October 9, 2023

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The latest AP college football rankings look a lot like the basketball rankings each winter as UNC, Louisville, Duke, UCLA, Kansas, and Kentucky are all in the Top 25, marking [[link removed]] the first time the top six teams all-time in basketball poll appearances are ranked simultaneously in football. It will be interesting to see if these basketball blue bloods shift their athletic department resources over time because of the gridiron ascendency and the football-driven changes transforming college sports.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

WNBA Already Beginning To Think About More Rounds Of Expansion [[link removed]]

Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

With the WNBA’s forthcoming Bay Area expansion team now set [[link removed]] and another likely soon for Portland, the league is considering adding even more teams.

As the WNBA began its highly anticipated superteam [[link removed]] Finals matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty on Sunday, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league has started plotting out potential scenarios for subsequent rounds of expansion.

Last week’s announcement revealed that the Bay Area team, yet to be named, will kick off in 2025. The WNBA’s 14th team is poised to join the league in the same year, with a formal announcement expected before year-end.

But Engelbert is also looking beyond that.

“The goal is to add that 14th team, not more, for 2025,” she said. “But obviously, longer-term, I’ve said my goal is to get this league additional teams in additional cities that we think would be great. It’s a really good problem to have. We have a lot of interest, which is why we haven’t announced the 14th team yet.”

Other potential expansion candidates include Austin, Charlotte, Denver, Nashville, Philadelphia, and Toronto.

The Portland bid, however, is reported to have reached the WNBA Board of Governors. The market had the Fire between 2000-02, but the league is in a far stronger position now, and Oregon has proven itself to be a fertile market for women’s basketball.

Inflection Points

The next round of expansion also lines up with the expiration of the WNBA’s current media rights deal with ESPN and parent company Disney. The league will be looking to use ongoing increases [[link removed]] in key metrics such as attendance and national television viewership to secure a hefty rights fee increase well beyond that agreement’s $25 million annual value.

“Again, ’25 is an important year. But we’ve been doing a lot of work in the meantime to prepare ourselves for that, and that’s why growing the league … has been so important leading into those negotiations,” she said.

In another sign of growth for the WNBA, celebrity sightings at Game 1 of the Finals included LeBron James, Mark Wahlberg, and Tom Brady, who is also part of the Aces ownership group [[link removed]].

AWARDS

🎙️ They Said What?

“The problem is that it wasn’t a deal when the deal was announced — it was a deal to have a deal … There seems to be a lot of issues trying to get this deal done.”

— Newsletter co-author David Rumsey on what’s holding up the deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. To hear more on the deal, check out the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

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

NWSL Reportedly Secures New Media Rights Deals As Popularity Soars [[link removed]]

Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

In yet another inflection point for the fast-growing NWSL, the league has reportedly struck a major set of media rights deals that will significantly boost its presence on network, cable, and local television and digitally.

The league has finalized four-year agreements with ESPN, CBS, Amazon, and Scripps Sports, initially reported by Sportico [[link removed]], to expand its reach and exposure. These agreements’ formal completion and announcement are anticipated in the coming weeks.

The value of the deals is still unknown, but the collective deals are said to be at least 10 times larger than the $1.5 million annually the keague currently gets from CBS. The NWSL is completing these deals as women’s soccer hits [[link removed]] a high point following the 2023 Women’s World Cup, as well as expanded viewership [[link removed]] for the league itself, and the NWSL will be able to hit the market again after the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

The media deals also follow a growing league expansion plan that saw the recent announcement [[link removed]] of a new franchise in Boston to join previously disclosed ones in the Bay Area and Utah.

Farewell To An Icon

In another history-making moment for the NWSL, the league drew a record crowd of 34,130 on Friday at Seattle’s Lumen Field for the last home match for OL Reign star and U.S. Women’s National team icon Megan Rapinoe.

The match featured tributes from Ken Griffey Jr., Magic Johnson, Billie Jean King, Mikaela Shiffrin, and Abby Wambach, as well as a 30-minute ceremony after the match. Many fans wore pink wigs in Rapinoe’s honor.

Before this summer’s WWC, the 38-year-old Rapinoe said she would retire from the game.

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NHL’s Flames Finalize Plans For $890M Arena, Development Project [[link removed]]

Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

A long-planned new arena and mixed-use development for the Calgary Flames is now formally set after the team, the city of Calgary, and the province of Alberta completed a formal agreement on the $890 million project.

