May 8, 2023

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About 10,000 people watched the first Kentucky Derby in 1875. This year’s attendance [[link removed]] at Churchill Downs as jockey Javier Castellano led 15-1 odds Mage to the title: 150,335.

Mat Ishbia Wants to Make Phoenix America’s Greatest Basketball City [[link removed]]

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX — If you didn’t know that the Phoenix Suns have a new owner, you almost certainly found out during yesterday’s dramatic playoff game.

Late in the second quarter of Game 4, play spilled over into the courtside seats and the ball wound up in the hands of 43-year-old billionaire Mat Ishbia. Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic rushed to snatch it back, triggering a sequence of events that ultimately led to the two-time MVP shoving Ishbia with his left forearm. He was issued a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.

While that bizarre tussle may have been Ishbia’s introduction to the mainstream NBA audience, he hopes that his plans for Phoenix, the Suns, and the WNBA’s Mercury become his legacy.

“I’m not selling this team ever,” Ishbia said during our conversation at Footprint Center on Sunday afternoon before Kevin Durant and Devin Booker’s masterclass helped tie the series at 2-2 ahead of a road trip back to Denver. “I’m going to own this team for my whole life.”

Ishbia acquired the Suns and Mercury in February for a record price of $4 billion, completing the ouster of disgraced former owner Robert Sarver.

“It’s only been three months, but he’s been great about letting us do our jobs. He’s not a micromanager,” said Suns chief financial officer Jim Pitman. “He identifies the two or three important things that he wants to improve and he gives us the resources we need to make sure that we’re an elite organization.”

One of his first orders of business has been to challenge the dominant structure of NBA media rights deals. In April, the organization announced [[link removed]] that it would forgo a long-running cable television model to instead broadcast all home games on local channels and a direct-to-consumer streaming platform. Shortly thereafter, the nation’s largest regional sports network owner and recently bankrupt Diamond Sports Group filed a lawsuit against the teams for “deliberate disregard” of contractual duties.

“The media rights deal is about the number of eyeballs, and Mat’s talked considerably about that,” said Suns chief revenue officer Dan Costello. “We’re gonna go from about 800,000 eyes to about 2.8 million households across the state of Arizona.”

Elder millennial Ishbia is the youngest team owner in the NBA. He made his fortune as CEO of America’s largest mortgage firm United Wholesale Mortgage, which went public at a $16 billion valuation in January 2021.

The company’s chief marketing officer, Sarah DeCiantis, credits Ishbia’s success as a mortgage lender to his aversion to complacency. She says the idea that “the minute you think that you’ve made it is when you’re going to get passed by” is a core tenet of his business philosophy.

“I have more to prove to myself than anyone,” said Ishbia. “I don’t think my age has any bearing. It actually gives me an advantage on a lot of things because I’m coming in with fresh eyes.”

One thing you consistently hear from Ishbia and every member of his C-suite in The Valley is the importance of community. It’s almost cliché coming from owners and executives, but in Phoenix the community does in fact represent a unique business opportunity.

Phoenix is quietly the fastest-growing city [[link removed]] in the U.S. and its fifth-most populated, thanks in part to an influx of new residents priced out of cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. With that, Ishbia has a chance to take the city’s basketball clout to new heights.

“He wants to make the Suns and Mercury the premier franchises across all of sports,” said chief executive officer Josh Bartelstein. “There’s no silver bullet in doing that. You can say it all you want, but it’s day-to-day execution that brings you there.”

Over the last few years, the 17,000-person capacity Footprint Center, originally opened in 1992, underwent a $230 million renovation process, and Ishbia says he’ll “continue to invest in the arena.” He also wants to bring a G League team to the city, and All-Star Weekend, which it hasn’t hosted in 14 years.

“I feel like we have a team that can win a championship,” Ishbia — who was a walk-on guard on Michigan State’s national championship basketball team in 2000 — said about the Suns. He’s equally excited about the Mercury. “The trajectory of the WNBA and women’s basketball could not be better. The Phoenix Suns was a dream for me, but having both is the ultimate.”

Last week, Ishbia turned heads with comments about mortgage industry rival and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. “He doesn’t like me and I don’t like him,” he said [[link removed]] on The Bill Simmons Podcast. Gilbert was the only owner in the league who voted against approving Ishbia’s purchase of the Suns.

