This week on CNBC Sport, the podcast, the owner of the NHL's Las Vegas Golden Knights wants to own an NBA team too. Bill Foley tells us why he's the best choice to become the new owner of Las Vegas's expansion team. We've had a very successful run in terms of ownership and success on the ice and success with the community, and he gives us a hint on what he named the team. I'm not saying a knight would be in the name. I'm a real believer in creating an atmosphere and a situation among the players and the fans that they have a team they can root for. That's coming up next on CNBC Sport, the podcast. I'm joined by Bill Foley, who wants to be the next owner of the next Las Vegas NBA franchise. He already is the owner of the NHL Las Vegas franchise, the Golden Knights, and a variety of other sports teams and franchises that we will get into. Bill, thanks for joining us.
Yeah, good to be here. Thank you.
All right, so let's do a little role-playing game here. Pretend I am Adam Silver and the NBA Board of Governors. Give me your pitch for why you are the right owner for the next NBA franchise in Las Vegas.
Well, Commissioner, we believe we're really well positioned to bring Vegas to the next level. We're all about community, about bringing the community involved in our teams. The Golden Knights are Vegas born. We're proud of that. We have had sellouts in every game for the last nine years, including playoffs. We are totally dedicated to our local community. When we did our initial work to sell season tickets, we made sure that we included firefighters, policemen, all the first responders, nurses, doctors, lawyers, paralegals, and we priced our ticketing so that everyone could afford to go to a game, and frankly, it's worked. We are Vegas born. We've also created an infrastructure that we believe is really useful for an NBA team when they come to Las Vegas. We basically have an entire business organization, and the idea is that we have the base. We have to add to the base. The NBA is a different animal and requires a different level of intensity. But we believe that Vegas is ready for an NBA team, and we also believe that our group is the right group to get that ownership opportunity. We also own part of T-Mobile Arena, and it's really the only place that the team can play initially. Maybe there's another stadium, a new stadium in the works at some point. But for the first several years, we need to have a good place to play, and we're prepared also to improve T-Mobile to make it NBA ready.
Was owning an NBA team in the back of your mind when you submitted your bid and then ultimately won the Golden Knights, or is this just sort of a happenstance that you're ready to capitalize on now?
No, we actually thought that NBA would be a natural for Vegas, assuming the Golden Knights were successful, and we've had a very successful run in terms of ownership and success on the ice and success with the community, but we always felt that the NBA should come to Las Vegas, and if it did come to Las Vegas, we wanted to be prepared to help them be successful. And we've been planning for this for really nine years. And I also completely rebuilt my front office organization over the last 12 months to ensure that we have the right people in the right spots to drive a successful integration of the NBA franchise.
The Golden Knights have been, I think, surprisingly successful given the team's only a decade or so old. You've already won a Stanley Cup. You were in the Stanley Cup again. You're in the playoffs every year. What have you learned as the owner of that team that you think is transferable to the NBA?
Well, our philosophy of the Golden Knights from day one is it's really a almost a military organization. It's based upon team first, not individuals, and we have developed a structure and an organization and a culture that's all about the team and about playing together as a team. So the entire hockey front office staff, the entire hockey organization, recognizes that it's about the team. It's not about the individual, and I believe I can bring that same philosophy and attitude to an NBA franchise. In fact, I'm sure of it.
So one thing you didn't mention in your pitch to fake Commissioner Adam Silver was the amount of money that you were willing to put up for the expansion fee. And I'm wondering, you know better than I on this, how much of this decision is going to rest on simply who bids the highest amount.
I know that it's going to be expensive, and we will be competitive in terms of the level of franchise fee that we're able to pay, and we're putting together a very strong organization and group of individuals who will recognize the amount of money that it's going to take to be successful, but it's not always just about the money. Sometimes it's also about the organization, the touch points to the community, to the local youth, and when it comes to that, then we really know that we're the right group to get this franchise for obvious strategic reasons.
I won't ask you to reveal how much you're thinking of bidding for this, but reports have suggested that a team may come in between seven and $10 billion. Do you think that number could potentially even be higher than 10 billion?
You know, I don't know. I guess we have to let it play out and see what the market shows the league is available and people are willing to pay. We know that it's going to be a combination of not just franchise fee. It's developing a front office that works. It's building a world class practice facility, and we do have a site in mind for the practice facility, which is also where we probably put our NHL practice facility. So we checked a lot of boxes, and we'll be competitive in terms of the bidding process. But I just don't know where that's going to lead.
You'll be buying into a league that will be several years into its new media deal by the time there's a Vegas team up and running. What gives you confidence that at these price valuations that we're talking about, that this will still be a really good investment 10, 20, 30 years from now?
Well, right now there are 124, not including MLS, major sports franchises in the United States, and there's a lot of demand for those franchises, and so the appreciation and the value of the franchise will be significant. We've never thought about how much money we can make each year. It's more about developing a team and a franchise that's good for the long run and that will be responsive and involved with the community and the youth in the community. So we're confident that these franchise values will continue to appreciate. And the people I'm getting involved with understand that as well. And they understand it's not about how much money you make in 2028 or 2029. It's really about the long term value creation prospect.
Perhaps more than any of the other major leagues, the NBA has been hit by several sports betting scandals already. Just given the fact that you'd be owning the Las Vegas franchise, I'm curious if you feel like the league maybe needs to do something different when it comes to addressing sports betting among its players.
You know, honestly, I don't have an opinion on that. I know that in terms of our NHL franchise, we're very cognizant. Our players are cognizant of not betting on the team or really being involved in gambling. So, you know, we'll create a good team and a good structure and a good culture, and I'm sure that there'll be no problems with regards to sports betting with the Las Vegas franchise.
You also, I mentioned earlier, you own a small handful of international soccer teams. I'm curious your thoughts on the World Cup so far and the potential effect of the World Cup on the valuation of those teams, if any.
