November 15, 2023

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San Diego Padres controlling owner Peter Seidler died on Tuesday at the age of 63, leaving a legacy as one of the most fan-focused team owners in all of U.S. pro sports. Fans ask their teams’ owners to pour everything they have — financially, emotionally, and otherwise — into building a winner and creating the best possible stadium experience. Though Seidler never saw a World Series title in his lifetime, his tenure running the team was defined by those attributes, allowing the franchise to far exceed the confines of its San Diego market.

Seidler’s extensive influence also extended to his firm’s majority ownership of sporting goods giant Rawlings, which makes the official balls for both MLB and MiLB.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Wisconsin Approves $500M Plan To Ensure Brewers Stay Until 2050 [[link removed]]

Mike De Sisti / USA TODAY NETWORK

Wisconsin lawmakers approved a roughly $500 million funding package to upgrade American Family Field, solidifying the Milwaukee Brewers’ future in Wisconsin — their home since 1970.

After months of back-and-forth negotiation [[link removed]] — as well as prior suggestions [[link removed]] and then retractions [[link removed]] of the team’s relocation — the Wisconsin assembly and senate both approved amended legislation on Tuesday keeping the Brewers in Milwaukee until at least 2050.

The new package calls for $365.8 million in state funding and $135 million from the city and county of Milwaukee, along with $150 million, including rent payments, from the Brewers. The legislation now moves to Gov. Tony Evers, who has been a strong advocate of the stadium funding and lauded the bipartisan path toward the funding’s approval.

The upgrades — aimed at ensuring the 22-year-old ballpark’s functional life for another generation — were always the responsibility of Wisconsin’s Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, which owns the facility. But the funding discussions still heightened a long-running debate across the U.S. over the use of taxpayer dollars to enrich private sports entities.

“The Brewers do not need this cash,” said State Sen. Chris Larson. “The Brewers have decided they need additional cash and we are falling for that.”

Critical Lifeline

With the approved funding, the Brewers will sign a 20-year lease extension. For the club, the issue was critical, as the Brewers play in what is now MLB’s smallest media market. That status will soon change as the Oakland A’s relocate to Las Vegas, but the Brewers’ margin for error remains smaller than many other MLB clubs.

“Even though we knew that the confines of the bill would be different than when we started, we knew and we were confident that we had support in the state for our team,” said Rick Schlesinger, Brewers president of business operations. “We recognized the value of keeping the Brewers here, of keeping the ballpark in great shape, and we stuck to the narrative.”

Man United Gets Another Billionaire Investor As Takeover Continues [[link removed]]

Manchester United

By all indications, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is still set to buy a 25% minority ownership stake [[link removed]] in Manchester United for north of $1.5 billion. But as that deal heads toward the finish line, the Premier League giant just got another significant investor.

American hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman has purchased [[link removed]] about 1 million shares of the club.

Manchester United closed at $18.43 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, and has been relatively flat in recent months. Cooperman, 80, has a reported net worth of about $2.6 billion.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that another Manchester United backer — Chicago-based Ariel Investments — reduced [[link removed]] its position by 831,000 shares, or 13%, during the third quarter of this year. Ariel now holds nearly 5.7 million shares and is the club’s second-largest institutional shareholder behind British investment management company Lindsell Train.

More Change At The Top

On Wednesday, Manchester United announced that CEO Richard Arnold was stepping down after 16 years in the position. The move had been expected [[link removed]] as part of Ratcliffe’s deal. Manchester United executive Patrick Stewart takes over as interim CEO, but the club says it will conduct a search for a permanent replacement.

Ratcliffe has also been reported to be taking over sporting operations [[link removed]] for the club as he looks to quell fans’ concerns about the Glazer family retaining majority ownership of the club.

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Warren Buffett is Now An Atlanta Braves Investor [[link removed]]

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Warren Buffet has been wildly successful when it comes to investing, making money with Apple, Coca-Cola, SirusXM, and more. Now, Buffet can add “team owner” to his portfolio.

Berkshire Hathaway — Buffet’s mega-fund with a market cap of more than $700 billion — has invested in Atlanta Braves Holdings, the new parent company of the MLB team that was spun off [[link removed]] from Liberty Media earlier this year. Berkshire Hathaway recently bought nearly $8 million worth of Braves shares, according to an SEC filing.

Known for his shrewd investment strategies, Buffett’s stock choices have been lauded [[link removed]] for their high success rates, and the Braves have posted consecutive quarters of revenue growth since the spinoff.

In their third fiscal quarter, the team reported an 11% jump in revenue to $272 million. Operating income swung from a loss of $4.7 million in the comparable period a year ago to a gain of $15.7 million. In the second quarter, Braves revenue grew to $270 million — an increase of 8% over last year.

The Braves had a disappointing early playoff exit after winning more regular-season games than any other team in MLB, but appear set to continue their momentum in 2024. Atlanta has a stable flow of local TV money [[link removed]], as Bally Sports South plans to continue showing games while its bankrupt parent company Diamond Sports Groups forgoes other MLB team contracts.

Next season is expected to bring a payroll increase [[link removed]] from this campaign’s $208 million price tag.

Conversation Starters The Cleveland Browns have paid [[link removed]] Deshaun Watson $92 million, but he’s only played 12 games over two seasons and is having season-ending shoulder surgery. That averages to about $7.7 million per game. Rory McIlroy has resigned [[link removed]] from the PGA Tour Board as player director, citing his own “professional and personal commitments” for stepping away. Two weeks out from his Achilles surgery, Kirk Cousins spent an evening serving [[link removed]] Thanksgiving meals with Vikings teammates at the Salvation Army in St. Paul. Editor's Picks NWSL Championship Sees Strong Viewership Despite Minor Dip [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]The title game saw an almost 100,000-viewer decrease year-over-year. ESPN Bet Offers Familiar Feel, Hefty Promotions at Launch [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]PENN rolled out its reskinned Barstool app on Tuesday. Washington State, Oregon State Gain Temporary Control of the Pac-12 [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]It's the latest step in the schools' lawsuit against the Pac-12. Careers in Sports

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