Seattle NBA Expansion Bid Draws Multiple Ownership Groups

The competition to see who might possibly bring an NBA expansion team back into Seattle has intensified. Only one possible backer has been identified, but multiple other groups have said that they are interested. 

According to mynorthwest.com,
‘NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed Tuesday that multiple private groups are competing to land an expansion franchise in Seattle, even though only one ownership group has gone public with its bid. The confirmation came during a press conference following a two-day NBA Board of Governors meeting.’ 

The only confirmed bidder. 

As of right now, the only confirmed bid has been put up by Samantha Holloway, who runs One Roof Sports and Entertainment (Seattle Kraken). Her group also owns a majority share in Climate Pledge Arena where the new expansion team might play. 
(I would think that gives them an advantage.) 

Who else is looking? 

As of right now, no one is disclosing who other possible bidders might be, and we don’t know how many are out there. The only number we’ve been given is, “several”. That last bit of information is crucial because up until a few weeks ago, it seemed like the number of possible bidders for a Seattle NBA franchise had been relatively soft. 

The NBA obviously wants as many bidders as possible because the more bidders you have, the greater the possibility of a bidding war, and they want to get that price to go up. The projected price for the expansion fee if it should occur is going to be somewhere between $7 billion and $10 billion. 

The league recently had two days of discussions about where possible expansion teams might go, and what other perks might be added to the bids including the possible composition of the owners’ groups and what venue the teams would possibly play in. That last aspect certainly gives One Roof Sports and Entertainment a leg up. 

When will we know? 

At this point, the NBA commissioner says that they’ll probably have a final decision before the end of 2026. Back in March, the NBA Board of Governors voted unanimously in favor of “Exploring expansion” In Las Vegas, and Seattle. If this were to take place, it would happen in time for the 2028-29 Season.  

I for one, hope that we can find a group in the Seattle area that is willing to put up that kind of money to bring NBA basketball back to the Emerald City.  

Here’s hoping they don’t break our hearts again and sell it a few years later.