September 29, 2023

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What a weekend of sports we have upon us. There’s early-morning sessions of the Ryder Cup from Rome, plus more Hollywood hype in Boulder for USC at Colorado. And of course, all eyes will be on Taylor Swift on Sunday night as the Chiefs visit MetLife Stadium to face the Jets.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Endeavor, Fenway Sports Could Offer Competition to PGA Tour’s Saudi Deal [[link removed]]

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The PGA Tour’s negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund just got a lot more interesting.

Endeavor, Fenway Sports Group, and Henry Kravis, the billionaire founder of private equity firm KKR & Co., are exploring investing in the PGA Tour, according [[link removed]] to Bloomberg. Those potential investments could be alongside the PIF — or even offer a completely new opportunity altogether.

The PGA Tour confirmed [[link removed]] that PIF negotiations have “resulted in unsolicited interest from other investors,” which could be a move to potentially quell concerns from politicians.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held its second hearing [[link removed]] exploring the potential impact of Saudi Arabia’s investment in the PGA Tour. In July, PGA Tour COO Ron Price and policy board member Jimmy Dunne testified [[link removed]] in front of that same subcommittee.

Under the framework agreement previously announced, the PIF could invest [[link removed]] at least $1 billion — and potentially much more — into the PGA Tour. A Dec. 31 deadline has been set to reach a definitive agreement, although there’s nothing stopping the two sides from pushing that date back.

Court Adjourned

A federal judge has dismissed [[link removed]] both defamation cases from Patrick Reed — a former PGA Tour player who now plays for LIV Golf — against 18 total defendants.

The judge listed several reasons for dismissing the litigation against Golf Channel, analyst Brandel Chamblee, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and others for combined damages worth at least $1 billion.

PODCAST

🎙️ They Said What?

“I think college football is going to end up being almost like NFL football … Free agency is already the transfer portal. The payments and money, as far as contracts are concerned, is NIL.”

— Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb on college football outgrowing its amateur roots. To hear more from McNabb about the state of football, check out the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

🎧 Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].

Big 12 Entries Boosting Tickets, Merch For New Members [[link removed]]

Syndication: The Enquirer

The Big 12’s four new schools are seeing significant financial gains early into the first year and football season with the conference.

BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF became official members of the Big 12 in July, with the three former AAC members paying [[link removed]] exit fees of $18 million to break contracts and leave early (BYU had no exit fee as a FBS independent).

Going into the final weekend of September, the four schools have seen varying spikes [[link removed]] in ticket sales, merchandise purchases, and donations.

Beyond selling out its 40,000 football season tickets in April, BYU’s women’s soccer and volleyball teams set single-game attendance records in the first month of their seasons. Cincinnati recorded $65.7 million in donations during fiscal years 2022 and ‘23, compared to $37.4 million the prior two years. Houston season ticket sales are up about 42% to 27,000, and the school has raised nearly $70 million for construction of a $140 million football operations center. UCF is projecting record football season attendance and has sold a record number of men’s basketball tickets.

In 2024, Texas and Oklahoma will depart the Big 12, while Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah will join to make a 16-team conference. In 2025, a new $2.28 billion media rights deal [[link removed]] with ESPN and Fox will begin — bringing further revenue gains for the new and current schools alike.

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Fans Win Big With Tasty Fare At MLB All-Star Week

Footlong Dungeness Crab Rolls with Tobiko caviar? Blackberry Mint Rainiers Mojitos? Pale Stout and Cracker Jack Ice Cream? Sodexo Live! elevated the ballpark experience for baseball fans with new menus for MLB All-Star Week this past July at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

With a national reputation for fresh, locally inspired, best-in-class food and beverage at one of the best ballpark dining experiences in professional sports, Sodexo Live! provided fans with an epicurean journey of the Pacific Northwest. A team led by Executive Chef Javier Rosa developed imaginative culinary offerings and partnered with fan-favorite local partners to offer a true taste of Seattle.

Watch [[link removed]] how 1500+ team members delivered a one-of-a-kind hospitality experience for fans. Connect [[link removed]] with Sodexo Live! to do the same for your venue.

Manfred Wants Vote On A’s Move To Vegas In November [[link removed]]

Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

A formal vote on the Oakland A’s proposed relocation to Las Vegas is now targeted for November.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred intends to bring the measure before team owners for ratification during league meetings scheduled for Nov. 14-16 in Arlington, Texas. Approval requires support from at least 23 of 30 clubs.

