December 6, 2023

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“Sports Town, USA.” That’s what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell dubbed Las Vegas on Tuesday during an event promoting Super Bowl LVIII in February. And he’s not wrong. Beyond the Super Bowl, the Raiders, the Golden Knights, and a Formula 1 grand prix, Vegas is also getting ready to host this week’s NBA In-Season Tournament final four. Moreover, a new Sin City venue – one not even built for sports – just sealed its second major sporting event. More on that below.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

NHL Plans To Stage 2024 Draft At $2.3B Vegas Sphere [[link removed]]

The Sphere/Twitter

The NHL has confirmed its intent to hold the 2024 Draft at the Sphere, becoming the latest sports entity to embrace the next-generation venue in Las Vegas.

The league has not yet signed final contracts for the June 28-29 event, but commissioner Gary Bettman said the deal is a near-certainty.

“I think it’ll be a pretty well-viewed event, both in terms of the draft itself and the viral use of the Sphere inside and outside,” Bettman said. “So we think it’ll be dramatic and compelling.”

With the late-June timing, the NHL essentially jumps the line and becomes the first major sporting event held entirely at the Sphere, ahead of the UFC, which will stage [[link removed]] a fight there in September 2024. (Formula 1 did incorporate [[link removed]] the Sphere into its recent Las Vegas Grand Prix, both visually and as a hospitality area.)

Since its opening in September, with a run of concerts by U2, the Sphere has captivated [[link removed]] many across the business of sports — even though the venue wasn’t designed with sports in mind.

“The Sphere is a spectacular property, so I think both for the Sphere and for us this will be a good event to show yet another capability of this magnificent theater,” Bettman said.

Last Of An Era

The 2024 NHL Draft will also be the last before the league shifts to a decentralized model where teams’ general managers and scouts stay in their home markets, similar to that in other major sports leagues.

For years, the NHL Draft has served as a key offseason convention [[link removed]] within the sport, often drawing a level of media coverage that doesn’t exist during the season. But logistical and cost concerns [[link removed]] among teams prompted the shift.

PODCAST

🎙️ They Said What?

“I would say the two frontrunners [besides ESPN and Turner] would be Amazon and Apple. Both of them are global entities … and the NBA is one of the most global brands in the marketplace.”

— David Levy, former president of Turner, on who is most likely to be part of the NBA’s next set of media rights deals, starting in 2025. Learn more in the latest episode of FOS Today.

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

Ratcliffe Closing in on Man United Stake Acquisition: What’s Next? [[link removed]]

MUFC

The sale of a significant minority stake in Manchester United to British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe still isn’t complete, but momentum is building toward the end of the saga.

Multiple outlets are now reporting that Ratcliffe’s acquisition of 25% of the Premier League club will be publicly confirmed next week. Sky News [[link removed]] and ESPN [[link removed]] suggest the long-awaited deal will be announced as soon as Monday.

Ratcliffe would be buying Manchester United stock at $33 per share, which amounts to $1.57 billion. While the oft-criticized members of the Glazer family will retain majority control of Manchester United, they will be significantly reducing their investment as Ratcliffe comes on board.

Striking Distance

Once the sale process is completed, Ratcliffe could make an immediate impact both on and off the pitch.

He’ll reportedly take over football operations [[link removed]] as part of the deal, a development that could quickly lift the spirits of some disgruntled fans.

He is also said to be committing [[link removed]] an additional $300 million toward improving club infrastructure, particularly around the iconic but aging Old Trafford stadium. Manchester United CEO Richard Arnold, who had been with the club for 16 years, has already stepped down in a move [[link removed]] widely believed to be related to Ratcliffe’s pending investment.

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Through December 31, Ticketmaster is offering a variety of holiday events and gifts for everyone on your list.

Whether you’re looking for tickets to a can’t miss-game or concert, the hottest shows on Broadway or fun events for the whole family, they’ve got it all.

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Two Years After Tokyo’s $13B Olympics: Criminal Charges [[link removed]]

Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

The book still isn’t closed on the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the latest chapter is perhaps the ugliest yet.

More than two years after those Games were held, in the summer of 2021 at a reported cost of $13 billion, six companies, including the advertising giant Dentsu, along with seven individuals, are standing trial in Japan on charges related to the bidding process.

