The NBA’s growing popularity has spurred talk of expansion, and while Seattle and Las Vegas are likely the next sites, Mexico City has emerged as a possible contender.
The NBA is the hottest ticket in town, at least among ownership groups. The league has seen steady fan and revenue growth over the years, while MLB and the NFL have each had their share of issues.
Between frustrating collective bargaining disputes and dwindling fan attention spans, baseball has lost its once firm grip on America’s pastime. Meanwhile, football’s management of concussion issues may be steering younger generations toward other sports.
To capitalize on this growth, the NBA has been looking to expand from its current slate of 30 teams.
Mexico City joins Seattle, Las Vegas as possible NBA expansion sites
The NBA has been talking about bringing a team back to Seattle for years. Supersonics legend, Gary Payton, has been pushing Commissioner Adam Silver about a Seattle team for some time. The city has grown exponentially in the period since the Supersonics left, so it’s no surprise the NBA would want to bring a team back to Seattle.
Similarly, Las Vegas continues to grow. And with the Raiders, and potentially the Athletics, moving to Sin City, the fanbase is ripe for an NBA team, especially with the city hosting Summer League games over the last several seasons. Superstar LeBron James recently expressed his own desire to join the ownership group of a Las Vegas club.
But recently, talk of a new potential expansion site arose.
Reports have surfaced that Mexico City is a real contender for an NBA expansion team. Mexico City is far larger than Seattle and Las Vegas. This move would not only be the league’s first Mexican franchise, but also it would bring the NBA to Spanish-speaking markets across the globe.
Any international expansion faces steeper hurdles than a domestic site, so a Mexico City expansion team might not be the most realistic possibility right now. But if the NBA continues to grow at breakneck speed, it might not be long before a team goes south of the border.