Sonics closer to return as NBA votes to formally consider expansion

OLYMPIA — After nearly two decades of Seattle Sonics fans urging the NBA to “bring ‘em back,” the league’s owners are ready to listen.

The league’s board of governors voted unanimously on Wednesday to explore expansion in both Las Vegas and Seattle, with the potential for both teams to take the court for the 2028-2029 season. The league has retained an investment bank to evaluate the markets, arenas, potential ownership groups and other economic factors.

“Today’s vote reflects our Board’s interest in exploring potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle – two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Wednesday. “We look forward to taking this next step and engaging with interested parties.”

Should both Seattle and Las Vegas join the league, the NBA would expand from 30 to 32 teams. An expansion team is reportedly expected to pay between $7 and $10 billion to join the league.

“The market will determine the value of this team, of these teams. And then we will decide whether that makes sense to move forward,” Silver said Wednesday. “And then we will decide if it makes sense to move forward.”

Silver said Wednesday the league hopes to resolve the discussion around expansion by the end of the year. Silver said there’s “absolutely a chance” that expansion does not occur, or could only occur in one city.

Formal expansion will require support from three quarters of the league’s current owners.

“I think because of our longtime history in Seattle, the fact that we have the Storm, and the great success in Seattle. In Las Vegas, 20 years plus of Summer League there, great success of Las Vegas Aces, that’s why we’re focused on these markets at this time,” Silver said at a press conference Wednesday.

The announcement Wednesday offers a potential light at the end of the tunnel for basketballs fans who have waited for nearly two decades for the NBA to return to Seattle.

After the Sonics ownership moved operations to Oklahoma City and renamed the team the Thunder ahead of the 2008-2009 season, speculation and optimism that a team would return has remained consistent.

Fans thought NBA games were close to happening again in Seattle after a Seattle-born hedge fund manager attempted to purchase the Sacramento Kings in 2013 and move the team to a new arena in Seattle’s SODO district. The plan, however, stalled.

In the years since, Seattle has continued to make preparations for a team.

The former home of the Sonics, Key Arena, underwent a billion dollar renovation and reopened as Climate Pledge Arena in 2021. The facility is home to the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League, Seattle Storm of the Women’s National Basketball Association, and Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

The arena has also hosted NBA preseason games as the league explored potential expansion. In addition to the standard home and away locker rooms for its current tenants, Climate Pledge Arena also has an undeveloped space underneath its seats labeled “NBA locker room.”

Gov. Bob Ferguson fueled speculation after the governor met virtually with Silver twice in recent months ahead of Wednesday’s vote. In a statement on Wednesday, Ferguson said that bringing the Sonics back was a “top priority.”

“It’s a great day, if you’re a Sonics fan in Washington state or a Sonics fan anywhere,” Ferguson said during a press conference on Wednesday. “I was super excited about the announcement today from the NBA.”

Ferguson said Wednesday that in his conversations with Silver, he has tried to convey the interest and excitement the city and region still have for the team.

“It’s been a couple of decades in the wilderness. And I know how strongly people feel about the Sonics and the loss to our community when they left for Oklahoma City,” Ferguson said. “So just ready to do whatever I can to be helpful in bringing them back, and hopefully bringing them back soon.”

Ferguson said he’s had a number of conversations with Tod Leiweke, a part-owner, president and chief executive office of the Kraken, and Kraken owner Samantha Holloway about what role the state can play in bringing the Sonics back.

On Monday, the Kraken’s ownership group announced that it had established One Roof Sports and Entertainment on Monday, which will oversee the group’s current sports teams and facilities while also exploring the “pursuit of future opportunities.” Ferguson said Wednesday that the Kraken ownership group is the only potential Sonics ownership group he’s had discussions with.

“Up to this point, it’s been pretty focused on today. Obviously, today’s announcement was critical; we had to get past this threshold to even get to the next stage of trying to bring the team back,” Ferguson said. “We’ll be engaged in that conversation on what way the state can be most helpful, but I have no doubt there’s going to be a role for the state to help bring the Sonics back.”

Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, who serves as ranking member on the committee tasked with overseeing sports, was equally enthusiastic.

“Yes! The debate for NBA expansion has begun! Seattle will be front and center in that debate,” Cantwell said in a statement.