It is only a small step in the process to land a team.
Las Vegas may or may not be closer to landing a National Basketball Association expansion franchise. Clark County commissioners have given the go ahead to build an arena that could lead to landing an NBA franchise in the city. The commissioners at a recent zoning meeting unanimously approved a land use permit. A real estate company called LVXP is behind the project with the aid of the Oak View Group, a company that helped build the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders and Seattle Kraken’s arenas. LVXP claims that, “the multi-purpose entertainment and lifestyle venue is expected to feature an expansive retail plaza, state-of-the-art convention space, a destination casino, and several ultra-luxury hotels and residences. Importantly, the site could serve as the home for a new NBA franchise, representing a significant development for Clark County and the community.”
There seems to be a contrast in the planned construction of this Las Vegas sports venue as opposed to Major League Baseball’s Athletics franchise owner John Fisher’s attempt to build a Las Vegas baseball stadium. Fisher’s stadium plan has been chaotic at best with numerous questions about the stadium financing. The NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been talking by adding two teams to his business for a few years but other than some talk, there does not seem to be a strong push to expand. “We’re not quite ready yet,” said Silver in September. “There’s certainly interest in the process. We’re not there yet in terms of having made any specific decisions about markets, or even frankly to expand. We’ve told interested parties, ‘thank you for your interest, we’ll get back to you’.” Seattle and Las Vegas seem to be the leading candidates to get the NBA’s 31st and 32nd franchises, if there is an expansion. Clark County commissioners have upped the ante by giving the green lighting an arena plan in Las Vegas.
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LVXP wants to build a Las Vegas arena.
