May 18, 2023

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A pro league in America’s fastest-growing sport is headed to streaming [[link removed]]. The Professional Pickleball Association Tour and Amazon Prime Video have announced a multiyear deal that will see the online giant stream four live PPA Tour events per year, beginning with Thursday’s Acrytech Atlanta Open.

Spurs Already Capitalizing On Wemby Frenzy [[link removed]]

Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The San Antonio Spurs’ ticket office has been in turbo mode since Tuesday night, when the team won [[link removed]] the NBA Draft lottery — and thus the right to select top prospect Victor Wembanyama next month.

Many Spurs employees were in the office working past midnight on Tuesday, a team spokesperson told Front Office Sports, and spent all of Wednesday responding [[link removed]] to ticket inquiries as quickly as possible.

By Wednesday afternoon, more than 2,100 season-ticket membership deposits had been placed, and the Spurs anticipated getting to over 2,500 by the end of the day.

“To say that we’re excited would be a vast understatement,” a Spurs spokesperson said.

The deposit lets fans attend a “Select a Seat” event on Saturday at the AT&T Center where they will walk around the arena to see available seat views and decide which tickets to buy.

The Spurs were one of three teams with a 14% chance (the highest among the 14 lottery teams) at landing the top selection in the NBA Draft, which will take place on June 22.

San Antonio hasn’t had a winning record or made the playoffs since 2019, so the addition of Wembanyama is sure to reinvigorate a fan base that once saw its team win three NBA Finals in five years in the mid-2000s.

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“I couldn’t be any happier that my student-athlete brothers and sisters reap the opportunities [of NIL] … I was kind of the poster child for it, so now I get to help steer people in the right direction and help them get paid.”

— Donald De La Haye, a former UCF football player and creator of the Deestroying channel on YouTube, on his support of NIL for college athletes. For more on De La Haye, check out the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

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MLS Set to Announce San Diego Team with Reported $500M Expansion Fee [[link removed]]

Spatms

Major League Soccer will smash its record for an expansion fee with the addition of a 30th team.

The league is set [[link removed]] to announce San Diego as the home of its next franchise. Egyptian billionaire and U.K. Tory treasurer Mohamed Mansour is expected to pay $500 million to launch the club, according to the San Diego Tribune.

That figure will destroy the previous MLS record of $325 million set by Charlotte FC in 2019.

The Sycuan Tribe of the Kumeyaay Nation — who are believed to have a roughly 12,000-year history in the area — are also expected to be part of the ownership group.

The team will begin play in 2025 and share the 35,000-capacity Snapdragon Stadium with the NWSL’s San Diego Wave. San Diego State’s Aztecs football team and the American Professional Rugby Union’s San Diego Legion will also play home games at the venue, which opened last year.

San Diego will be the fourth MLS team in California, joining the Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, and San Jose Earthquakes. The San Diego Loyal of the second-division USL Championship have played in the city since 2019 and count U.S. national team legend Landon Donovan as an executive.

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The Summit will feature speakers from brands including Michelob ULTRA, Frito-Lay, and Bleacher Report with the Broadcast Boys, and teams like the New York Mets, New York Liberty, New Jersey Devils, and Angel City FC.

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PGA Championship Tees Off With Intrigue, Questions [[link removed]]

USATSI

The second golf major of 2023 begins Thursday with the pro game still at an impasse from the disruption caused by LIV Golf.

The PGA Championship tees off at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. With OWGR points not available on the Saudi-backed upstart tour, major championships are the only chances for some players to earn Ryder Cup points.

Six players on each team automatically qualify for the Cup, with the other six chosen by captains.

While not ruling out the idea of LIV players at this fall’s edition of the Ryder Cup in Italy, that event’s captains — Zach Johnson (U.S.) and Luke Donald (Europe), both in the field this week aren’t saying much.

“I think it would be premature and almost irresponsible to even go into that,” Johnson said [[link removed]]. “It’s not on my radar right now.”

While LIV players are banned from the PGA Tour, the PGA of America — which organizes the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup (along with the European Tour) — has not moved to make any LIV players ineligible.

The purse for the PGA Championship will be publicly announced during the tournament, but the PGA of America could likely up its prize funds from the $15 million it shelled out last year.

The Masters boosted [[link removed]] its purse to $18 million in April, and the PGA Tour has increased some tournament purses this season to $20 million or more in response [[link removed]] to the Saudi-funded LIV Golf.

Meanwhile, the spring weather in Western New York will be a factor for at least the first round, with overnight temperatures in the 30s promising a chilly start for those with the earliest tee times.

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Coyotes to Remain in Tempe Next Season After Election Setback [[link removed]]

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Salt Lake City Coyotes — or the Houston or Quebec version — will have to wait.

A day after Tempe voters rejected [[link removed]] a proposal for a privately financed $2.1 billion arena project, a source told Front Office Sports that the Arizona Coyotes will remain in town next season.

The Coyotes — who are in the midst of a three-year agreement to play at Arizona State’s 5,000-seat Mullett Arena [[link removed]] — were stunned by the negative results of Tuesday’s vote on three ballot initiatives. None garnered more than 44% support, and those within the team were optimistic before the still-unofficial election results [[link removed]] were posted.

ASU and the Coyotes agreed to a three-year lease before the start of the 2022-23 season, and the team spent millions on upgrades to its temporary home in Tempe. While relocation likely remains an option down the line, breaking the lease and finding a new home before next season starts in October would have been a major lift.

Industry sources interviewed by FOS said it’s likely that the Coyotes and NHL would seek a long-term home versus another temporary one in a different market.

Alex Meruelo, who purchased the Coyotes for around $300 million in 2019, has made it clear that he will make every effort to keep the team in the Phoenix area. The Coyotes have played in three different venues — including arenas in Phoenix and Glendale — since the franchise relocated from Winnipeg in 1996.

Now, with the bad election results, there’s also been chatter about Meruelo potentially selling the team — but one source said any such talk is “all speculation at this point.”

Conversation Starters Braves legend Chipper Jones just sold [[link removed]] his “Painted View Ranch” in Georgia for $11 million. The eight-bedroom, 23,000-square-foot property has a nine-car garage, a four-stable horse barn, an equestrian center, and a private lake. ESPN has announced [[link removed]] plans for “In the Arena: Serena Williams” — a new multipart docuseries on the tennis icon providing a complete and intimate account of her career, as told by Williams herself and key figures in her life. The University of Tennessee is exploring an on-campus entertainment district [[link removed]] connecting Neyland Stadium and Thompson-Boling Arena, per ESPN. The concept, believed to be the first of its kind on a college campus, includes a 12-story hotel overlooking the stadium, as well as retail and conference/event space.

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Editor's Picks WBD Touts Charles Barkley-Gayle King CNN Show At Upfront [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Amid second layoff, WBD promotes new Charles Barkley show. Commanders Revenues Expected to Spike Minus Dan Snyder [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]The Commanders business operation expect to rise as Dan Snyder departs. Peacock Lands First Paid-Streaming NFL Playoff Game [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]NBC’s streaming service gets an exclusive Wild Card game in January 2024. Question Of The Day

Do you typically watch College Football Playoffs?

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Wednesday’s Answer

68% of respondents wear a watch.

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