Las Vegas is most likely the next city to be awarded an NBA expansion team, and those close to the process believe T-Mobile Arena is the front-runner to be the home venue.

The 20,000-seat arena, home to NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, has met much of the league's criteria. However, MGM Resorts International, the venue's primary operator and 50 percent owner, and NBA officials said significant upgrades would be required for the arena to host an NBA regular season.

Meanwhile, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley has emerged as leading the ownership sweepstakes that could cost as much as $10 billion. Foley said he would invest $300 million to $400 million in renovations to bring T-Mobile up to NBA standards for an expansion franchise. Foley also owns a stake in the arena, which opened in 2016 on the south end of the Strip behind Park MGM and New York-New York.

MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle said in April he could not directly comment on discussions surrounding T-Mobile because he had signed several nondisclosure agreements concerning the venue.

"The good news is the NBA has clearly earmarked Las Vegas," Hornbuckle said during the company's quarterly earnings conference call. "We're excited by it. How could we not be? T-Mobile is part of that conversation, whether it's short term or long term. All roads lead to it for now because the league has expressed interest to host a team as early as 2028."

But would Foley be willing to watch his NBA team play elsewhere on the Strip? Messages to the Knights' communications department went unanswered.

Sources close to the expansion talks said two north Strip sites have emerged as potential competitors for the arena — more than 40 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to Resorts World Las Vegas and a vacant 38-acre parcel across from Wynn Las Vegas.

Proponents of the locations said an NBA arena would provide a much-needed economic boost to the area — a roughly 2-mile stretch from Wynn Las Vegas to Sahara Avenue. New resorts, such as the 4,000-room Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which opened in 2023, brought gaming, restaurants and retail. A large-scale entertainment venue was not included.

South Strip resort operators have said T-Mobile, anecdotally, provides a sizable lift in customer traffic and revenue streams before and after events. Now, the north Strip resort operators want their slice of the pie.

"I have a very strong view that [a new arena] should be on the north Strip," former MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren said in a July interview with The Nevada Independent. Murren is advising Resorts World's management on the NBA process and led the development of T-Mobile. 

"The south Strip is congested," he said. "There's an opportunity for the NBA to have their own neighborhood [at Resorts World], and that would be very compelling."

South Strip resort operators have experienced a boost in visitation thanks to T-Mobile, which has hosted college basketball tournaments, combat sports and concerts. But the bulk of the visitation comes from the nearby 60,000-seat Allegiant Stadium, which drew more than 1.7 people in 2025 through sports, entertainment and community events. 

Also, the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces play their home games at the 12,000-seat Michelob Ultra Arena inside the Mandalay Bay Resort, which is near the southern end of the Strip.

The south Strip will gain a fourth sports venue in 2028 with the opening of the $2 billion, 33,000-capacity baseball stadium for the Athletics.

Gaming industry consultant Brendan Bussmann said the 2021 opening of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's $1 billion West Hall expansion helped bring more visitation northward and is another reason NBA planners would be wise to look past the south Strip.

"The destination can have multiple arenas that can exist beyond the existing footprint," Bussmann said. "A sports triangle exists today [on the south Strip]. The north end makes the most logical sense to stay within the resort corridor but expand the sports footprint in the city and build upon the synergies next to the convention center." 

The West Hall hosts large trade shows, such as the Consumer Electronics Show, SEMA, the National Association of Broadcasters and the World of Concrete, all of which can draw up to 100,000 attendees or more.

More sports fans coming to Vegas

Signs point toward Las Vegas being selected for an NBA franchise. Seattle is also seeking an expansion team to replace the Supersonics franchise that moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.

"I think there are several different locations that would be very viable for NBA basketball in Las Vegas," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Sept. 14 in New York after two days of meetings by league owners.

He said T-Mobile was currently the preferred location to house the team, but the venue isn't set in stone. "My personal view is it's premature to start locking in a site." 

He added that the two primary components for a Las Vegas team — ownership and the arena location — may not be determined until the end of the year.

