April 11, 2023

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The Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings face off [[link removed]] in the first round of the NBA playoffs — and according to TickPick, seats are nearly twice as expensive for the Kings’ home games ($427) than those of the Warriors ($222). Could be something to do with this being the Kings’ first postseason appearance in 16 years …

Deals Predators Sale Closing at Near-Record $880M [[link removed]]

Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Nashville Predators are a month away from initiating an ownership change.

Former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam is expected to complete his purchase of the NHL team in mid-May. The league’s board of governors still has to approve the deal, but the impending purchase values the Predators at $880 million — five times the team’s revenue, per Forbes.

That price is just shy of the largest in NHL history, set when Fenway Sports Group purchased the Pittsburgh Penguins in December 2021 at $900 million.

Haslam is buying the 60% stake of the team owned by Herb Fritch. The team’s 16 other limited partners have no contractual guarantees allowing them to sell their stakes to Haslam.

While the deal is on the cusp of closing, it will take two more years to fully play out. Haslam — the brother of Cleveland Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam — is buying the stake in four installments: one this year, one next year, and two in 2025. He will only take majority ownership of the team in 2025.

The NHL hit a revenue record [[link removed]] last year of around $5.3 billion, in part due to sponsorship revenue more than doubling to $1.4 billion.

Commerce With Shorter Game Times, MLB Teams Extend Alcohol Sales [[link removed]]

MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

Major League Baseball’s new pace-of-play rules this season have certainly been fantastic [[link removed]] for television viewership — but may have an unintended negative consequence.

Because the games are around 30 minutes shorter, concession sales could decrease.

The Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks appear to be the first teams to attempt a solution. They’re reportedly [[link removed]] selling [[link removed]] alcoholic beverages until the eighth inning — breaking with the league-wide standard of stopping sales in the seventh.

There’s no formal rule about when alcohol sales must end.

The Brewers told MLB.com that because of the quicker games, extending alcohol sales to the eighth inning will allow them to be sold for the same amount of time as last year.

Popular New Addition

Through the first two series of the season, Brewers’ game times averaged two hours and 34 minutes, for example. In previous years, any game under three hours was considered speedy.

The change is mostly due to the new pitch clock, which only allows 15 seconds between pitches and 20 seconds when runners are on base.

MLB has already begun soliciting potential sponsors for the clock, which is already popular among fans, FOS previously reported. [[link removed]]

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Leagues WNBA Expands Charter Flight Program for 2023 Season [[link removed]]

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

As women’s basketball continues to gain momentum, the WNBA is making strides to improve its issues with travel accommodations for players.

Ahead of the WNBA Draft on Monday, the league announced [[link removed]] that it will expand its charter flights program for the 2023 season.

The program will now include charter flights for all postseason games, the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game, and select back-to-back scenarios in regular-season games.

The league had previously only allowed charter flights for the WNBA Finals, the Commissioner’s Cup Championship, and in specific, special circumstances.

“Since joining the league a few years ago, a goal of mine has been to enhance the overall player experience and, in that regard, make incremental improvements where we are able to do so and when we believe the economic model would support it for the long term,” said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “I’m pleased that we are able to broaden the program this year for the players.”

Private air travel has been a hot-button issue for the WNBA in recent years — most recently in January, when many free-agent discussions [[link removed]] broached the topic.

It was previously reported that completely chartering flights for the league would cost the league $30 million per season — a figure the league couldn’t afford.

The New York Liberty were fined $500,000 last season for secretly chartering flights against league rules — which dictate that all teams must be able to afford the practice.

Real Estate Diamondbacks in Active Talks on New Phoenix-Area Stadium [[link removed]]

Arizona Republic

The Snakes are scoping out a new home in the desert.

WIth their stadium lease up after the 2027 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks are assessing their options.

“Obviously the city [of Phoenix] doesn’t want to lose us and the impact that we make on downtown,” team CEO Derrick Hall told [[link removed]] the Phoenix Business Journal. “So we’re having good conversations, and I would say within the next couple of months, we want to know.”

Remaining at Chase Field is an option, but one that would require “hundreds of millions” in renovations, per Hall, who mentioned that it would be easier to generate revenue at a new site.

The team is in active discussions to build a new ballpark at a different location in the Phoenix area.

Whichever path it takes, the team is looking to follow the trend of building a commerce area around its stadium.

“It’s not just about the ballpark,” said Hall. “It’s about having retail and hotel and office space. We want to see what the opportunities are here or anywhere else so that we can activate 365 days a year.”

Media Mayhem

The Diamondbacks may have to switch local broadcasters midseason.

Diamond Sports Group, owner of Bally Sports Arizona, missed [[link removed]] a $30.8 million payment to the team for its local broadcast rights, and MLB is seeking to terminate the contract. The regional sports network also broadcasts the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, as well as the Arizona Coyotes.

Under that scenario, the league would likely produce games and broadcast them on its MLB Network.

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“Michael Phelps and Simone Biles and Aaron Rodgers, just to name a few folks, have been outspoken about their own mental health challenges, and as a result have perpetuated the snowball effect of others speaking up about their own challenges.”

— David Chadwick, founder and CEO of RealResponse, an athlete-focused mental health company. For more from Chadwick on athletes and mental health, check out the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

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Today's Action

MLB

08:45 PM

Dodgers (-150) at Giants (+130)

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NBA

06:30 PM

Hawks (+170) at Heat (-200)

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MLB

08:40 PM

Brewers (+120) at Diamondbacks (-140)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

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Question Of The Day

Which is your preferred place to get coffee?

Starbucks [[link removed]] Dunkin Donuts [[link removed]] N/A [[link removed]]

Monday’s Answer

56% of respondents said they drink vodka.

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