LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A new ownership group has announced it will enter the bidding for an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas.

The group, calling itself the Las Vegas Jacks, is led by former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, former NBA head coach Vinny Del Negro, former Turner Sports president David Levy, American Century Investments CEO Jonathan Thomas, former NBA player and current television analyst Jay Williams, and financier Scott Colangelo.

BTIG and U.S. Bank, supported by Global Leisure Partners, will serve as institutional financial partners, according to the announcement. The group says it has $5 billion committed and another $3 billion formally indicated, with an asset target of $12.5-13 billion.

“Basketball has become a global sport to levels never seen before,” Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. “With the five top MVP vote-getters being all internationally born, the game is reaching unparalleled heights. My excitement for this project and for our Jacks’ vision is right up there in terms of my career. We all are committed and working as hard as we can to bring the league, owners and the fans, the best proposal and end product possible to Las Vegas.”

Levy says the ownership group plans to raise the necessary expansion fee entirely in cash, build “the most impressive state of the art basketball arena in the world,” and provide Las Vegas with exceptional basketball.

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The group says it would have the team play at T-Mobile Arena in the short term while a new arena and other facilities are being built.

Jerry Colangelo owned the Suns from 1987 to 2004. He was also the team’s general manager and briefly served as head coach in the 1970s. He is currently the managing director for USA Basketball and chair of the Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Governors.

Del Negro played in the NBA for 13 seasons and was head coach of the Chicago Bulls and the L.A. Clippers. Williams won an NCAA championship as a student-athlete at Duke University and was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, but a motorcycle crash in 2003 cut his basketball career short after just one season. He now serves as an NBA analyst for ESPN.

So far, Las Vegas Jacks is the second party to publicly announce it will pursue an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, after Golden Knights owner Bill Foley.

Bloomberg reported that former Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner were also exploring a bid, though they have not confirmed any interest.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league will decide on potential expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas this year, with a team or teams beginning play as early as the 2028-29 season.