By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Everybody loves Las Vegas apparently and the next league set to plant its flag on the Strip is the NBA.
The ownership contenders have lined up.
If money is your thing, as in billions and billions of dollars, Walmart empire heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill Laurie of Henderson, Nevada are a top candidate to win the NBA expansion team. The expansion fee will likely be in the $8 billion to $10 billion range and they have the financial resources to pull off a new NBA franchise.
If an existent arena is your thing, Vegas Golden Knights Bill Foley and his group have to be near the top of list. Foley owns 15 percent of T-Mobile arena and he is committed to spending $300 million to spruce up the ten-year-old venue just off the Strip. Foley, a 1967 West Point graduate, has a varied business portfolio that includes wineries and global soccer teams and lives in Summerlin.
If previously owning an NBA team is your thing, former Phoenix Suns owner/CEO/GM Jerry Colangelo has to be a legit contender. Colangelo’s group entered the sweepstakes in July with his Las Vegas Jacks team proposal.
And LVSportsBiz.com is floating a dark horse contender in Tilman Fertitta, current owner of the Houston Rockets and the next owner of Caesars Entertainment. Real estate investor VICI Properties and Caesars Entertainment are proposing an NBA arena on 50 acres behind the Paris, Horseshoe and Planet Hollywood hotels on the east side of the Strip between Las Vegas Boulevard and Koval Lane. Would Fertitta sell the Rockets and invest that money to pay for the NBA expansion team fee in light of his Caesars acquisition and current Las Vegas holdings like the downtown Golden Nugget? This is Las Vegas. Anything is possible.
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Kudos to Las Vegas City Councilwoman Nancy Brune for helping make the bicycle South Nevada Pedal Fest happen at Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs. She worked with the Southern Nevada Mountain Biking Association and Southwest Bikes to put on the bike event Sept. 19. Las Vegas needs help making bicycling more safe and popular and any time an elected official steps up to help put on a bicycle festival it should be publicly lauded.
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After two straight losses, the UNLV Rebels football team is back in the win column with a 38-10 victory over Akron Saturday. Running back Jet Thomas scored three touchdowns, including two TD passes from quarterback Jackson Arnold.
Thomas moved into a third-place tie at UNLV with Tim Cornett with 38 career touchdowns as he posted his 11th- career 100-yard rushing game with 113 yards on 15 carries.
UNLV has now won two games and lost two games and plays Cal at Allegiant Stadium Saturday.
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The Las Vegas Aviators, the Triple-A affiliate of the Athletics, played for the Pacific Coast League championship this week. But the Aviators came up short, losing two games to one to the Oklahoma City Comets, the Triple-A team of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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