The Las Vegas NBA expansion race picked up fresh drama this week, according to the Sports Business Journal (SBJ), as Silver Lake co‑CEO Egon Durban—already a 22% stakeholder in the Raiders—has joined the Nancy Walton Laurie-Bill Laurie bid for an NBA franchise.

The move not only adds major financial firepower to the group widely viewed as the frontrunner—Durban is worth an estimated $2.5 billion—it also marks the first time the group’s bid has signaled where it wants its team to play: in a new arena to be built near Allegiant Stadium.

Choosing the Laurie‑Durban bid would create a new, year-round, sports‑driven entertainment district at the Strip’s southern end. It would also instantly obliterate the dozen Las Vegas arena proposals announced to date.

Durban’s involvement signals that the Walton Laurie group is preparing to escalate its offer as investment bank PJT Partners continues vetting the three finalist ownership groups.

Those finalists—which also include the Marc Lasry-Steve Apostolopoulos partnership and the Bill Foley-Jerry Colangelo group—have all submitted proposals that hover around $9 billion for the team and roughly $3 billion for arena construction, SBJ reported. This places the total investment near $12 billion, a figure expected to rise as the NBA pushes bidders to increase their offers.

Insiders quoted by SBJ believe the Laurie-Durban group has the deepest liquidity of the three finalists and could push its bid toward—or even beyond—the $12.5 billion valuation paid by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for the Lakers. With Durban’s backing, sources say the group could easily escalate to a $13 billion package if it wants the team badly enough.

The Lasry-Apostolopoulos group remains a strong contender, SBJ reported, and could win the franchise if the Walton-Laurie-Durban group declines to raise its bid.

Lasry, who helped develop Milwaukee’s Deer District, and Apostolopoulos, whose holdings span real estate, private equity, and financial technology, are believed to favor building an arena on or near the Strip, a location SBJ sources say appeals to the NBA.