If approved, the move would formalize MLB’s first club relocation since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005, and just the second in the last 51 years after the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers in 1972.

Las Vegas will be the A’s fourth home since the franchise’s 1901 founding after prior stops in Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Oakland. An MLB relocation committee led by Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio has been actively reviewing the relocation application.

The A’s proposed ballpark along the Las Vegas Strip, however, has been beset by a series of obstacles in advance of a planned 2028 opening — most recently a new petition [[link removed]] by an education advocacy group seeking to put the project’s public funding on a statewide ballot.

Still, the move will almost certainly be approved, particularly as MLB’s relationship with the city of Oakland has reached [[link removed]] new levels of toxicity. The A’s will finish the season with the league’s lowest attendance and worst record, while efforts toward a new ballpark in Oakland never reached fruition.

Betting Channels

MLB is actively preparing [[link removed]] for alternate game feeds that directly embed live wagering capabilities.

Such an endeavor is thematically similar to other emerging watch-and-bet efforts such as Genius Sports’ new BetVision [[link removed]], which will allow NFL bets within a live video player for the first time.

AC Milan Abandons $1.3B Project For New 70,000-Seat Stadium [[link removed]]

AC Milan

Serie A giant AC Milan has filed a formal proposal with local officials to construct a new 70,000-seat stadium, a dramatic step away from prior plans to build a new facility on the team’s current site — and one designed to create a much more sustainable future for the club.

AC Milan currently shares Guiseppe Meazza Stadium at San Siro with local rivals Inter Milan. The two clubs previously intended to build [[link removed]] a $1.3 billion “Cathedral” project on that site, but ran into a series of political and regulatory issues — most notably a block on the demolition of San Siro. The clubs abandoned [[link removed]] the effort earlier this month.

The new proposal involves the development of a new facility in the Milan suburb of San Donato, along with a mixed-use development including a club museum and store, team headquarters, a hotel, and an entertainment district.

“This is a preliminary step in the evolution of this process, but, at the same time, it is further proof of our ownership commitment to guaranteeing continuous growth for AC Milan both on and off the pitch,” said Paolo Scaroni, AC Milan chairman.

Economic Sustainability

The emerging stadium plan is also a sizable step toward economic sustainability within Serie A, which in recent years has been beset [[link removed]] by a wide range of facility and financial issues. Earlier this month, AC Milan co-owner Riccardo Silva told FOS that “in Italy, it’s difficult to build anything.”

But last year, U.S.-based private equity firm RedBird Capital purchased [[link removed]] AC Milan in a $1.3 billion deal that also involved the New York Yankees and LeBron James, so this new stadium push represents one of the club’s most significant moves since.

Conversation Starters Front Office Sports is on the lookout for the Best Employers in Sports [[link removed]]. Let us know if your company deserves a shot at the coveted award. Does a merged spring football league interest you? Let us know by voting [[link removed]] in our poll. Damian Lillard’s jersey is already available [[link removed]] in the Bucks team shop.

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A Day Outdoors With Elena Delle Donne

[[link removed]]

As one of the WNBA’s biggest stars in the last decade, Elena Delle Donne is mostly known for her work on the court. But like many professional athletes – Elena has her own passions off the court.

In our new series, My Other Passion, presented by Chevrolet, we hit the outdoors [[link removed]] with some of the most recognizable athletes in sports to explore their interests outside the arena.

Learn how hiking helps Elena Delle Donne find peace away from the court, the importance of always moving and staying active, and how her family inspires her to push through adversity.

Watch episode two [[link removed]] now.

Editor's Picks Orioles End Uncertainty With New 30-Year Lease Deal [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]New agreement follows more than three years of back-and-forth negotiations Taylor Swift Is Affecting The NFL, Chiefs Ticket Markets [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]Swift will visit her second NFL stadium in as many weeks. ESPN Takes Next Step To Control Women’s College Basketball Rights [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The WBIT will launch this season. BioSteel Bankruptcy Shows Perils of Costly Sports Partnerships [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]BioSteel spent heavily on partnerships deals before bankruptcy. Question Of The Day

Have you participated in a running race?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]] Not yet but I'm interested [[link removed]]

Thursday’s Answer

53% of respondents typically fly economy, 26% premium economy, 13% business, and 7% first class.

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