Despite a “stalemate” now entering its fourth month, leaders in the Illinois suburb of Arlington Heights are still trying to work out a development deal with the Chicago Bears.

This month, the Arlington Heights Village Board unanimously supported a nine-point strategic priority list for 2024-25 — topped by creating a plan with the Bears to redevelop the Arlington International Racecourse.

The Bears purchased the racetrack property early this year and seemed to be on an inevitable path to a deal for a $5 billion mixed-use development, including a domed stadium. But a tax dispute significantly impeded negotiating progress, leading Bears president Kevin Warren to offer a grim outlook in June, when communication with the town largely stopped.

The team has since discussed a potential stadium development with cities and towns all over the Chicago area, but Arlington Heights hasn’t given up on completing a deal. While talks continue, prior structures at the racetrack have been razed.

The officially stated aim is to work with the Bears, “our residents and businesses, and all other local, regional, and statewide partners to develop a responsible, mutually beneficial, and one-of-a-kind redevelopment plan for the Arlington Racetrack that benefits our community’s interests and is worthy of the property’s legacy.”

“I want to assure the members of the community this is a very important step that the village board takes,” said Robin LaBedz, village board president pro-tem. “These aren’t just priorities that get put on a shelf and forgotten about for the next two years — they actually drive the work of the staff and the village.”

FIFA is starting to plant its roots in the U.S. — specifically in South Florida, continuing the trend of soccer organizations capitalizing on a hot market stoked by Lionel Messi.

Since the Argentine legend decided to come to MLS and join Inter Miami, the area has been flooded with new interest from major soccer stakeholders. Even the Argentina Football Association is building an official training facility near Miami Beach that would serve as its headquarters in the U.S.

Now, FIFA is moving more than 100 jobs from its headquarters in Switzerland to Coral Gables, which will house the organization’s legal department and the audit, compliance, and risk management teams.

Miami Vice

The move makes sense for FIFA, which has big business in North America over the next few years.

Not only will the U.S., Canada, and Mexico co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but the revamped FIFA Club World Cup will take place in the U.S. a year earlier. That event is expanding to 32 teams and could see Messi’s Inter Miami squad face off against his former European club foes.

That will be the start of a two-year run for major FIFA events that could stretch into three years, should the U.S. and Mexico joint bid for the 2027 Women’s World Cup be selected. 

Either way, FIFA will be spending a lot more time stateside — and Miami will continue to be the soccer capital of the country for the foreseeable future.

Lionel Messi has created hordes of new Inter Miami fans. Now, Chicago Fire owner Joe Mansueto is looking to use the Argentinian legend to build broader support for his team, too.

Inter Miami is set to face Chicago on Oct. 4 at Soldier Field, and the Fire are projecting a sellout crowd of about 63,000. That figure is more than four times the team’s home average attendance of 15,236 — next-to-last in the league — and potentially a league ticket gross record for a regular-season match. Normally, the Fire play at sharply reduced capacity at Soldier Field. 

Not only is the extra Messi-related demand providing a short-term revenue bump for the team, as has been the case for other Inter Miami opponents, but they also see a long-term fan-development opportunity.

“One of the things that we’re really focused on is using the match against Inter Miami to convert casual fans into more consistent attendees,” Dave Baldwin, Fire president of business operations, told Bloomberg. “We’re hoping that over time people that came out to watch Messi will slowly convert to be Fire fans.”

The Fire also plan a series of promotions and in-game enhancements, including free tickets to the Inter Miami game with a full-season 2024 commitment. 

The club has faced an uphill climb building fan support with five straight non-playoff seasons, and potentially a sixth this year.

U.S. Open Cup Questions

Inter Miami will play for their second trophy of the season on Wednesday, facing the Houston Dynamo in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final. But Messi’s status remains unclear due to injury: He has missed three matches in the last two weeks, and was subbed out of a fourth. 

Panini has picked up a key legal win in its fight with WWE, as the embattled trading card company will still produce licensed cards for the pro wrestling property while their broader dispute continues.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a temporary restraining order sought by WWE, which alleged that Panini breached its contract and is seeking to take its trading card rights to rival entity Fanatics.

WWE said that Panini failed to produce licensed products by June 2022, as stipulated in their deal, leading to the alleged breach and termination of the contract last month. The court has not yet fully documented its reasoning for denying WWE’s request. However, temporary restraining orders are often granted on the basis of immediate and irreparable harm, which WWE may have had difficulty showing given the contract issue dates back nearly 15 months. 

Fighting For Survival

The WWE contract issue continues while Panini is battling a bigger legal issue with Fanatics, one that will likely make a huge impact on Panini’s long-term survival. 

Panini and Fanatics sued each other last month, with Panini firing first with an antitrust suit in Florida, and Fanatics quickly responding with a countermeasure in New York alleging a series of unfair competitive practices.

That matter remains in its preliminary stages, as the final legal venue, among other key initial issues, is yet to be decided.