April 7, 2023

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Talk about big purchases: Dallas Mavericks guard Reggie Bullock bought [[link removed]] a $2 million island in Belize — with plans to build a vacation resort for his family and friends. 🏝

Leagues MLB Files Emergency Motion, Could Terminate RSN Deals [[link removed]]

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Major League Baseball appears to be running out of patience with bankrupt media company Diamond Sports.

MLB filed an emergency motion asking the court to compel Diamond’s Bally Sports regional sports networks to make their overdue payments to the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins, according to The Athletic [[link removed]].

Bally RSNs hold media rights to 14 MLB teams and Diamond has been trying to thread the needle by cherry-picking the best deals.

It’s making payments to teams with favorable [[link removed]] contractual terms such as the loaded San Diego Padres and trying to cut ties with clubs, with which it doesn’t have favorable contractual terms.

Three MLB clubs reportedly [[link removed]] haven’t been paid yet: the Guardians, Twins, and Arizona Diamondbacks. In the meantime, there’s been no interruption in coverage, as the embattled Bally RSNs continue to show games. MLB is seeking an order by April 13 that would allow it to terminate the deals and let teams take back their media rights.

The legal motion is being closely followed around MLB, and more teams could join the motion, according to the Athletic, including the Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Rays, and Texas Rangers.

There’s big money at stake, especially for smaller-market clubs.

The Guardians are due an annual rights fee of $55 million, while the Twins are due $42 million, sources told The Athletic.

Real Estate Barcelona to Repay $1.6B Stadium Renovation Debt Early [[link removed]]

Spotify

The negotiations to fund a $1.6 billion renovation of Camp Nou have possibly been settled.

Several Spanish newspapers reported [[link removed]] on Thursday that FC Barcelona will repay its debts five years earlier than initially planned as part of a renegotiated financial plan with Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

Barca will make the final repayment on the stadium renovations in 2047, as opposed to its original deadline of 2052.

The new plan will carry a 5.5% interest rate, though the club insisted on being able to refinance the loan after five years, once the stadium renovations are complete, to lower the rate.

The club will officially announce the adjusted plan once it’s formalized.

Thursday’s news could signal the end of a saga that began in early March when it was reported [[link removed]] that the club was exploring new financing options for the stadium renovation. Later that month, it paused [[link removed]] its financial plans as a reaction to rising borrowing costs in the U.S.

With that out of the way, the hallowed Spanish club will turn its attention to more pressing matters.

Barcelona is planning to activate [[link removed]] a “super lever” to alleviate its financial woes and give it extra capital to spend on players this summer.

However, the club is also still mired in scandal for allegedly bribing a former member of La Liga’s refereeing committee to influence matches on its behalf. Spanish prosecutors launched [[link removed]] a formal investigation last month.

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Gaming Saudi-Owned Savvy Games Makes $4.9B Acquisition [[link removed]]

FOS, rights-free image

Saudi Arabia’s gaming hub is making its biggest acquisition to date.

Savvy Games Group, which is wholly owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund, has agreed [[link removed]] to acquire game developer Scopely for $4.9 billion.

The move is the latest in Saudi Arabia’s broad initiative to diversify its economy through sports and gaming, among other sectors. Last year, Savvy acquired [[link removed]] esports companies ESL Turtle Entertainment and FaceIT for a respective $1 billion and $500 million.

The PIF has significant holdings [[link removed]] in the gaming sector, as it owns around 8.35% of Nintendo, 4.8% of Activision Blizzard, 5.8% of Electronic Arts, and 6.8% of Take-Two Interactive.

Scopely, whose portfolio includes “Star Trek Fleet Command,” “Stumble Guys,” and “Scrabble GO,” will operate autonomously. Savvy wrote that the company “will benefit from Savvy’s long-term, patient financial backing,” including “through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.”

Savvy’s pivot from esports to game development is geared toward making Saudi Arabia a major hub for the gaming industry.

The country is also spending lavishly on sports properties and events, including LIV Golf and the 2029 Asian Winter Games. Saudi Arabia is seeking to host the 2030 World Cup, and soccer legend Lionel Messi is considering [[link removed]] an offer to join Cristiano Ronaldo in the country’s domestic league.

College Athletics Investors Are Reportedly Showing Interest in Women’s Pro Hockey [[link removed]]

Antranik Tavitian/The Republic

The Premier Hockey Federation is about to get bigger.

Five separate investment groups are in talks to acquire current teams or commit to building expansion franchises for the women’s hockey league, according [[link removed]] to Sportico. The investors are based in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Ontario.

The PHF is hoping that a franchise sale could yield between $5 million and $7 million.

Established in 2015 as the National Women’s Hockey League, the league rebranded to the PHF in 2021. It now has seven teams total — including a new franchise in Montreal.

But almost all of the teams are owned by the same investment groups, a conflict-of-interest problem that new investors would hopefully solve.

The Montreal Force, Boston Pride, Metropolitan Riveters, and Toronto Six are all owned by BTM Partners. The Minnesota Whitecaps and the Buffalo Beauts are owned by NLTT Ventures.

The league has garnered a $25 million investment from owners. As a result, the salary cap will go up to $1.5 million next season.

The PHF has media rights deals with ESPN and Discovery.

Conversation Starters Each year, over 98% of student-athletes will go pro in something other than sports. That’s over 100k future leaders who often get overlooked, till now. Learn more [[link removed]].* Dodgers star Freddie Freeman just bought a second Los Angeles home for $7.8 million for his second season with the team. Check it out [[link removed]]. South Korean icon and BTS pop star SUGA has been named [[link removed]] an NBA ambassador.

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Rising 25 Nominations Are Here!

Rising 25 is back and it’s time to nominate an up-and-coming young professional changing the game in the business of sports!

The Front Office Sports Rising 25 Award [[link removed]], presented by Anheuser-Busch, celebrates the careers of the brightest young stars in the business of sports. To date, we’ve honored 150 individuals and we’re looking for our next group of young stars.

Nominations are open now through May 2, but there are only five days remaining in the early bird window.

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Front Office Sports Today They Said What?

Syndication: Palm Beach Post

“The whole downstream economics of The Masters is fascinating. Obviously, Augusta National makes a lot of money, but the homeowners in the area pay off their mortgages for the year with this one week from people renting houses … People are selling anything from bed sheets to hot sauce, and of course, John Daly is out there hawking his merchandise.”

— Brian Graybill, Intersport president, on the economic impact The Masters has on the people in and around Augusta, Georgia. For more on The Masters, check out 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

09:10 PM

Dodgers (-165) at Diamondbacks (+140)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

NBA

08:10 PM

Thunder (-265) at Jazz (+225)

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MLB

07:10 PM

Cardinals (+120) at Brewers (-140)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See [[link removed]] for details.

Question Of The Day

How often do you drink coffee?

Regularly [[link removed]] Often [[link removed]] Occasionally [[link removed]] Rarely [[link removed]] Never [[link removed]]

Thursday’s Answer

12% of respondents play video games daily. 13% of respondents play video games weekly.

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