February 15, 2024

Read in Browser [[link removed]]

POWERED BY

The A’s might have a few more years left in Oakland than they anticipated. … How the recent sports streaming pact from ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery is irking other broadcasters. … Las Vegas stakeholders, fresh off Super Bowl LVIII, are still reaping benefits from November’s F1 race. … And we look back on one baseball lockout that led to an even longer, and more destructive, future work stoppage.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Oakland and the A’s Could Reunite for a Few More Years. Here’s How [[link removed]]

Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

After months of increasing toxicity [[link removed]] between the A’s and the city of Oakland, the two estranged organizations could be finding their way back to each other—at least for a few more years.

The A’s are set to meet Thursday with officials from the city and Alameda County, Calif., according to the San Francisco Chronicle [[link removed]], regarding a potential lease extension, with the session itself representing a marked turnaround from the recent tenor of their relationship. Again foremost at issue—as it’s been [[link removed]] for months—is where the A’s will play the 2025 to ’27 seasons while a new ballpark is being built in Las Vegas.

Despite recent tours [[link removed]] of minor league parks in Salt Lake City and Sacramento by A’s officials, including owner John Fisher, there are still two key reasons why the 57-year-old and increasingly dilapidated Oakland Coliseum remains potentially the leading option for those interim years.

By staying in the club’s current market, the A’s will remain eligible to receive their local media rights fees from NBC Sports California as part of a deal running through 2034 and paying the club $67 million in ’23. The Coliseum is already approved for MLB play and offers player amenities that most minor league facilities do not. Despite extensive physical and operational work to upgrade Buffalo’s Sahlen Field for the Blue Jays during the COVID-19 pandemic, complaints about the facility persisted [[link removed].], highlighting the complications that can occur staging big league games in smaller facilities. Playing at the Giants’ Oracle Park would involve another MLB-approved facility, but also create no shortage of schedule challenges given how actively the Giants use that ballpark for nongame purposes.

A decision on the temporary home for the A’s is due by the summer, when the 2025 MLB schedule is expected to be released. In the meantime, stadium development in Las Vegas has been troubled [[link removed]] on multiple fronts, leading MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to say last week he would be “disappointed” [[link removed]] if the A’s miss their ’28 target to open the new stadium.

Further coloring the discussions back in Oakland is a new effort by the Bay Area–based African American Sports and Entertainment Group to acquire a 50% interest in the Oakland Coliseum site currently owned by the A’s. The group would like to develop that land, and plans for the area after the A’s leave for Las Vegas have not been solidified.

Comcast Tries to Sort Out Impact of Rivals’ Sports Streaming Bundle [[link removed]]

Comcast

There’s a certain streamer on the market that features the NFL, Premier League, Big Ten Conference, PGA Tour, WWE, Notre Dame football, two legs of horse racing’s Triple Crown, and several other top sports properties. And the platform, as well as sister broadcast network NBC, was not invited to be part of the dramatic sports streaming joint venture [[link removed]] unveiled last week involving ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox, leaving big questions on both sides.

Comcast, the NBCUniversal parent whose Peacock service offers one of the broadest sets of sports programming of any streamer, has steadfastly refused to comment on the new effort involving several of its top rivals. But the company’s role, or lack thereof, in this streaming rebundling is noteworthy on multiple levels. Not only does Peacock have some of the industry’s top sports content, but it is also aligned with the country’s largest cable carrier—with that status now further threatened by the new bundle’s overt attempt to reach cord-cutters and cord-nevers.

Privately, several Comcast sources reached by Front Office Sports have suggested a certain skepticism with the joint venture, particularly as it doesn’t yet have a name, appointed leadership, finalized pricing plan, or, by the companies’ own admission, a definitive agreement to create the planned product. More broadly, there is also no communicated strategy about how the new service will coexist with not only traditional cable and satellite TV but also single-sport and single-network streaming offerings, as well as digital multichannel providers such as YouTube TV.

“All the questions you have, they have,” says a source familiar with Comcast’s thinking.

That skepticism, however, is not surprising given how Comcast competes with the other companies, particularly ESPN corporate parent Walt Disney Co., on multiple fronts. Peacock, meanwhile, is on its own mission [[link removed]] to reduce subscriber churn and operational losses, particularly on the heels of a record-setting livestream of a recent NFL playoff game.

The new sports streaming bundle also provides an even more complicated reality for Comcast. While on one hand it further threatens its legacy cable television business, it could also help burnish its much more profitable broadband connectivity business.

And both realities can, and quite possibly might, exist simultaneously.

SPONSORED BY AUTOTRADER

See That Car? Find It on Autotrader

[[link removed]]

Look around. What do you see?

Cars. Lots of them. And guess what? They’re probably on Autotrader [[link removed]].

Big cars, small cars, blue cars, new cars.

Whether you’re into timeless classics or the latest trends (Did somebody say “solar-powered, eco-friendly, vegan leather-wrapped, aromatherapy-scented, disco-ball equipped, self-driving” car?), if you see it on the road, you can likely find it on Autotrader.

