Add Aurora, Illinois, to the ever-expanding list of Chicagoland municipalities courting the Chicago Bears.

The self-described “City of Lights” and fictional setting of the “Wayne’s World” skits and movies formally made its pitch to lure the Bears, with city leaders sending a “letter of interest” to the NFL team.

“Welcoming a historic organization such as the Chicago Bears would enhance our bold vision for Aurora and will provide … a new home to begin the next phase of your storied history,” wrote Aurora mayor Richard Irvin.

The Aurora entry — also described by local officials as “throwing [the city’s] proverbial hat in the ring” — arrives amid a “stalemate” for the Bears in Arlington Heights over a tax dispute and joins rival stadium bids from Naperville, Waukegan, and the city of Chicago.

But the Aurora bid also arrives with complications. Located roughly 45 miles from downtown Chicago, Aurora is about as remote an option as Waukegan. No NFL stadium would be further from its home market downtown, beating the roughly 40 miles from the 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium to downtown San Francisco.

Aurora officials said the Bears “responded quickly and positively” upon receiving the Irvin letter.

The initial proposal at Arlington Heights involved a domed stadium and entertainment district capable of hosting major events such as the Super Bowl and Final Four — and carried a projected cost of $5 billion. That vision will represent the core of wherever the Bears decide to build their new home.

Fanatics is poised to gain a major boost for its betting operations with the pending completion of its PointsBet U.S. acquisition.

The sports merchandising giant prevailed late Tuesday in a battle with DraftKings for control of the U.S. operations of the Australian sportsbook. Fanatics raised its prior $150 million bid to $225 million, earning the unanimous recommendation of PointsBet’s board ahead of a shareholder vote set for Friday.

Prior to Fanatics’ initial bid for PointsBet’s U.S operations, the company was only operational in wide beta in Tennessee and Ohio, with further plans to expand to Maryland and Massachusetts.

PointsBet holds licenses in 14 states, including key betting locales such as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan. Several of those states wouldn’t have been accessible to Fanatics without an acquisition.

As a result, Fanatics’ purchase gives the company a far greater scale on which to challenge current market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings.

The Michael Rubin-led Fanatics will still face a significant challenge in combining that expanded betting market access with its existing database of more than 95 million customers. PointsBet typically ranks as a minor competitor in many of its existing states, and its $19 million handle in New York for May 2023 was only 3% of the $561.4 million reported by state market champion FanDuel.

The PointsBet U.S. acquisition also brings the burden of a four-year, $250 million advertising deal that PointsBet holds with NBC and will be part of the purchase.

As financial investment from the Middle East continues to pour into American sports, a major European team is opting against the idea.

German soccer giant Bayern Munich is severing ties with Qatar Airways, which reportedly paid the club more than $109 million over the past five years to display its logo on players’ sleeves.

Bayern and the airline — owned by Qatar’s government — said it was a mutual decision not to renew the contract, which expires Friday. A joint statement touted the success both sides have had working together.

Supporters of the German club had long been opposed to the deal with Qatar. One fan club member said there would have been “continued protests,” like displaying banners during Bayern games calling out the team for sportswashing.

The move comes shortly after the Qatar Investment Authority struck a deal to purchase a roughly 5% stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment — owner of the Washington Capitals, Wizards, and Mystics — becoming the first sovereign wealth fund to invest in major U.S. professional sports teams.

Qatar’s investment portfolio includes majority ownership of French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain, which counts Qatar Airways as its primary shirt sponsor.

An interesting aside in the Bayern situation: In 2009, Qatar acquired a 17% stake in Volkswagen — the German carmaker is a minority owner of Bayern through a 9% share in the club held by VW subsidiary Audi.

A new sleeve sponsor will be a top priority for Bayern, which brought in $739 million in revenue during the 2021-22 season, according to Forbes.