It seems inevitable that Seattle and Las Vegas will receive expansion franchises in the near future, but what if I tell you that Reno may be a candidate in place of the latter?
It is no secret that the NBA prefers to have new teams in places that previously had no pro sports - Oklahoma City and Orlando come to mind. And when looking at Vegas, the market is already rather saturated: the NHL's Golden Knights, the NFL's Raiders, and the WNBA's Aces, with MLB's Athletics on their way soon pending league approval.
Well, Seattle obviously gets a pass because of the Supersonics, but other than hosting the Summer League, Vegas does not have much NBA history. And does the league really want to play second fiddle or worse to those franchises above?
By contrast, Reno may obviously be smaller, but it has a decent enough population and grassroots program in the University of Nevada campus to work. It also has some underrated marketing appeal - it could be easily be marketed as the team of the Tahoe.
Does this sound like a good idea? Let me know in the comments!
No. If not Vegas, and there is zero chance it wouldn't go to Vegas, it would go to another state or, more likely, Mexico City.
The advantages you cite for Reno are irrelevant. What matters for the small cities with 0 major pro sports competition, is corporate presence (NBA level arena where the NBA team is the primary tenant, # of F500 company hqs, non F500 companies with $100, $500, $1 billion in revenue).The 4 Nevada Fortune 500 companies are all based in Vegas. For anecdotal comparison, Memphis has 3, OKC has 2, New Orleans has 1.
If Reno has a couple of Fortune 500 companies headquartered there, and a brand new NBA level arena with the suites and amenities, then it still needs a billionaire owner interested in bringing a team there, over Vegas or markets with 0 existing pro teams. Then the NBA owners have a committee to vet the market to see if it meets their standards.
Even among markets with 0 existing major pro sports teams, Reno is not a top candidate. Louisville has 3 F500 companies. Va Beach/Norfolk/Hampton Roads has 2. Boise has 3. Shoot, NW Arkansas has 3, and about a million people and the University of Arkansas. South Carolina has 3 1-million-people regions, and growing manufacturing, although 0 F500 companies.
Mexico City? It may be a large city, but do players want to live where very few people speak English?
Reno would still be a better choice.