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Las Vegas Aces guard Kayla McBride, left, drives around Seattle Storm guard Jordin Canada during the first half of Game 1 of basketball’s WNBA Finals Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Bradenton, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021 | 11:45 a.m.
Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis leaves a meeting of the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee on Thursday, April 28, 2016, at UNLV.
Mark Davis is expanding his sports empire in Las Vegas, buying the Aces from MGM Resorts International.
The Raiders owner purchased the WNBA team Thursday pending approval from the league’s board of governors.
The Aces moved to Las Vegas from San Antonio in 2017 and have been successful on the court. Las Vegas had the league’s best record last season losing to Seattle in the WNBA Finals.
While it’s unclear how the sale will impact the Aces’ day-to-day operations, the Raiders have a working relationship with MGM — which partners with the NFL franchise in several business ventures..
Las Vegas has a solid young core of players, including league MVP A’ja Wilson and sixth-woman of the year Dearica Hamby.
Davis has immersed himself in the Las Vegas sports scene and regularly attends Aces games, as well as NHL contests for the Vegas Golden Knights. Davis and the Raiders have been strong supporters of the Aces during their brief time in Las Vegas. The Raiders purchased 1,600 tickets to Aces games in 2019 to distribute to kids.
The Raiders got approval from the NFL to move to Las Vegas in 2017 after attempts to build a new stadium in Oakland were unsuccessful and they were blocked in their attempt to move to Los Angeles.
They arrived in the desert in 2020 and opened their new $2 billion stadium which looks out at the Mandalay Bay casino where the Aces play their home games. They also built a $75 million practice facility in nearby Henderson, Nevada.
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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this story.
