The NBA is expected to select the winning bid for owner of the Las Vegas expansion team in the very near future, with a price of at least $12-13 billion for the franchise and new arena among three finalist groups -- Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie; Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry; and Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo, sources told ESPN.
The league, which will hold a formal approval process by the end of December on two expansion teams, is closing on Las Vegas before Seattle for several reasons. Las Vegas has a livelier bidding market with higher offers and the process consists of the logistics of developing a new arena versus Climate Pledge Arena already being a ready-made home for the Seattle team. The Vegas runners-up also could join the Seattle bid process.
The league has targeted as soon as the 2028-29 season for the expansion teams, sources said.
Nancy Walton Laurie is the daughter of Walmart co-founder James "Bud" Walton. Her husband, Bill Laurie, is a former owner of the NHL's St. Louis Blues. The two have a home in Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas, and they have a net worth of $17 billion, according to Forbes.
Apostolopoulos, a Canadian billionaire, discussed buying the Charlotte Hornets from Michael Jordan in 2023 but instead focused on purchasing the NFL's Washington Commanders. That franchise was later sold for $6.05 billion to a group led by Josh Harris, who also owns the Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils. Apostolopoulos, 46, has a known desire to build a wide-ranging portfolio across multiple sports leagues.
Apostolopoulos and his brothers, Jim and Peter Apostolopoulos, lead the group with Lasry as a partner.
Lasry is the former co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. In 2023, he sold his stake to Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam at a valuation of $3.5 billion. Lasry bought the Bucks for $550 million in 2014 from former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl. He was the team's governor when Milwaukee won the NBA title in 2021.
Lasry is currently the chairman and CEO of Avenue Capital, which last year closed its Avenue Sports Fund with over $1 billion in commitments. The fund invests in teams, leagues and sports-related businesses.
Colangelo, the former owner of the Phoenix Suns, said in July that he was entering the bidding with his Las Vegas Jacks group. His announcement came one month after Foley, the majority owner of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, said he wanted to bring an NBA team to the city.
Colangelo's group and Foley began talking about joining forces four months ago and have agreed to partner because of Foley's ties to the city combined with the Jacks' plans for a new arena and the group's relationship equity with key league stakeholders. Foley said in June that his potential NBA franchise would play at T-Mobile Arena, where his Golden Knights have games, but sources said a new arena will be built if the Colangelo-Foley group wins the bid.
The Jacks group includes former Turner Sports president David Levy and Scott Colangelo, a managing partner at Prime Capital Financial. Former NBA player and coach Vinny Del Negro and ESPN basketball analyst Jay Williams are members too.
Colangelo, a Hall of Famer, sold the Suns in 2004 for a then-record $401 million. He's a four-time NBA executive of the year, and he was managing director of USA Basketball from 2005 to 2021, guiding the program to four Olympic gold medals. Colangelo has served as chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame since 2009.
Foley, who Forbes estimates is worth $2.5 billion, is also the owner of AFC Bournemouth in England's Premier League.
