The Jacksonville Jaguars are facing a break from their current home for two years or longer.

The team is planning extensive renovations to TIAA Bank Field, which is likely to force a lengthy relocation.

Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry told local radio station 1010XL that in the “best-case scenario,” the renovation would impact two football seasons, during which the “team will have to play somewhere else.” The mayor’s proclamation cuts against initial plans for the renovations, which were to take place only during offseasons.

The construction will likely take place during the 2025 and 2026 seasons. 

The Jaguars are hoping to play somewhere within Jacksonville during that time — but that would involve a stark reduction in crowd size. TIAA can hold 67,838 people, while the city’s second-largest stadium, at the University of North Florida, holds around 12,000.

The relocation is expected to also affect the annual Florida-Georgia football game, which could take turns at each school’s campus during construction.

The Jaguars are looking into a number of improvements, including shade on all seats, wider concourses, better vertical transportation, more space for football operations, and replacing HVAC, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical systems.

Peloton is recalling 2.2 million exercise bikes due to a seat defect on original models sold between 2018 and 2023.

The bike’s seat post “can break during use, posing fall and injury hazards to the user,” the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday. 

Peloton said it has received 35 reports of broken seat posts and 13 of related injuries, including a fractured wrist, lacerations, and bruises due to falling from the bike.

Still Spinning

Peloton’s slumping sales and stock price have lowered the company’s market cap to $2.4 billion — a steep decline from its peak of $50 billion during the pandemic.

In its earnings report this month, Peloton said it lost $275 million for the quarter despite a 5% year-over-year growth in connected fitness subscribers. 

Peloton’s latest bike recall follows the company’s recall of roughly 125,000 of its Tread+ treadmills in May 2021. In January, Peloton agreed to pay a $19 million fine for failing to immediately report safety hazards.

Arctos Sports Partners could add to its extensive team ownership portfolio with an investment in France’s most lucrative soccer club.

The private equity firm is showing early-stage interest in a 5%-15% stake in Paris Saint-Germain, according to Bloomberg. Qatar Sports Investments acquired a 70% stake in PSG for about $70 million in 2011, and the French club reportedly now values itself at $4.6 billion.

PSG’s $714 million in revenue last year ranked as the fifth-highest among global soccer teams, according to a Deloitte report. The club, however, could lose superstar Lionel Messi, who is considering leaving PSG for a record deal to play in Saudi Arabia. 

Arctos has stakes in more than 20 sports teams, including the NBA’s Warriors, Jazz, and Kings, MLB’s Dodgers, Red Sox, Cubs, Giants, Astros, and Padres, and the NHL’s Lightning and Wild. 

The firm’s soccer portfolio already includes stakes in Italian club Atalanta, the Premier League’s Liverpool, MLS’s Portland Timbers, and the NWSL’s Portland Thorns. 

France’s top soccer league, Ligue 1, announced a new advertising campaign on Thursday focused on growing the league’s popularity among U.S. fans. PSG stars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will be featured in the campaign, which is being produced by Chicago-based marketing firm rEvolution.

The European Union is likely to take a separate stance from U.K. regulators on the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The $69 billion deal — the biggest in gaming history — will be approved in Europe and likely go through on Monday, according to Reuters.

The deal was blocked in the U.K. due to regulators’ concerns over cloud gaming competition, which the company plans to appeal. When the news surfaced, Microsoft president Brad Smith reportedly said that the choice “rejects a pragmatic path to address competition concerns and discourages technology innovation and investment in the United Kingdom.”

The Federal Trade Commission sued to stop the deal, while Japan has approved it.

Turbulent Times

After struggling with multiple rounds of layoffs, managerial changes, and revenue shortages, Activision Blizzard’s fate was finally looking more positive. Concerns over whether the Microsoft deal would go through have threatened to throw the beleaguered company back into chaos.

Nevertheless, the “Call of Duty” publisher saw positive results in its first-quarter earnings report. The company recorded a net income of $740 million — an 87% increase.