LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As the NBA moves closer to expansion, Golden Knights founder and majority owner Bill Foley believes Las Vegas is ready for its next major league franchise — and says his ownership group is ready to deliver it.
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Foley formally announced he is pursuing an NBA expansion franchise after the league's Board of Governors approved exploring expansion opportunities in Las Vegas and Seattle. According to ESPN, expansion fees are expected to range from $7 billion to $10 billion.
Foley said his group plans to submit its initial bid later this month, relying on the same blueprint that helped launch the Golden Knights nearly a decade ago.
"We brought the first major professional sports team to Las Vegas, and we've been successful," Foley said in an interview with Channel 13. "Most importantly, we're Vegas Born. We know how to make a team part of the community."
That philosophy was born from the franchise's earliest days, when hockey's future in the desert was far from certain.
"The first meet and greet I went to, four people showed up," Foley said. "But over the next 60 days ... we got 13,000 season ticket deposits."
If awarded a franchise, Foley said the team would play at T-Mobile Arena. His proposal calls for a $300 million to $400 million renovation that would add new locker rooms, expanded training and office space, approximately 1,000 premium seats and upgraded hospitality areas.
"T-Mobile is a great place, but we can make it better," Foley said, adding that the arena's location on the Las Vegas Strip and improved freeway access make it an ideal NBA venue.
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His long-term vision extends beyond game nights.
Foley wants to build a sports campus in Summerlin featuring practice facilities for both the Golden Knights and a future NBA franchise, along with sports medicine, rehabilitation services and community recreation space.
"We're going to be community-oriented," Foley said. "Our players will be in the community, doing clinics with kids, supporting charitable activities."
He also said fans would have a role in helping choose the team's name through a community contest, though he acknowledged he's partial to names inspired by the "warrior class."
While Foley's plans begin in Las Vegas, he says his ambitions extend well beyond the valley.
"The NBA is such an international league," Foley said. "We have an opportunity to really create an international franchise, and Vegas will be proud of it."
His goal, he said, is simple.
"We want to be the world's team."
Foley said he believes the NBA could award expansion franchises by the end of the year. If selected, his ownership group would immediately begin preparing T-Mobile Arena for basketball while working toward a long-term vision of making Las Vegas home to another major professional franchise.
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