Las Vegas Jacks Unveil Star-Studded Ownership Group

A newly unveiled ownership group is betting that Las Vegas can become more than just an NBA host city — it wants the city to be the center of the basketball world.

A Team Built for the Moment

The Las Vegas Jacks introduced their leadership group this week, assembling a roster with deep ties to the NBA, media, finance, and venue development. The group is fronted by Jerry Colangelo, Vinny Del Negro, David Levy, Scott Colangelo, Jonathan Thomas, and Jay Williams, with BTIG and U.S. Bank lined up as institutional financial partners alongside Global Leisure Partners. Organizers say the collective has already secured $5 billion in committed capital toward a target of $12.5-$13 billion, with another $3 billion formally indicated, according to the press release.

For Jerry Colangelo, a longtime figure in USA Basketball and NBA front-office circles, the timing reflects how far the sport has traveled beyond American borders. He pointed to the fact that this year's top five MVP vote-getters were all born outside the United States as evidence that the game is enjoying an unprecedented global surge, and he described his enthusiasm for the Las Vegas project as one of the high points of his career. He added that the group is putting in the work needed to deliver the strongest possible pitch to the league, its owners and fans.

Positioning Las Vegas as an International Hub

Vinny Del Negro, a former NBA head coach, framed the effort in similarly ambitious terms. He argued that the leadership assembled for this bid is unmatched, and that it positions Las Vegas to become a genuine international hub for global basketball events rather than simply another expansion market.

That framing matters because Las Vegas has spent the last decade building credibility as a major-sports city, from hosting the NHL's Golden Knights to landing the NFL's Raiders and an annual Formula 1 Grand Prix. Adding an NBA franchise, in this group's view, would complete a broader transformation of the city into a year-round global sports and entertainment capital, not just a location that hosts marquee one-off events like the NBA Summer League or All-Star Weekend.

Three Priorities: Capital, Arena, Excellence

Scott Colangelo laid out the group's operating plan along three tracks: raising the full acquisition price in cash from a roster of established business leaders, constructing what the group is calling one of the most advanced basketball arenas anywhere in the world, and holding itself to a standard of excellence rather than settling for merely good or great outcomes. He emphasized that reaching that bar requires people who understand both the game and the business of running a professional franchise, and he said the group intends to follow through on every one of those commitments for a city he believes has earned nothing less.

As part of the near-term plan, the ownership group intends to begin play at T-Mobile Arena, the existing home of the Golden Knights, while simultaneously developing a next-generation, basketball-focused venue designed to also host conventions and other large-scale entertainment events.

Media and Finance Veterans Lend Credibility

David Levy, the former president of Turner Sports and co-founder of HS&E, said the caliber of the group was immediately apparent to him. Having worked alongside many influential figures across the sports industry, he said this collection of basketball, business, finance and media talent stands out, and he credited the group's shared commitment to building something distinctive.

Jonathan Thomas, chairman and CEO of American Century, echoed that enthusiasm and noted the timing of the announcement. Rolling it out just before the NBA Summer League and his own company's American Century Championship, he said, gave the launch an ideal moment to capture the attention of the basketball world already gathering in Nevada.

A Long Road to Expansion

The Las Vegas Jacks are not the first group to chase an NBA franchise for the city. Efforts to bring professional basketball to Las Vegas date back years, including a 2021 push by The Las Vegas Stars, LLC, whose founder discussed plans for an expansion bid, complete with an eventual hiring plan and in-game entertainment strategy, during a public online discussion.

NBA expansion chatter has also repeatedly linked Las Vegas with Seattle, a market that lost the SuperSonics in 2008. Ownership changes elsewhere in the league, along with public comments from team owners acknowledging the business case for returning to Seattle, have kept the topic alive even as the league has yet to commit to a timeline. Whether Las Vegas, Seattle, both or neither eventually land new teams remains an open question, but the scale of capital and experience the Jacks group has assembled suggests the city intends to be a serious contender whenever the NBA decides to expand.