It was already public knowledge that there was one bidder for an NBA expansion team in Seattle: One Roof Sports and Entertainment, the majority owner of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, led by Samantha Holloway.
Now, there is a second, reports Christian Clark and John Hollinger of The Athletic:
BlackSun Private Equity, a New York-based firm that in August submitted a bid to bring the NBA back to Seattle, is working with the Tulalip Tribes to build the arena on tribal-owned land if it secures the franchise.
Those new arena plans would be in Marysville, Washington, which is about 35 miles from Seattle. The plans are not just to build an arena but also an “entertainment district” on the tribal lands. The challenge would be making the commute relatively easy and convincing people in Seattle proper to make the trip out to Marysville.
Both potential ownership groups have been eager to say they want to bring a team to stay in the Seattle area, after the previous SuperSonics were bought and moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.
The NBA is moving forward with bids for both the Seattle and Las Vegas expansion franchises, with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver saying he hopes to see a decision made by the end of the year. While the two Seattle groups have made preliminary bids, the groups vying for the Las Vegas franchise face a second deadline for a more detailed bid in mid-September. Reporting suggests the NBA wants to move forward with the Vegas bid first, which is expected to be the larger one, then choose the Seattle team second.
The NBA is reportedly looking for bids of at least $7 billion for the teams, ideally more for the Las Vegas franchise. If that money is not there, it’s possible the expansion process is put on hold. Again.
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