The commissioner has praised the Los Angeles Clippers' $2 billion Intuit Dome, which opened in 2024 and was funded by team owner Steve Ballmer. The venue, which hosted the NBA All-Star game in February, has been touted for its high-tech fan experience, including the Halo, a video display scoreboard that surrounds the inside of the arena.

T-Mobile, Silver acknowledged, needs "significant improvements." 

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill said NBA expansion is a much different process than the relocations of the Raiders, A's, Aces and the expansion Golden Knights. There was no issue with the ownership groups or the venues. 

"Everybody has seen what Las Vegas has brought to these teams," Hill said. "The NBA is an exceptionally popular league, and the fit with Las Vegas is a tremendous opportunity."

Hill said he has "been in on the conversations" concerning a north Strip arena.  

"Figuring out how to grow that next arena is one of the reasons that people are talking to us," Hill said. "Some share that there is a market concern that [there could be] too many venues."

Vegas is a 'unique market'

Silver said several groups "presented plans to build what I would call a modern entertainment palace in Las Vegas. It's a unique market where you could truly see essentially 365–days-a-year activity."

Those comments heightened the hope of north Strip resort operators.

A spokeswoman for Resorts World Las Vegas said property officials have met with potential bidders for an NBA team regarding the north Strip, but declined to identify or comment on specific groups. 

Resorts World President Carlos Castro said in a statement new north Strip properties created "a significant luxury resort and entertainment corridor with tremendous opportunity still ahead. We believe strongly that the north Strip is the right place for an NBA arena."

Malaysia-based Genting Berhad used half of the 87-acre site on the north Strip that it acquired in 2013 to build the $4.3 billion Resorts World, which opened in 2021. Resorts World operators built temporary structures for special events but the site has been largely vacant.

Murren touted easy access for locals attending any events. A potential Resorts World arena would have entrances and exits along Sammy Davis Jr. Drive, which is on the west side of the property. He said the site is large enough to create a "village atmosphere" with restaurants, bars and other entertainment for before or after the game, similar to what T-Mobile has in the outdoor restaurants and cafes next to Park MGM.

A spokesman for Wynn Resorts declined to comment on the company's plans for its site that formerly housed the Rat Pack-era Frontier Hotel-Casino. The property has sat vacant since November 2007 after it was sold to a development group for $1.2 billion. The Great Recession caused two potential projects to be canceled and Wynn Resorts acquired the land in 2018.

Missed out on the A's

Before the A's settled on the site of the since-demolished Tropicana Hotel and Casino as the baseball stadium location, Resorts World and other north Strip owners unsuccessfully lobbied the team to bring the venue to Las Vegas Festival Grounds, which is owned by Circus Circus and Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin.

When NBA arena talks first surfaced in 2025, Ruffin told The Nevada Independent he was not interested in setting aside part of the 103-acre Circus Circus site for a basketball arena. 

That hasn't stopped the north Strip operators from making their pitch for an NBA venue. 

Andrew Diss, senior vice president for Meruelo Gaming, which owns Sahara Las Vegas, said  billions of dollars have been invested in the properties. Having proximity to an arena would lead to more spending in the area. He agreed with Murren's assessment that access would be better from a fan perspective.

There are also two other potential sites.

In July, VICI Properties President John Payne said the real estate investment trust was working with Caesars Entertainment to develop a possible NBA arena proposal for 50 acres behind Horseshoe Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas and Planet Hollywood. 

Earlier this year, Las Vegas-based Chetak Development announced plans for the Diamond Arena, a 21,200-seat venue that would be developed on the south end of the Strip directly across from Mandalay Bay Resort. 

Tom Letizia, a spokesman for the developer, said the venue would be a "development ready destination" for a future NBA franchise, although no cost was given for the project. The developers haven't announced a connection with any of the potential ownership groups bidding on a team.

"This isn't just another arena project. It's a global stage for the NBA," Letizia said. "The league is looking for a long-term home in Las Vegas, and this site delivers everything needed to define the future."

Talk of a Las Vegas NBA team has attracted a wide range of potential owners. 

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner were in the mix before they agreed last month to acquire the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion. 

Others that have been named include billionaire Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband, Bill Laurie; former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo; and Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, who has a percentage ownership in the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Commanders.