NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday, Sept. 15, that Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena could be ready to host NBA games in five weeks with minor modifications.

Silver made the comments after a two-day Board of Governors meeting in New York City, where owners received a briefing on the expansion process but did not vote. The league still plans to make an expansion decision by the end of 2026, Silver said.

"It may require some modifications for NBA basketball, but if we were opening, you know, in five weeks, we could be ready in Seattle," Silver told reporters, according to KOMO News.

That timeline stands in sharp contrast to Las Vegas. Silver said no arena site has even been identified there, calling it a "much longer timeline" before Las Vegas could host NBA basketball.

Silver confirmed that league operational groups have visited Climate Pledge Arena, calling it "a state-of-the-art arena." The venue at 334 1st Ave N already hosts the NHL's Seattle Kraken and the WNBA's Seattle Storm.

Seattle Kraken majority owner Samantha Holloway controls Climate Pledge Arena through One Roof Sports and Entertainment. She has retained JPMorgan Chase and Moelis & Co. as financial advisors for a potential NBA bid, according to KOMO. One Roof's ownership group already includes Melinda French Gates and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, according to the Seattle Times.

Silver said remaining questions about Seattle's bid center on the full makeup of the ownership group beyond the principal owner and the franchise's projected market performance.

ESPN reported Tuesday that a Las Vegas expansion franchise could fetch close to $10 billion in fees, with Seattle closer to $7 billion. Those figures would give each current NBA owner more than $500 million, according to the Seattle Times.

A second Seattle bid has also emerged. BlackSun Private Equity is pursuing an $8.1 billion proposal that would place the team in a new arena on Tulalip Tribes land near Marysville, about 30 miles north of Seattle, according to MyNorthwest. That team would initially play at Climate Pledge Arena while the complex is built.

Silver said a special owners meeting focused solely on expansion could be called as early as November or early December. He requires certainty of at least 23 owner votes before bringing expansion to a formal vote, according to the Seattle Times.

Gov. Bob Ferguson said at a July 14 news conference that he was confident the SuperSonics would return. "We're literally in the golden age of sports in Seattle right now," he said, as reported by KOMO News.

The SuperSonics played in Seattle from 1967 to 2008, winning the 1979 NBA championship. The franchise relocated to Oklahoma City after Howard Schultz sold the team to Clay Bennett's ownership group for $350 million in 2006. The NBA has not expanded since awarding Charlotte a team in 2002.

If approved, the earliest realistic start for new expansion teams is the 2028-29 season.