National Basketball Association

Kansas City Sports: Kansas City And NBA Expansion

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The NBA is again talking about league expansion and Kansas City is a city being mentioned. Would an NBA franchise in KC work?

I don’t remember an NBA franchise in Kansas City. I know that the Sacramento Kings used to call KC their home, and Wikipedia tells me that I was even alive at the time. However, that really means nothing to me. The same is probably true for most people reading this article. That may be set to change though as the NBA is again looking at expansion with KC a prime candidate for a new team.

The NBA is once again contemplating expansion. The pressure is on the league from a number of directions. This is largely due to the popular movement to revive the Seattle Supersonics franchise. In fact, the city of Seattle is in full-go on this and has already begun working towards building a new arena.

So how does that affect Kansas City? Well, the NBA won’t just sit at 31 teams. If the Sonics are revived, there will have to be another team added to the mix to balance out the league. Kansas City is a prime location for such an addition.

This isn’t the first time that bringing the NBA to Kansas City has been mentioned. Mayor Sly James has never hidden the fact that he is a fan of the idea. In fact, when it was announced that Charlotte was losing the NBA All-Star Game earlier this year, Mayor James jumped on the opportunity. He quickly tweeted out to the NBA that Kansas City was more than willing and ready to host.

The interest and opportunity are there. Of course, there is quite a bit more to this…

Oct 26, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Fans show their support for the Kansas City Royals with flags before the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Is Kansas City A Basketball Town?

There is little doubt that in Kansas City the Chiefs are the team to be. Despite not winning a championship since the 60’s, football is still the top dog. I mean, the Royals just won a World Series (after appearing in another) and are still not the most popular team in town. That’s not a dig at the Royals either.

Kansas City lives and breathes Chiefs football, and the Royals really fill in the gaps. Neither are even the most successful professional franchise in the city. Sporting KC has been a top team in MLS for years, but still play a distant third. So where would an NBA franchise fit in? One would think at least ahead of Sporting, but probably well behind the Royals.

Of course, that may not be true. Maybe the NBA really would be popular in Kansas City. Unfortunately, there isn’t any data that really supports this. The KC market was not very strong during the NBA finals this past year, despite it being such a big match up. Is that a general lack of interest? That is a big question that owners would have to consider before making this move.

NBA All Star Game. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

What Stands In The Way?

There is at least one major road block that stands not only in the way of Kansas City, but every city. The NBA might simply not be interested in expanding. More to the point, the NBA owners might have no interest in splitting their money with more teams. After all, in business, everything comes down to the dollar.

The key here is that the NBA is a revenue-sharing league, much like the NFL. Currently, the league is seeing increased profits split amongst 30 ownership groups. Adding two more groups to the mix would complicate that formula. There is no guarantee in a large enough increase in revenue to cover the smaller percentage each team gets.

This is why the popularity of the NBA in Kansas City is so important. Now, one thing that may help KC’s cause here is that the St Louis market is also absent a team. That could be a vital selling point as currently Missouri is open territory with two major cities. The nearest teams are in Chicago and Oklahoma City, neither of which has a strong pull in Missouri. That is the biggest advantage for Kansas City.

Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Is There Another Option?

There is another possible way for Kansas City to get an NBA franchise, and that is the relocation of the Sacramento Kings. Simply put, the Kings popularity isn’t great. With the Clippers and Lakers to the south and the Warriors close by, the Kings often get overlooked. Of course, it doesn’t help that the team has been irrelevant since Chris Webber was on the floor.

The Kings were also just recently bought by a new ownership group in May of 2013. That ownership group quickly placed a request to relocate the team to Seattle. The bid failed, but the Kings have continued to flounder. That may mean that a relocation, or another sale of the team, is possible. Kansas City should be able to jump on that.

The interesting thing here is that even if a relocation of the Kings put them in Seattle, a name change wouldn’t be far behind. That means the Kings moniker would become available. With Kansas City already having a bit of a theme with Chiefs, Royals, and Monarchs, the city would certainly be in the mix for any future moves.

Kansas City has options for hosting an NBA franchise, but there are also plenty of obstacles. The city leadership needs to continue pushing to host big events, especially those that are NBA-related. If the city can prove it’s ability to be a suitable host city, that will definitely make its case that much stronger.