New. Used. Electric. And one day… maybe even flying cars. When the dealership is at your fingertips, buying a car becomes a whole lot easier.

Start your search [[link removed]] on Autotrader.

ONE BIG FIG Driving the Bottom Line

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

$4.38 billion

Amount of revenue MGM Resorts reported [[link removed]] for the final quarter of 2023, driven in part by the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in November. The results from February—which include Super Bowl LVIII this past weekend—will be reported in the next quarterly earnings report. “And where I was skeptical going in, I would look to clearly want to host this again,” said [[link removed]] MGM CEO William Hornbuckle.

Despite it being viewed as a success with the resorts and putting up strong TV viewership numbers, not everyone benefited from the Formula One race. A group of local businesses contend they lost millions of dollars [[link removed]] due to the race following months of traffic headaches, construction hassles, and a crashing ticket market.

TIME CAPSULE Feb. 15, 1990: An Inconclusive Lockout

RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

On this day 34 years ago: MLB owners locked out the players, starting off what would be a 32-day work stoppage. The core economic issues at play—including free agency, arbitration, revenue sharing, and a possible salary cap—had been growing more tense for years, particularly in the wake of arbitrator findings that owners colluded in the 1980s to suppress player salaries. Further escalating the fiscal stakes were new national TV deals starting in ’90 and worth about $1.5 billion over four years, more than twice the prior agreements. Spring training was essentially wiped out because of the dispute and the start of the season was delayed. More dramatically, most of the core labor issues were not fully resolved, helping lead to the ouster of commissioner Fay Vincent (above) in ’92 and setting the stage for the uglier battle to come in ’94.

But also noteworthy in the 1990 lockout was how it presaged the social media furor that would arrive later with the internet. During the dispute, The Sporting News created the Lockout Line, a phone number that fans could pay 99 cents per minute to call and voice their anger with owners and players. The magazine then printed some of the most colorful responses, operating as something of an analog version of X or Facebook.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY They Said What?

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

“[Nikola Jokić] might not be the superstar the NBA wants, but he’s the superstar the NBA needs.”

—Louisa Thomas, staff writer for The New Yorker, on Jokić’s laid-back personality and must-watch style of play that makes him a marketing dream for the NBA. To hear more about the two-time MVP’s rise to success, check out the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

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

SPONSORED BY ’47

Fueling the Fashion Game

As sportswear dominates mainstream culture, ’47 [[link removed]], a premium sports lifestyle brand, has secured a massive collaboration with NASCAR.

The Massachusetts-based brand, known for best-in-class headwear and apparel, has a rich history of licensing deals with major sports leagues and universities. Now, it’s adding NASCAR to its roster of iconic partners [[link removed]].

’47, which sold 25 million units of headwear in 2023, aims to leverage NASCAR’s loyal fan base and growing popularity to expand its global reach and offer high-quality goods to motorsports enthusiasts. The collaboration includes designing gear for the organization and popular teams like Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, and Joe Gibbs Racing.

As the 2024 NASCAR season ramps up, fans can express their love for racing like never before with ’47’s renowned designs. Read the full article [[link removed]] to learn more about this synergistic partnership.

Conversation Starters The Magic retired Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey on Tuesday, and the Hall of Famer left the door open [[link removed]] for a return to Orlando with a cryptic message. “To the DeVos family, whenever you want me to quit TNT and come back home, you give me a call.” The Royals have officially unveiled plans for their downtown ballpark proposal in the Crossroads district—and we have renderings. Check them out [[link removed]]. On Sunday, CBS Sports drew 123.4 million viewers for Super Bowl LVIII—the most-watched telecast in U.S. history. Two days later, CBS parent company Paramount Global cut 800 jobs [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Ticket Frenzy Builds Ahead of Caitlin Clark’s Record-Breaking Game [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Ticket prices are climbing to an average of nearly $400. NWSL’s Bay FC Breaks Women’s Soccer Transfer World Record with Zambia’s Racheal Kundananji [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The league’s record-breaking new media rights deal is trickling down to players. Royals Trust Owner’s ‘Gut,’ Commit to Downtown K.C. Site for New Stadium [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]MLB club targets late-emerging location near downtown for ballpark development. Win a Vegas VIP Hoops Package

Front Office Sports has teamed up with the Pac-12 Conference to provide a VIP experience [[link removed]] to the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas from March 13–16, 2024.

One lucky winner will receive two (2) all tournament passes with club access to the tournament at T-Mobile Arena. The winner will also receive a hotel room for four (4) nights in Las Vegas, a food and beverage voucher, and two (2) tickets to a Cirque du Soleil show. For more information on the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament, visit Pac-12.com. Deadline for entry is Feb. 25, 2024. See Official Rules [[link removed]] for details.

ENTER HERE [[link removed]]

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]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

Update your preferences [link removed] / Unsubscribe [link removed]

Copyright © 2024 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.

80 Pine Street Suite 3202 New York, NY 10005