April 4, 2023

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The Walt Disney Company’s decision to move the NCAA women’s basketball title game from ESPN to ABC proved to be the correct call. The Iowa-LSU game garnered record ratings [[link removed]], getting 9.9 million viewers.

Deals Bay Area Lands Latest NWSL Expansion Team [[link removed]]

Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

The National Women’s Soccer League is expanding into Northern California.

Global investment firm Sixth Street is partnering with four former U.S. Women’s National Team players — Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner — to bring a team to the Bay Area, NWSL announced on Tuesday.

The expansion fee was $53 million, a source with knowledge of the deal told Front Office Sports — more than 10 times the fee paid for the Kansas City Current, who debuted last season.

The team’s name and the home field weren’t announced, although PayPal Park — home to MLS’ San Jose Earthquakes — is expected to be a likely landing spot.

Sixth Street has made more than $1 billion in sports-related investments over the last two years.

In 2021, it paid nearly $400 million for a 20% stake in the San Antonio Spurs after the NBA changed ownership rules [[link removed]] to allow private equity to invest in teams. After Sixth Street acquired [[link removed]] a controlling stake in entertainment experiences company Legends, the two companies invested [[link removed]] $381 million in Real Madrid last May. Sixth Street purchased 25% of FC Barcelona’s TV rights in two different deals [[link removed]] worth roughly $500 million last summer.

“The number of bids and the increase in the league’s expansion fees are indicative of both the demand that exists for women’s soccer in the professional sports landscape and the validated growth trajectory of our league,” NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said.

The Bay Area team and Utah Royals will give the NWSL 14 teams next season.

College Athletics With National Title, UConn Rose Above Athletic Department Deficit [[link removed]]

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday night, the UConn Huskies won their fifth national championship in program history after a decisive 76-59 win against San Diego State at NRG Stadium in Houston.

The program has reached new heights of NCAA men’s basketball: Only three other D-I programs have won more titles than the Huskies.

But it’s been almost a decade since the Huskies won their last title. Over the past several years, they’ve faced major adversity on the court and at the bank.

Head coach Dan Hurley took the reins in 2018 after the Huskies suffered a losing season. Then, in the summer of 2019, the school announced it had accepted a bid to rejoin the Big East — a conference it had left in 2013.

The program was not only looking for a better fit for its basketball-centric school but also helping with ailing finances in the American Athletic Conference. In 2019, the athletic department faced [[link removed]] a $42 million shortfall due to coaching contract buyouts and travel costs in the AAC. The school also had to pay a $17 million AAC exit fee and $3.5 million in a Big East entrance fee.

Hurley returned the program to its former glory with the “much-needed jolt” of returning to Big East basketball in 2020.

But while the men’s basketball program sits atop the NCAA, the UConn athletic department is still reeling.

The program reported [[link removed]] a $53 million deficit for the 2022 fiscal year, spending $13.4 million on a buyout for former men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie, who coached the school’s last national title team in 2014.

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The Promise of Real-Time Content Delivery

Today, most fan-facing experiences focus on providing users with a replay of the previous action, including play-by-play feeds and video highlights. The expected advancements in real-time content delivery [[link removed]] will introduce a massive shift in how fans watch live games.

User behavior continues to shift towards streaming services, particularly when it comes to sports content. According to Grabyo, 79% of fans globally are willing to watch sports exclusively on streaming services, compared with 64% in the United States.

To capitalize on this changing dynamic, streaming providers are seeking ways to differentiate themselves in the market to capture and retain their share of consumers through media rights, data, and providing a low latency experience.

Download Next League [[link removed]]’s report to learn more [[link removed]] about the impact of Real-Time Content Delivery on the sports technology industry.

Gaming Saudi Arabia’s PIF Has Invested $38B in Gaming [[link removed]]

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund believes it can turn the country into a destination for the video game industry.

The sovereign wealth fund has invested $38 billion in the $184 billion global gaming market in recent years through its subsidiary, Savvy Games Group. What began as an esports venture has evolved into a desire to develop, publish, and acquire major video games.

“We are now more of an esports company than a games company,” Savvy CEO Brian Ward told [[link removed]] Bloomberg News. “What we’re doing this year is focusing more on game publishing and development.”

