The company behind AREA15 is pitching a new 18,000- to 20,000-seat NBA arena just west of the Las Vegas Strip, and Mayor Shelley Berkley is backing the idea. But with several competing arena proposals and an NBA expansion decision still pending, the fight over where Las Vegas basketball will land is far from over.
Las Vegas has another contender in the increasingly crowded race to build an NBA arena, and this one comes from a developer that already has a pretty successful entertainment complex sitting on the property.
Fisher Brothers, the New York real estate firm behind AREA15, wants to build an NBA arena on approximately 50 acres of undeveloped land next to its existing entertainment district, between AREA15 and Palace Station, just west of Interstate 15.
The company is proposing much more than a basketball arena. The idea is to build an entire sports and entertainment district with restaurants, bars, retail, residential development and other attractions that would draw people to the property even when the NBA isn’t playing.
And unlike some of the other arena pitches floating around Las Vegas, Fisher Brothers already owns the land and has spent years developing the surrounding property.
An NBA Arena Next to AREA15?
Fisher Brothers owns approximately 80 acres in the area, including the 30 acres already developed as AREA15. The remaining property would provide room for an arena and a larger entertainment district.
The arena would accommodate approximately 18,000 to 20,000 spectators, although the final size would depend on the requirements of whichever ownership group wins a potential Las Vegas NBA expansion franchise.
Winston Fisher, CEO of Fisher Brothers, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the company wants to work with an NBA ownership group to create a destination that operates year-round rather than sitting empty between basketball games.
The concept is similar to the entertainment districts that have sprung up around major stadiums across the country, where the restaurants, bars and attractions become businesses in their own right.
AREA15 already has a head start on that concept. Since opening in 2020, the off-Strip attraction has welcomed more than 17 million visitors with its immersive entertainment experiences, restaurants, bars, live events and attractions such as Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart.
Adding an NBA arena would dramatically change that stretch of Las Vegas, bringing another major sports venue to an area that’s already seeing significant development.
Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley Supports the Project
The proposal has the backing of Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley and Mayor Pro Tem Olivia Diaz, who represents the area.
In a July 27 letter supporting the development, Berkley described the AREA15 property as one of the region’s strongest opportunities for a major sports project.
She also pointed to an important distinction that often gets overlooked in the debate over professional sports in Las Vegas: AREA15 is actually within Las Vegas city limits.
Much of what tourists and even some residents consider Las Vegas, including most of the Strip, is technically located in unincorporated Clark County.
That means the Raiders, Golden Knights and many of the region’s biggest entertainment venues operate outside the city government’s jurisdiction.
For Berkley, bringing an NBA arena to AREA15 would put a major professional sports venue inside the city itself.
Diaz also endorsed the proposal while acknowledging that the NBA and whoever ultimately owns the expansion franchise will make the final decision.
$140 Million in Incentives Already in Place
One of the more interesting parts of the proposal is the money already associated with the property.
According to Fisher Brothers, approximately $18 million has been invested in infrastructure improvements around the site, including upgraded water, sewer and electrical capacity.
The developer also says the AREA15 project has access to approximately $140 million in authorized economic incentives through an existing Tourism Improvement District.
Those incentives are not the same thing as a newly approved $140 million taxpayer contribution to an NBA arena. However, they could make the property financially attractive to a future ownership group looking at the enormous expense of constructing a new venue.
The developer has not announced a final arena construction budget or groundbreaking date.
The reported cost of building a new NBA arena in Las Vegas could run between $2 billion and $3 billion, separate from the multibillion-dollar expansion fee a prospective team owner would have to pay the league.
Fisher Brothers says it is open to different partnership arrangements with whichever group ultimately secures the franchise.
Las Vegas Already Has Plenty of Competition for an NBA Arena
AREA15 isn’t the only location trying to land a future Las Vegas NBA franchise.
Several developers have spent years promoting arena concepts around the valley, while existing venues have argued that Las Vegas doesn’t necessarily need to build another expensive indoor arena.
One competing proposal is the Las Vegas Diamond Arena, a planned 21,212-seat venue on the south Strip near Mandalay Bay. Its developers have assembled approximately 11 acres for the project and have also floated plans for a private aviation terminal connected to the arena.
T-Mobile Arena is another obvious possibility. The home of the Vegas Golden Knights already hosts major concerts, basketball events and other large-scale productions, and its operators have previously argued that the facility was designed with NBA basketball in mind.
Mayor Berkley also previously promoted a potential arena location near downtown Las Vegas and the World Market Center.
That makes the AREA15 proposal especially interesting. It’s close to the Strip without being directly on Las Vegas Boulevard, it has substantial land available for expansion, and it already has a functioning entertainment business capable of drawing visitors to the property.
Of course, anyone who regularly drives I-15 near Sahara Avenue or the Spaghetti Bowl knows that bringing another 20,000 people into the area on game nights would raise some serious traffic questions. Access, parking and the impact on nearby roads would all need to be addressed before a project of this size could move forward.
Who Will Own the Las Vegas NBA Team?
That’s still the biggest unanswered question.
The NBA formally approved exploring expansion into Las Vegas and Seattle in March 2026, and Commissioner Adam Silver has indicated that the league hopes to make a decision before the end of the year.
According to reports, three major ownership groups are competing for a potential Las Vegas franchise.
They include a group involving Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley and former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo; another led by Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill Laurie; and a third involving former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry and Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos.
Fisher Brothers says it has submitted its arena proposal to the NBA and held discussions with prospective ownership groups, but it has not announced an agreement with any of them.
And that’s the important distinction here. The AREA15 arena is a proposal, not an approved NBA venue. There is no announced construction start date, no finalized arena agreement and no officially awarded Las Vegas expansion franchise.
Still, the competition to become the home of Las Vegas basketball is clearly heating up.
With the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium, the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena, the Athletics building their new ballpark on the Strip and Las Vegas continuing to attract major sporting events, the NBA would be another enormous addition to the city’s sports and entertainment business.
The question now isn’t just whether Las Vegas gets an NBA team. It’s which developer, ownership group and part of town stands to benefit the most if it happens.
And Fisher Brothers is making it clear that AREA15 wants a piece of that action.