Outside of that feud, Ishbia told me that he’s been warmly welcomed into the exclusive fold of billionaires and heirs at the helm of NBA franchises.

“All the NBA owners have been extraordinarily nice. Even the Kroenkes — we’re playing the Nuggets — they’ve been great. [Steve] Ballmer last series. Jeanie Buss has been great. And I’ve looked up to these owners. I’m a fan! Mark Cuban coming to say hello to me is the coolest thing,” he said. “It’s exciting for me because I’m gonna make sure I pay that forward to the next new owners that come in. That’s one of the best parts about being an NBA owner so far.”

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Race for Bundesliga Media Rights Tightens As KKR Pulls Out [[link removed]]

DFL/Bundesliga

U.S. private equity firm KKR has dropped out of the bidding for media rights to German soccer’s Bundesliga.

KKR’s offer was deemed too low, according to Bloomberg [[link removed]], citing sources. KKR, which owns a major stake in German media group Axel Springer, also streams highlights of soccer matches.

Other bidders — CVC Capital Partners, Blackstone, EQT AB, and Advent International — are seeking a 12.5% stake in a unit that will manage the domestic and international TV rights of the country’s top [[link removed]] 36 teams, including Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

Like many sports media rights deals, the outlets have been asked to provide a long-term bid encompassing up to 30 years worth of rights. The Bundesliga is struggling to compete on the media stage with the English Premier League.

DFL, the governing body for Germany’s pro football league, plans to reduce the number of bidders in the next stage. It has also abandoned [[link removed]] its previous plan to attract private equity due to opposition from fans and sponsors.

That plan called for the sale of 20% of the media unit at a value of $19.6 billion.

Top Leagues Flourishing

Top European soccer leagues are eager [[link removed]] to cash in on their media rights.

In December 2021, La Liga secured a $2.1 billion deal with CVC Capital Partners, though top Spanish teams Barcelona and Real Madrid opted out. France’s Ligue 1 sold 13% of its broadcast rights to CVC Capital Partners for $1.5 billion in March 2022.

Group Behind the Kraken’s Home Bids to Redevelop a Seattle Stadium [[link removed]]

Amazon

The developers of the Seattle Kraken’s home are bidding on another major project in the neighborhood.

Oak View Group, which built the Climate Pledge Arena, is bidding to demolish and rebuild Seattle’s Memorial Stadium.

The 76-year-old, 12,000-capacity venue — which hosted the 1962 World’s Fair — is located in Seattle Center, which houses Climate Pledge, the Space Needle, and the Seattle Children’s Museum. The venue is currently used mostly by student groups but could see its uses expand after redevelopment.

One other group submitted a bid ahead of last week’s deadline.

The Seattle school district has pledged [[link removed]] $66.5 million toward the project, with an additional $25 million from city and state governments. The entities are seeking private investment as well.

Oak View’s previous design — created for a 9,400-seat stadium in place of Memorial Stadium — cost an estimated $250 million.

Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke, brother of Oak View CEO Tim Leiweke, said that if the group is selected, “it will be the biggest commitment we’ve made to this community.”

Previously KeyArena, Climate Pledge reopened in 2021 following a $1.15 billion renovation and is currently hosting its first NHL playoff run. The Kraken, who entered the league in 2021, are taking on the Dallas Stars in a second-round series.

Weekend's Best Latest Steph vs. LeBron Clash Could Help Sell The NBA’s Future [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]The ratings blockbuster arrives just ahead of the NBA’s next rights negotiations. Bob Baffert Is Still Winning, Even In Year 2 of Derby Ban [[link removed]]by Ed DeRosa [[link removed]]The Triple Crown king’s influence can still be felt in his absence. Conversation Starters How will Josh Harris handle the Washington Commanders when he’s eventually approved as owner? FOS senior reporter A.J. Perez looks [[link removed]] back at the early years after he became the managing owner of the 76ers and Devils, amid post-rebuild playoff runs. Four-star prospect Bronny James has announced [[link removed]] his college commitment — and he won’t be far away from his famous father. Oakland Athletics broadcaster Glen Kuiper has been suspended [[link removed]] after uttering a racial slur while describing a trip to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.

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