SEATTLE — Seattle and its fans provided a strong advertisement for the city in the eyes of the NBA, according to U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington.
“It’s been a very big year for sports in Seattle,” Cantwell said just before taking part in the championship parade. “This is an unbelievable, epic championship. The Mariners came close. People are looking at that again, the Kraken, and now we have the (Torrent). But we want our Sonics back, and we’re glad that the NBA is finally saying it’s going to start a process to consider two expansion teams.”
Cantwell said she hopes the league moves forward soon.
“I hope that they will do this later in March, which starts that consideration, and that we’ll know soon what’s going to happen,” she said.
When asked where she got the March timeline, she said, “I think that’s when their next big discussion is, so they’re going to start a process, and when they start that process, they’ll say, where could we expand to?”
Cantwell also said she was taking notes about the crowd control for this event, and down at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, and that it would serve as a template for the upcoming World Cup matches in Seattle.
Cantwell’s comments add fuel to the speculation that the NBA will make a formal announcement about an expansion process this year. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also said the league will make a decision one way or the other in 2026.
Just last week, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson publicly noted that he met on ZOOM with Silver in what was termed by both men as a good conversation. Cantwell was also asked about the future of the Portland Trail Blazers, which are in the process of being sold by the Paul Allen trust and are seeking a new arena.
“I just think Portland is very interested in securing its continued future, and Seattle is very interested in reasserting itself into the NBA. I think both are going to work out,” said the Senator, who said she has discussed the issue repeatedly with her colleague Senator Ron Wyden (D), Oregon.
Brad Townsend, a Dallas Morning News sports enterprise reporter, tweeted on Super Bowl Sunday that “it’s going to be an extra-great year for Seattle. I’m hearing the NBA Board of Governors is likely to vote on expanding by two teams this summer, and Las Vegas and Seattle are favored.”
Hall of Fame basketball player Reggie Miller said Tuesday that he believes NBA expansion to Seattle is a “foregone conclusion”.
