April 7, 2023

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The Arizona Coyotes are biting back at Phoenix, suing the city for the exact amount of money needed to build a new arena in Tempe. Coincidence? On the latest FOS Today, Owen Poindexter breaks it all down, then talks to the president of a top marketing firm to learn how to turn big events like the Masters into full-fledged fan experiences.

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

College Athletics Iowa Pauses Season-Ticket Sales for Women’s Basketball [[link removed]]

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Caitlin Clark and Iowa’s heroics on the national stage has sent season-ticket demand for the women’s basketball team into overdrive.

The University of Iowa has paused season-ticket sales for the 2023-24 season after overwhelming demand from fans following the team’s run to the NCAA national championship game, according [[link removed]] to The Des Moines Register.

Last season, the base for the program was 6,500 tickets. As of this week, the school’s athletic department had received 6,700 new season-ticket requests.

Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena has a capacity of just over 15,000. Last season, the women’s basketball team set a Big Ten attendance record with an average of 11,143 fans per game.

The Hawkeyes’ success, led by a certified superstar in Clark, surely has fans eager to support the team — but it also could have something to do with bargain pricing for a season-ticket package.

A season pass for the 2022-23 Iowa women’s basketball season ran $125 for adults, $90 for senior citizens, and $30 for youths aged 18 and under — an absolute steal given that tickets to Iowa’s Final Four matchup [[link removed]] with South Carolina were going for a minimum $280.

The university has said it hasn’t set pricing for the 2023-24 season yet and is considering allowing current season-ticket holders to add to their allotment, according to Matt Henderson, Iowa’s deputy director of athletics for external relations.

“We’re going to do our best so that those fans who want to support women’s basketball at Iowa get that opportunity.”

AWARDS

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. Established in 2017, the Rising 25 Award has become one of the most competitive and prestigious awards in the industry.

Know someone who deserves to be recognized? Nominate [[link removed]] them today! Nominations are open NOW through Tuesday, May 2. Winners will be announced in June.

Deals Glazers to Begin Weighing Offers for Manchester United [[link removed]]

Manchester United FC

If Manchester United is really going to be sold, the next few days could be crucial.

The Glazer family intends to “delve deeper” into the offers to buy their storied club and begin negotiating with those who have lodged offers in the coming days, according [[link removed]] to The Telegraph.

Many across European soccer have expressed [[link removed]] concern that the Glazers may not end up selling Man United, while others within the club maintain that a sale will still happen.

The Telegraph reports that four of the Glazer siblings — Kevin, Edward, Bryan and Darcie — are ready to part with the club for the right price. But Joel and Avram Glazer, the co-chairmen who have been most involved with the club for years, are reportedly less willing to sell and are looking for minority investors.

The sale price of the club has been a sticking point throughout the process.

Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and U.K. billionaire Jim Ratcliffe are believed to have entered offers of around $6.2 billion — which would make United’s sale the largest in the history of professional sports.

But the Glazers are apparently still looking for their original asking price of $7.5 billion. Sheikh Jassim has expressed a willingness to get closer to that price.

Finnish billionaire Thomas Zilliacus is also believed to be a finalist for the outright sale.

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College Athletics Connecticut Could Boast Two NCAA Champs In Same Week [[link removed]]

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The state of Connecticut has an opportunity to boast two NCAA Division I national championships in just one week.

On Monday, UConn secured its fifth men’s basketball title in program history, solidifying its status as a bonafide college blue blood. Only UCLA, Kentucky, and North Carolina have more championships.

Five days later, No. 2 Quinnipiac will take on No. 1 Minnesota in the D-I men’s ice hockey championship, the Frozen Four.

The game, which will take place in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday night, gives the Bobcats a chance to earn their first championship banner. They’ve appeared in two other national title games in program history, but never won.

Quinnipiac’s campus in Hamden is just a short drive from UConn’s campus in Storrs — but the two schools couldn’t be more different. Quinnipiac is a small, private college with an undergraduate enrollment of about 6,000, while UConn is a sprawling public university with more than 18,000 students.

This Close to Three

In many years, the UConn women’s basketball program would have also been on the state’s list for championship contenders. The Huskies are tied with the UCLA men’s basketball team for the most NCAA championships in D-I basketball history, with 11.

The team lost this year during the Sweet 16 — the first time in 16 years that they didn’t make it to the Elite 8.

They reached the title game last year but fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks. UConn last won a women’s basketball championship in 2016.

Conversation Starters On Friday, CityPickle — a complex [[link removed]] of 14 pickleball courts converted from the famous Wollman Rink — opens in Central Park. The sport’s largest offering in the Northeast will charge $120 per hour for peak times and $80 per hour for off-peak. The Pac-12 has been in talks [[link removed]] with The CW as a new potential media rights partner, per The Athletic. The New York Mets recently unveiled their new jersey patches with New York-Presbyterian Hospital, but owner Steve Cohen was less than thrilled: “They’re Phillie colors … it should be more Met appropriate.” The Mets now have an agreement in place to alter [[link removed]] the patch.

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How to Connect With the Modern Sports Consumer

After a tumultuous few years, the sports world [[link removed]] is back on top.

Stadium attendance is back on the rise. Live sports programming is dominating the ratings on both linear television and streaming services, and fans are consuming sports media all day long across multiple platforms and devices.

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What to Watch

The Phoenix Suns take on the Los Angeles Lakers at crypto.com Arena on Friday night.

How to watch: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV

Betting odds: Suns +11 || Suns +425 || O/U 226.5

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