Set to break ground next year and with a projected opening of 2026 or 2027, the project will include a new arena of about 18,000 seats in downtown Calgary and a culture and entertainment district, including a public plaza, community ice rink, restaurants, retail, and residences.

The project will entail the replacement of the Flames’ current home, the Scotiabank Saddledome. This building, known for its iconic saddle-shaped roof and role in the 1988 Winter Olympics, has reached the age of 40 and no longer meets the current NHL standards. It will be demolished once the new arena is completed.

The city of Calgary will contribute $390 million toward the project, the province will chip in $240 million, and the Flames ownership Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. will pay $260 million.

Other CSEC teams will also play at the new venue, including the WHL Hitmen, AHL Wranglers, and CFL Stampeders.

The Flames will commit to the city in a 35-year lease as part of the deal.

In both financial structure and overall concept, the Flames’ project takes some influence from the team’s archrivals, the Edmonton Oilers, whose Rogers Place and ICE District [[link removed]] now serve as a model for sports-centered urban development.

Crystal Palace, Lyon Backer Seeking $200M in Funding [[link removed]]

Olympique Lyonnais

One of the backers of a Premier League club is exploring a major capital raise.

Eagle Football Holdings, which has a 40% stake in Crystal Palace, is considering raising $200 million and taking the company public, according [[link removed]] to Bloomberg. There’s no timeline for when either could happen.

Led by American businessman John Textor, Eagle Football Holdings has a multiclub portfolio that also includes French club Lyon, Brazilian side Botafogo, NWSL club OL Reign, and Belgian side RWD Molenbeek.

Last month, Textor was reportedly looking to raise [[link removed]] $300 million for Lyon in order to aid various club projects in France. Earlier this year, reports had surfaced [[link removed]] that Textor was exploring taking Lyon public via a SPAC merger at a $1.2 billion valuation, but those plans haven’t materialized.

Around The World

Soccer clubs worldwide are embracing institutional investors as the costs of operating business in professional sports continue to increase.

Chelsea just raised [[link removed]] $500 million from investment firm Ares Management, Liverpool just sold [[link removed]] a $200 million stake to New York-based private equity firm Dynasty Equity, and Everton was seeking a capital raise [[link removed]] of nearly $200 million before eventually being sold to Florida-based 777 Partners for nearly $700 million.

Conversation Starters The NFL returned across the pond with a game between the Jaguars and the Bills, but this time with a familiar feel. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the lone NFL-purpose built stadium [[link removed]] outside of the U.S. Tiger Woods’ upscale mini-golf concept, PopStroke, opened its eighth [[link removed]] venue in Scottsdale, Arizona. Scotiabank has a $585 million naming rights deal for Toronto’s arena through 2038. But this weekend, in honor of Drake’s new album and tour, the venue was renamed [[link removed]] October’s Very Own Arena.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS AWARDS

Are You One of The Best Employers in Sports?

Whether it’s great leadership, focus on diversity, equity and inclusion or commitment to employee wellbeing, the Front Office Sports Best Employers in Sports Award [[link removed]]recognizes organizations who do right by their employees.

How do we determine who wins the award? We don’t — employees do! The award is based entirely on anonymous survey results from sports industry professionals.

Responses will be evaluated in collaboration with our primary research partner, Canvs [[link removed]], using patented AI technology free from all subjectivity and human bias. There is no word count limit and you can even use slang, text abbreviations, sarcasm or emojis to complete the survey.

There are less than two weeks remaining to take the 2023 employee survey! Take the survey [[link removed]] by October 20 for a chance to recognize your company as one of the best in the business.

Editor's Picks MLB Looks To Take Historic Regular-Season Momentum Into Playoffs [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]2023 season generates significant gains in many key business indicators. Superteam Matchup Driving Record WNBA Finals Ticket Sales [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]The Liberty and Aces were this season’s two highest-selling teams. Colorado’s Early Success Under Deion Sanders Still Brings Challenges [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]Deion Sanders is six games into his coaching tenure in Boulder. Roger Federer-Backed On Outlines Ambitious Growth Plans [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]The Swiss company plans to double sales to $3.85 billion by 2026. Question Of The Day

Have you played tennis?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]] Not yet but I want to [[link removed]]

Friday’s answer

Of those with pets, 34% of respondents spend $100+ per month on their pets, 51% spend between $50-$100, and 15% spend less than $50.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Greg Lee [[link removed]], Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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