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Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis has agreed a deal to buy the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) Las Vegas Aces from MGM Resorts International.
Further details about the takeover, including the financial terms, are currently scarce, but Davis said in a statement that he “will have more to say” when the purchase is approved by the league’s board of governors and he has met the team’s players, coaches and administrators.
George Kliavkoff, president of entertainment and sports at MGM, added: “We can confirm we have entered into an agreement to sell the Las Vegas Aces to Mark Davis and are awaiting approval from the WNBA Board of Governors.
“Mark is a longtime champion of women’s basketball and we believe he is the right person to lead the Aces into a new era. We will continue our enthusiastic support of the WNBA, NBA and basketball in Las Vegas.”
Should the deal go through, Davis will control two of the major sports teams in Las Vegas after relocating his National Football League (NFL) franchise to the city last year.
The Aces themselves only arrived in Las Vegas in 2018 after the franchise, formerly known as the San Antonio Stars, was sold to MGM by Spurs Sports & Entertainment.
Spearheaded by 2020 league MVP A’ja Wilson, the Aces have been on an upward trajectory since arriving in Nevada and have qualified for the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, losing last year’s WNBA Finals to the Seattle Storm.
