The NBA is down to three finalists for ownership of its Las Vegas expansion team, ESPN reported Tuesday.
The league is reviewing bids from groups led by Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie, Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry, and Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo. The NBA expects to select a winner shortly, according to the report, with the formal approval process to be completed by the end of the year.
Bill Laurie is a former owner of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and his wife, Nancy Walton Laurie, is the daughter of Walmart co-founder James “Bud” Walton. The Walton family has been involved with other high-profile sports franchise purchases as Nancy’s cousin, Rob Walton, is an owner of the NFL’s Denver Broncos.
Apostolopoulos has bid on teams before, but did not get the nod to purchase the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and the NFL’s Washington Commanders. Lasry was a co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks from 2014-23.
Colangelo, enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004 as a contributor, was a longtime owner of the Phoenix Suns and member of multiple owners committees. Foley has been the majority owner of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights since the franchise’s inception and has been actively seeking to bring an NBA team to the city.
The Golden Knights’ home, T-Mobile Arena, opened in 2016 and could serve as a home for an NBA team as it was the site of the NBA Cup in recent years. But ESPN reported Foley and Colangelo will build an arena if they win the bid.
The NBA has targeted the 2028-29 season as the starting date for expansion teams in both Las Vegas and Seattle, ESPN reported.