Those allegations [[link removed]] largely center around claims of rigging a string of Games-related contracts. Dentsu in particular served as the chief marketing arm of the Tokyo Olympics, raising a record $3.3 billion in local sponsorships and receiving a commission on sales.

Many of the charges are going uncontested. Instead, the defense’s arguments are centered [[link removed]] around a perceived lack of specificity within the bidding process.

“Even if what happened gets categorized as bid-rigging, all my client did was abide by the organizing committee’s intentions, following their instructions,” said Genta Yoshino, an attorney representing former Dentsu sports executive Koji Henmi.

Dark Coda

The trial, which is expected to stretch into 2024, represents a dark coda to one of the most challenged and controversial Olympics in modern history. On top of the yearlong pandemic delay, the event drew record-low ratings in the U.S., and a Japanese audit suggested that the actual expenditure to stage the event was perhaps twice what organizers said. Additionally, the scandal derailed a once-favored bid by the northern city of Sapporo to return the 2030 Winter Olympics to Japan.

The maximum penalty for any company found guilty in the Tokyo trial is $3.3 million, while individuals face up to five years in prison, with a $33,000 fine.

The Tokyo situation also carries some thematic similarities to the ongoing turmoil surrounding [[link removed]] the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris (2024) and Brisbane (’32), highlighting the growing difficulty of staging the Games in their current form.

Baseball Extends Celebration of Negro Leagues With HOF Tribute Game [[link removed]]

Georgie Silvarole/New York State Team via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The commemoration of Black baseball and the Negro Leagues will take another significant step next year with the Hall of Fame’s revival of a long-dormant all-star game.

The Cooperstown, New York, shrine will stage the Hall of Fame East-West Classic on May 25, a tribute to the the Negro Leagues East-West All-Star Game that ran annually from 1933 to ’62.

The event at Doubleday Field will feature more than two dozen former MLB stars, including CC Sabathia, Prince Fielder, Curtis Granderson, Ryan Howard, and David Price. Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Ozzie Smith have committed to managerial or coaching roles.

The game dovetails with MLB’s planned June 20 game [[link removed]] between the Cardinals and Giants at Alabama’s historic Rickwood Field, a park that opened in 1910 and hosted Negro Leagues games for decades. The Hall of Fame will also supplement the all-star game with a new museum exhibit on Black baseball.

“The way in which the world views baseball, Black baseball, race relations has changed in 25 years,” said [[link removed]] Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch. “It’s also really important to the curatorial team and everyone else involved that it’s not just stories of struggle and challenges, it’s also a celebration.”

Cooperstown Evolution

Next year, the Negro Leagues tribute game will replace the usual Hall of Fame Classic that the institution holds each Memorial Day. The event extends an ongoing effort to evolve and draw additional visitors to the upstate New York locale — an initiative that over the years has also included various traveling exhibitions.

Most recently, the Hall of Fame hosted the Savannah Bananas, a traveling independent baseball team that has become [[link removed]] a fan sensation, at Doubleday Field.

“Part of our mission across baseball is to make the sport as relevant to the next generation of fans as it’s been to the ones before,” Rawitch told Front Office Sports in September.

Conversation Starters Coming next to the NBA In-Season Tournament: NBA Unplugged with Kevin Hart, the Hollywood star’s own ManningCast-style alt-broadcast [[link removed]] of the games. Nickelodeon’s first-ever Super Bowl broadcast team [[link removed]] will include co-hosts SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star, sideline reporter Sandy Cheeks, Larry the Lobster on commentary, and rules experts Dora the Explorer and Boots. The University of South Florida has released a first look [[link removed]] at its $340 million on-campus stadium. The 35,000-seat venue, set to open in the fall of 2027, will include a dedicated student section and will be designed to maximize shade during the day. Join us on Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. ET for Future of Sports: Venues [[link removed]] as we take a deep dive into the innovations shaping the future of fan experiences. Editor's Picks Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Wants To Use $1M In State Funds to Sue the CFP [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]It's unclear if FSU will file a lawsuit, however. Ohtani’s Future Deal Takes Center Stage As Winter Meetings Kick Off [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]The two-way phenom is expected to sign the largest-ever player contract in U.S. team sports. James Madison, the FCS Team That Spent Like an FBS Team To Become One [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The Dukes have been spending like a Sun Belt program for years. 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 Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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