May 3, 2023
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ONE Championship, a first-of-its-kind martial arts league based in Singapore, has dominated the Asian sports market — and is now looking at the U.S. Its founder, Chatri Sityodtong, discusses growing the league, cracking the American sports landscape, and overcoming incredible personal challenges.
Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].
Commanders Sale Could Prompt Three-Way Stadium Battle [[link removed]]
Washington Commanders
Two Virginia legislators are pushing to safeguard taxpayers ahead of a potential three-way battle for a new Washington Commanders stadium under new ownership.
Del. David Reid told Front Office Sports that he expects Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., to be much more open to the possibility of public financing when Josh Harris’ group finalizes [[link removed]] a $6.05 billion deal to purchase the Commanders.
“It would be naive for us to not be prepared,” Reid said. “The governor has been approaching this as a vanity project. Del. [Luke] Torian and I are proactively approaching this by asking, ‘Is it the right economic development opportunity for the Commonwealth?’ We need to build in certain protections.”
Current Commanders owner Dan Snyder was denied the same path amid investigations of him and the team.
Last June, a bill that would have led to the creation of a stadium authority and as much as $300 million of public funding for a $3 billion domed stadium in Northern Virginia was shelved [[link removed]].
There’s no current stadium legislation, although many in Richmond expect Gov. Glenn Youngkin to send down a bill to study the creation of a stadium authority in a special session in the coming months.
Reid and Torian are seeking an incentive-based approach to taxpayer backing, along with an end-of-life plan for the stadium site.
“Just because we have a different legislative schedule than Maryland or D.C., we don’t want to be left out of the conversation,” Reid said.
WWE Reports Viewership Up, Earnings Down Amid UFC Merger [[link removed]]
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Ahead of its merger with UFC, World Wrestling Entertainment reported a down first quarter — but still managed to exceed Wall Street’s expectations.
WWE reported net revenue of $297.6 million and operating income of $53.1 million for the first quarter of 2023 — an 11% and 43% decrease year-over-year, respectively.
The company primarily chalks up the drop to moving one of its large-scale international pay-per-views.
WWE staged “Elimination Chamber” in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in February 2022, but isn’t returning there until May for “Night of Champions.” The company put on “Crown Jewel” in nearby Riyadh in November.
The company just barely outperformed Wall Street’s expectations for the quarter: Its net income came out to 43 cents per share, while the average analyst estimate was 42 cents per share, according to a survey [[link removed]] from Zacks Investment Research.
Still, there’s plenty of optimism at WWE.
The 2023 editions of premium live events “Royal Rumble” and “Elimination Chamber” saw respective 52% and 54% year-over-year domestic viewership increases. Weekly programs “Raw” and “SmackDown” both increased viewership 7% year-over-year.
WWE’s recent acquisition [[link removed]] by Endeavor will see it combine with UFC into one publicly traded company under the stock ticker symbol TKO.
The combined WWE-UFC entity could create a media rights juggernaut [[link removed]] when WWE’s deals with NBC Universal and Fox expire next year and UFC’s deal with ESPN expires in 2026.
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“WSC Sports has been a key driver in our ability to put out more content in an efficient manner.” – Matt Carstens, Executive Producer and General Manager of the ACC Digital Network in a recent interview [[link removed]] with Front Office Sports.
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Manchester United Offer Gets $1B Boost From Sheikh Jassim [[link removed]]
MUFC
As the sale saga of Manchester United heads toward its supposed conclusion, bidders are looking for ways to enhance their offers.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani has pledged [[link removed]] $1 billion toward improving club infrastructure if his bid is successful.
The facilities at Old Trafford drew unwanted attention when soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo criticized them in an interview with Piers Morgan last year.
“Nothing changed since I left,” said Ronaldo, who played for Manchester United from 2003 to 2009, then returned for two seasons in 2021. “I thought I would see new technology, infrastructure. I saw things I saw when I was 20!”
Sheikh Jassim is reportedly offering at least $6.3 billion for the club in addition to the infrastructure investments. He also promised [[link removed]] to wipe out United’s $620 million in debt.
He seeks to buy 100% of the team, while his main rival, Jim Ratcliffe, is bidding for a majority stake at a valuation higher than $6.3 billion, according [[link removed]] to the Telegraph.
Ratcliffe’s proposal could leave room for private equity funds to join and the Glazer family to retain a minority stake. Ares Management, Elliott Management, and the Carlyle Group have all expressed interest in owning a piece of the team.
Conversation Starters The New York State Racing Association has secured [[link removed]] a $455 million loan from the state to renovate Belmont Park, the horse racing venue that hosts the Belmont Stakes. The project will add modern amenities including sports betting features, as well as completely replace the grandstand and clubhouse. The Negro League Baseball Museum once consisted of a one-room office [[link removed]] funded by a handful of former players’ own money. Now, the NLBM has announced plans for a $25 million new home in Kansas City. And speaking of KC: The Kansas City Current have begun installing grandstands at their new stadium — the first purpose-built for an NWSL team — set to open in time for the 2024 season. Check out a 3D rendering [[link removed]].
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What to Watch
The Philadelphia 76ers will take on the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference Semi-Finals on Wednesday at TD Garden.
How to watch: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
Gambling odds: 76ers +7.5 || ML +280 || O/U 217
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