LeBron James has been increasingly vocal in recent years about his desire to own an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, going so far as to say last year, “I would love to bring a team here at some point.” Now, some of his biggest financial partners are confirming their interest in aiding that goal, providing what could prove to be crucial support.

“We’re looking at bringing an NBA expansion team [to Vegas] in partnership with LeBron and Fenway Sports Group,” Gerry Cardinale, the founder of RedBird Capital Partners, said Wednesday at the Sports Business Journal Intercollegiate Athletics Forum. “We started this project three years ago.”

James and RedBird are both currently partners in FSG, the parent organization of the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, Liverpool FC, and the New England Sports Network. Their joint Las Vegas initiative would in part look to take advantage of an ongoing sports boom in the Nevada city previously shunned by most sports leagues. 

Beyond the upcoming Super Bowl to be held at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium, the city in just a few years has become home to the Golden Knights, Aces, Formula 1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, the end of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, and soon will also have the A’s.

The NBA efforts could be further boosted by a planned $10 billion development led by Oak View Group, with an NBA arena as its centerpiece. 

Cost Factors

But while that prospective ownership group contains plenty of star power and financial muscle, Cardinale cautioned that rising franchise values could prove to be a sizable impediment.

“The price talk on an NBA team three years ago was $3 billion. The price talk today on an NBA expansion team is $5.5 billion to $6 billion,” he said. “I’m not sure I can make that work. … Maybe I’m evolved out of existence. Maybe now I’m turning over the baton to a sovereign [wealth fund] or to a lower-cost-of-capital provider. Could be.”

There is no firm timetable for any NBA expansion moves, but the league is expected to focus more on that area after completing its next round of domestic media rights. 

Editor’s Note: RedBird IMI is an investor in Front Office Sports.

One of Qatar’s biggest sports endeavors has now made a significant financial partnership with a leading U.S.-based sports investment fund — continuing a trend of American money being poured into European soccer. 

Dallas-based Arctos Sports Partners has acquired a minority stake in Paris St. Germain, the most successful club in France’s Ligue 1 and majority-owned by Qatar Sports Investments. Terms weren’t disclosed, but multiple reports indicate Arctos is buying a 12.5% team stake that values PSG at $4.59 billion, making the firm’s investment worth about $573 million.

Other recent deals involving U.S. money pouring into European soccer include:

• Miami-based 777 Partners’ ongoing takeover of Everton
• Los Angeles-based Ares Management investing $500 million in Chelsea
• New York-based Dynasty Equity buying a $200 million stake in Liverpool

PSG’s new valuation is slightly higher than the $4.21 billion Forbes estimated earlier this year, which pegged the French powerhouse as the seventh-most valuable soccer club in the world. 

While Arctos won’t influence any of PSG’s on-field soccer operations, the firm will provide some strategic advising for QSI, a subsidiary of the state-run sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority. QIA — not QSI — recently became the first sovereign wealth fund to invest in major U.S. sports teams thanks to its deal with Washington Capitals and Wizards parent company Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

Growing The Pot

PSG is just the latest investment for Arctos, which has announced funding deals with more than 20 franchises across the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, Formula 1, and European soccer. 

Just last month, Arctos invested an undisclosed amount in the Aston Martin F1 team, taking the latter’s valuation past $1 billion. Arctos was also reportedly among the American investors interested in partnering with the PGA Tour, potentially alongside Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

In a saga resembling an NFL version of the George Santos political scandal, a former Jacksonville Jaguars employee has been accused of stealing more than $22 million from the team by taking advantage of a virtual credit card program to fund his own lavish lifestyle.

According to a story first published by The Athletic, Amit Patel, who worked for the team from 2018-23 in various financial planning roles, has been charged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida with using that team program to buy a series of luxury goods. 

Among the items Patel is alleged to have acquired for himself using team funds:

• Condo in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

• Tesla Model 3 sedan and Nissan pickup truck

• Use of private jets and luxury hotels

• $95,000 Patek Philippe watch

• Cryptocurrency and NFTs

• Bets with online gambling sites

• Sports memorabilia and event tickets

Jacksonville wasn’t named in the suit, which refers to the team as “Business A,” but the Jaguars have confirmed they were victimized by Patel and are cooperating with federal officials.

“This individual was a former manager of financial planning and analysis who took advantage of his trusted position to covertly and intentionally commit significant fraudulent activity at the team’s expense for personal benefit,” the Jaguars said in a statement. 

The alleged scheme ran for more than three years. The Jaguars fired Patel in February, and he now faces one count of wire fraud and another of making illegal monetary transactions.