Ward — a former executive at Electronic Arts, Activision, and Microsoft — is part of the investment, encouraged by Saudi Arabia’s growing population of gamers to lead Savvy.

Saudi Arabia’s 21 million gamers make up about 58% of the population — compared to the United States’ 66%, per Niko Partners. By 2026, the Middle East and North Africa’s gaming market is expected to grow 56% to $2.79 billion.

Savvy has already made multibillion-dollar investments in massive gaming companies Tencent, Activision Blizzard, and Nintendo. It is the largest outside stakeholder for the latter (8.3%) after a new investment in February.

In 2022, the holding company acquired esports tournament company ESL and merged it with gaming platform Faceit in a combined $1.5 billion deal.

The PIF is invested in several sports properties — most notably [[link removed]], LIV Golf and Newcastle United of the Premier League.

Real Estate Everton’s New Stadium May Exceed Projected Cost of $678M [[link removed]]

Everton FC

Everton FC may end up over budget in the construction of its new stadium despite its claims that it has fixed-price contracts in place.

The club, which broke [[link removed]] ground on the $678.6 million project at Bramley-Moore Dock in August 2021, released a statement last month saying it was moving to fix costs for the stadium’s contracts — but primary contractor, Laing O’Rourke, is reserving the right to pass on increases in costs of materials and supply-chain difficulties, according [[link removed]] to the Daily Mail.

Representatives from Everton clarified that the contract with O’Rourke gave the club guarantees on the minimum and maximum costs based on a set of predefined margins — but the final price of construction is not fixed and is subject to change based on the parameters.

Last week, the Mail reported [[link removed]] that Everton could delay the entire construction process after it was charged by the Premier League with breaching spending rules. The new stadium was initially scheduled to open in time for the 2024-25 season.

It’s not the only potential delta related to the project: In December, Everton announced [[link removed]] that it would be pausing the process of finding a stadium naming rights deal.

This is all happening amidst rumors that owner Farhad Moshiri would be selling the club — something he denied [[link removed]] earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the soccer team itself is stumbling through a season that has it sitting 18th in the Premier League table.

Conversation Starters From the first pitch to the final buzzer, stay in the game with Atmosphere Sports — the ultimate streaming destination for businesses that want constant sports news, live scores, and highlights. Learn more [[link removed]]. The Milwaukee Brewers’ scheduled flyover [[link removed]] for Monday’s home opener at American Family Field experienced just one problem — the stadium’s roof was closed. LSU women’s basketball champs were ready to share the celebrations [[link removed]] the minute they clinched. Director of Player Personnel & Influence Jennifer Roberts had players’ phones ready for the celebration — and every player has posted to nearly every platform they have.

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How Technology is Shaping the Future of Sports

In today’s modern media age, consumers demand content 24/7. Sports fans want — and expect — engaging content from their favorite teams, leagues, brands and players across platforms all year long.

Join Front Office Sports [[link removed]] on April 11 at 1 p.m. ET for an inside look at how teams, leagues, conferences and broadcasters utilize technology to create compelling content that attracts new viewers, reaches younger audiences and increases fan engagement.

The virtual summit [[link removed]] includes discussion with representatives from organizations across the sports industry, including the NBA, San Francisco 49ers, New Jersey Devils, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, ACC and the University of Miami.

Grab your spot and register now [[link removed]]!

Front Office Sports Today They Said What?

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

“It’ll be interesting to see what Nick Khan does. He will be staying on as president of WWE in this new division. He’s very well-respected and highly regarded in the entire industry … He doesn’t have the baggage that either Vince McMahon or Dana White has. Keep an eye on Nick Khan and see what his role is going to be. He’s so well-respected that I think we’re going to see a lot more of him.”

— Senior reporter A.J. Perez on his expectations for Nick Khan’s role in the WWE to expand as McMahon’s and potentially even Dana White’s diminishes in the WWE and UFC, respectively, on the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].

Today's Action

MLB

07:10 PM

Tigers (+235) at Astros (-280)

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06:10 PM

Cavaliers (-190) at Magic (+160)

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06:08 PM

Penguins (+135) at Devils (-155)

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Question Of The Day

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Monday’s Answer

76% of respondents plan to watch the Masters this year.

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