegas blog, real estate development company Oak View Group plans to build an arena specifically meant for an NBA team on 22 acres next to the Rio.
Roeben stresses that nothing has been confirmed, but he is typically accurate with his information.
Unlike with the planned A’s stadium project on the site of the Tropicana, the Rio would not have to be razed to accommodate an arena. It has plenty of land that can easily handle multiple sports facilities.
Las Vegas does already have the very capable 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena just south of Park MGM. Roeben surmises, though, that the parties involved aren’t keen on having the NHL’s Golden Knights and a future NBA team share a venue, as their seasons would overlap.
There are 10 NHL teams that share an arena with an NBA team, including the Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit Red Wings, but perhaps because there is so much land available in Las Vegas, there is no need to share.
Not the Only Possible Location for an Arena
This isn’t the first Las Vegas location Oak View Group has targeted. It had originally planned to build a $10 billion, 20,000-seat arena south of the Strip at Las Vegas Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road.
The project would have included a 2,000-room hotel and an amphitheater.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Oak View could not nail down an agreement with landowner Blue Diamond Acquisition, which bought 63 acres for $98 million in February 2022.
In a March 2022 press release, Oak View said it had 25 of those acres on which to build, but apparently, the deal fell through.
Another real estate development company, LVXP, announced plans this year to build an arena and hotel where Wet ‘n Wild used to be on Las Vegas Boulevard, between Fontainebleau and SAHARA Las Vegas.
NBA Expansion Not Guaranteed, But Las Vegas is a Favorite
Of course, the key for any developer will be to get an NBA team to Las Vegas. The league has discussed expansion, and some believe that the vetting process may begin before the end of the year.
I think we will engage this fall in earnest in the process of making those determinations of should we expand and if we were to expand, how many teams should we expand and what markets should we look at.
– NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
But there are no guarantees. At a news conference during the NBA Summer League, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, “Sometimes it seems as if we’re printing money when we expand, but it’s actually no different than selling equity in any business.”
He added, “But having said that, I think we will engage this fall in earnest in the process of making those determinations of should we expand and if we were to expand, how many teams should we expand and what markets should we look at.”
Las Vegas and Seattle are considered the two front-runners for NBA expansion teams. Las Vegas, as mentioned, is the hottest pro sports market in the country.
It also hosts the NBA Summer League each off-season and starting last season, became the host of the league’s In-Season Tournament.
Seattle is the biggest market without an NBA team. It was previously home to the Supersonics, which had tremendous fan support, but new owner Clay Bennett moved the franchise to Oklahoma City, where it started playing as the Thunder in the 2008-2009 season.
Other possible cities for NBA expansion include Mexico City, Montreal, Vancouver, Kansas City, and Louisville, among others.
Sources
https://www.casino.org/news/las-vegas-nba-arena-builders-dribble-over-to-rio-site/
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oak-view-group-acquires-25-acres-in-las-vegas-with-vision-to-build-retail–entertainment-district-including-20-000-seat-arena-casino-and-hotel-301513837.html
https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/proposed-south-strip-nba-ready-arena-hotel-project-hits-snag-3173922/
