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Rocket Arena now has the largest lighting rig in an NBA arena, according to the Cavaliers. The team entered the NBA postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and armed with a new in-game presentation toy that was installed during the arena’s four quiet days ahead of the Cavs’ playoff opener against the Heat (those days were left open in the schedule in case the team was in a play-in game). Shine Entertainment -- founded by former Golden Knights Chief Experience Officer Jonny Greco and his wife, Amanda, who was the Cavs’ Senior Dir of Game Presentation for a decade -- consulted the Cavs on the system (the cost was undisclosed) and how best to utilize its 310 FX lights and 238 robotically movable lights. The lights “amplify everything that happens in a game,” said Cavs CMO Chris Kaiser. “Once you get in the bowl, this will impact every aspect.”
Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley said building a new arena is a “waste of time” for a potential NBA team in Las Vegas and that he has a $300 million plan to facelift T-Mobile Arena for any new NBA franchise. “T-Mobile Arena is the perfect place for an NBA team to play,” Foley told Amber Dixon, who hosts Nevada Week on Vegas PBS. “We have a plan in place to spend about $300 million to improve T-Mobile, add seats, add hospitality, add suites, in particular, and upgrade the park.”
LeBron James remains interested in owning an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, alongside Boston Red Sox owner Fenway Sports Group and RedBird Capital Partners, owner of the AC Milan Italian soccer club, have expressed interest in owning an NBA franchise in Las Vegas. So has Bill Foley, the owner of the National Hockey League’s Las Vegas Golden Knights. “We have a very powerful group — I can tell you money is not a problem,” Foley said. He added that his group includes “several well-known basketball players and a couple very wealthy people, people who can buy me and sell me 20 times over.” A person familiar with the matter said James “continues to be interested and in discussion with his partners at Fenway about the opportunity.” Fenway Sports Group declined to comment.
A $7 billion price tag would top the current high of $6.05 billion that a group led by Josh Harris paid last year to acquire the NFL’s Washington Commanders and the team’s stadium. One big variable on cost will be where the Las Vegas NBA franchise plays. The NHL’s Golden Knights play in the T-Mobile Arena, co-owned by MGM Resorts International. Bill Hornbuckle, CEO of MGM, said earlier this year that he also wants a shot at hosting an NBA team.
Will people be unable to watch games? No. The NBA insists that, like Major League Baseball did with San Diego and Arizona, it will make sure games remain on the air for fans to watch. Teams across the league are already beginning to plan for the possibility that they might need an alternative to their RSN deal, depending on how things play out with Bally's, in particular. One example of a potential alternative is Scripps Sports, which has signed deals in recent months with several teams, including the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights and Arizona Coyotes.
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Assemblyman Tony Simone said he was originally invited to attend a Hockey is For Everyone event at the Garden in which the Rangers were being used for a community outreach program by the NHL to help broaden the games appeal. He was supposed to drop a ceremonial puck at the Jan. 26 game when the Rangers are scheduled to play the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Rangers had invited members of the LBGTQ community to the game.
In the midst of Utah Jazz fans being frustrated over the lack of ability to stream games during the upcoming season, the team on Monday announced a second option to do just that. “In the coming days,” fuboTV, a streaming service that emphasizes sports, will start carrying AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, the television home of the Utah Jazz, NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and MLB’s Colorado Rockies. The announcement said it will first launch in Utah and Nevada and “the surrounding areas” and expand in the future.
Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Wes Edens is one of a handful of people trying to lure a Major League Soccer team to Las Vegas as the city emerges as the most likely location for the league’s 30th franchise. Edens and Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley are part of separate groups hoping to bring an expansion franchise to Allegiant Stadium, the $2 billion home of the Las Vegas Raiders, according to multiple people familiar with the plans.
When reached for comment, Jay Bloom said, “While it is most certainly too preliminary to comment on our group’s efforts, Bill Foley’s extraordinary success with the Vegas Golden Knights, together with Mark Davis’s Las Vegas Raiders’ incredibly warm reception by the community and his exceptional world class facilities, and further, the addition of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, clearly demonstrate that Las Vegas is already a major player in the world of professional sports.” Jay continued, “Be it ultimately our group or someone else, Las Vegas is clearly the most deserving city in the nation for an NBA expansion franchise team.”
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Schwartz isn’t the only one we spoke to who doubted the league could command $5 billion in expansion fees for a pair of new teams. A sports banker, who asked to remain anonymous to speak openly, said, “If no one is pitching Glen Taylor within a billion dollars of $2.5 billion for Minnesota, why would you think someone would spend $2.5 billion to go to Las Vegas? It’s not a better market.” Remember, in Las Vegas the owner would either have to share stadium revenues with the Golden Knights or build his/her own venue. The banker also noted it is not as if there are “a lot of people who can write a $2.5 billion check”—a problem the NFL has come to realize.
Alongside Triller’s influencer growth is the sports industry’s increasing interest in the platform. Over the summer, teams like the Los Angeles Chargers, Vegas Golden Knights and New York Mets created accounts on the app. Another notable sports presence on Triller is @NBAMemes, which boasts nearly four million Instagram followers and was recently acquired by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Mark Prows, senior vice president of entertainment operations for MGM Resorts, a speaker at the summit, also predicted the NBA would be “the next big thing” for Las Vegas. “It’s also not something where we’re going to force a square peg into a round hole. We’re going to let it happen organically,” he said. “We’ve been very active in conversations and, as many people know, the city has an amazing relationship with the NBA.” Prows said he thinks it’s more likely that an existing NBA team would relocate to Las Vegas than the league expanding here. “We’re talking about something that is probably five years or so down the road,” Prows said. “Frankly, with where we’re at with VGK and the Raiders, this market needs to absorb those (teams) from a sponsorship standpoint. It’s critical that we don’t get out over our skis as a city.”
Speaking at a company analyst and investor day event Thursday, MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren said he expects the NBA to come to Las Vegas in a few years. Murren sees an NBA team relocating like the NFL’s Oakland Raiders' pending 2020 move to Las Vegas, and not an expansion team being added, like in the case of the NHL’s Golden Knights.
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