March 20, 2024

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After a brief but potentially disastrous hiccup, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are still in line to become majority owners of the Timberwolves. … A revised venue plan for the 2032 Olympics raises new questions about how governments should treat the event. … A major settlement in two long-running antitrust cases gives the UFC some financial certainty. … Plus: More on the Pac-2, Bellator, Tom Brady, and Wilson.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

A-Rod and Lore’s Timberwolves Ownership Plans Still on Track [[link removed]]

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are supposed to become the majority owners of the Timberwolves by the end of this month, and, despite a wrench getting thrown into their plans over the last 24 hours, it looks like the long-awaited transition of power will still take place.

Dyal HomeCourt Partners, the division of global asset management firm Blue Owl that owns minority stakes in the Hawks and Kings, will help fund Rodriguez and Lore’s acquisition of a second 40% stake in Minnesota that will make the pair controlling investors, according to The Athletic [[link removed]]. The news should clear up the confusion that arose Tuesday night when it looked as if controlling interest in the Timberwolves may end up staying with longtime governor Glen Taylor, at least for a little while longer, due to some complex financing issues.

Here’s What Happened

In 2021, Rodriguez and Lore agreed to purchase Minnesota, as well as the WNBA’s Lynx, in a multistep deal that valued the franchises at a collective $1.5 billion. The duo has already acquired 40% of the teams but had to delay [[link removed]] the completion of the acquisition of the next 40%, via a $600 million payment, from Dec. 31 to March 31. On Tuesday, Taylor gave an update [[link removed]] on the process to Minnesota sports reporter David Shama: “They had an equity group that was going to come in and put in $300 million, and that equity group has either withdrawn or the NBA has denied them. They have to go out and find new revenue. That I do know. I don’t know if they found it or what they’re going to do. We haven’t seen the schedule of ownership yet.”

The financier Taylor referenced is private equity firm Carlyle Group, which was cofounded by David Rubenstein, the billionaire who is leading the $1.75 billion purchase of the Baltimore Orioles. (The Maryland Stadium Authority actually just signed off [[link removed]] on the sale Wednesday.) Carlyle is also part of the group that just bought [[link removed]] the NWSL’s Seattle Reign FC for $58 million (the group includes the MLS club Seattle Sounders.)

Despite some reports to the contrary, the NBA, in a statement to the Minneapolis Star Tribune [[link removed]], denied that the league had blocked Carlyle’s deal to help fund the Timberwolves purchase. Carlyle had been said to be investing at a $2.3 billion valuation for Minnesota—about $800 million more than the team was worth when Rodriguez and Lore struck the initial deal. In January, The Wall Street Journal pegged [[link removed]] Rodriguez’s net worth to be just under $500 million, and Lore’s at $3.3 billion.

But now, with the backing of Dyal, Lore and Rodriguez are ready to close the sale as soon as the NBA approves it, per The Athletic’s report. That shouldn’t be long, considering Dyal is already preapproved through its investments in the Hawks and Kings. A representative for Rodriguez did not immediately return a request by Front Office Sports for comment.

Are the Olympics Getting Too Big? Brisbane Pushback Sparks Debate [[link removed]]

Brisbane 2032

Are the Olympics becoming too big for any government to truly handle? That long-debated question is getting a fresh airing after new signs of stress have emerged in Brisbane, host of the 2032 Games.

Four months after organizers in Australia detailed [[link removed]] a $1.8 billion plan to tear down the 128-year-old Brisbane Cricket Ground (commonly known as the Gabba) and build a new Olympics centerpiece venue; they will instead upgrade Suncorp Stadium, a 90-year-old facility primarily used for rugby and soccer. Track and field competition will be held at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, a 49-year-old venue itself.

Upgrades at those venues, and planned conversations at some other facilities, will collectively cost a fraction of what a rebuilt Gabba would have.

“When Queenslanders are struggling with other costs, I cannot justify … a new stadium,” said Steven Miles, Queensland state premier, who, in making the decision, rejected some key findings of an independent review of Brisbane’s infrastructure for the event.

The plan sparked pushback among Olympics advocates, including former Australian medalist sprinter Raelene Boyle.

“I don’t think it will show the city off that well and Brisbane could look like cheapskates are running the Games,” Boyle told Reuters [[link removed]].

Some local media reports in Australia even went further, suggesting [[link removed]] that Queensland’s cabinet also discussed the costs of backing out of hosting the 2032 Olympics. Both Miles’s office and the IOC quickly pushed back on that and said they were looking forward to the upcoming Games.

Some History

The political drama unfolding in Brisbane recalls a now oft-forgotten episode from the early 1970s in which Denver won the right to host the ’76 Olympics but then officially withdrew its bid after Colorado voters rejected a referendum to use public dollars for the event. Those Games ultimately went to Innsbruck, Austria, which also hosted in ’64.

But some Olympics experts suggest the furor in Brisbane is overblown.

“[I] would caution not to get too carried away with the media around local Aussie politics. That is always brutal,” Michael Payne, former IOC marketing director and now a sports industry consultant, posted [[link removed]] on X. “The original Gabba plan was not thought through and the debate now on venue[s] should lead to a much better legacy plan. Brisbane and Australia will deliver a great Olympics.”

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ONE BIG FIG Peace in the Octagon

Dustin Safranek-USA TODAY Sports

$335 million

Total amount the UFC will pay to settle a pair of class-action antitrust lawsuits that had alleged the mixed-martial-arts promotion engaged in anticompetitive conduct to suppress fighter pay. UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings disclosed [[link removed]] the settlement Wednesday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Stretching [[link removed]] for nearly a decade, the cases claimed that UFC made a series of moves, including acquiring competing leagues and employing various “extracontractual methods,” to help limit fighters’ compensation and restrain their professional movement. Not surprisingly, deadlines helped spur movement in these cases, as the matter was scheduled for trial beginning April 15. The amount will be paid in installments over an unspecified period. Full details of the settlement have yet to be filed and will still require court approval. UFC has denied wrongdoing throughout. Shares in TKO immediately jumped more than 7% on the news, as absent the settlement, UFC could potentially have been on the hook for billions of dollars in damages.

AWARDS

Every year, Front Office Sports’ awards program recognizes the best and most accomplished in the business of sports.

The 2024 Best Venues Award celebrates the venues that have met and exceeded the evolving demands of fans and that set the new industry standard for success.

🏆 Nominations are open through April 8. Submit your venue [[link removed]] now.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

MLB.com

Pac-2 ⬆ With the College Football Playoff locking in a $7.8 billion extension [[link removed]] with ESPN, Oregon State and Washington State have secured an amended distribution of postseason revenue, $3.6 million each annually, for at least 2026–28, sources told Yahoo Sports [[link removed]]. That’s up significantly from the original figure of about $350,000.

Bellator ⬆ The MMA competition that was acquired [[link removed]] by the Professional Fighters League in November has a new U.S. media-rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. Events in the new Bellator Champion Series will stream exclusively on Max, with additional content from the league set to appear as part of the evolving TNT Sports–branded coverage on TruTV. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Tom Brady ⬇ The retired quarterback’s nearly yearlong effort [[link removed]] to buy a minority stake in the Raiders will have to wait a little bit longer. NFL team owners are unlikely to take a vote at next week’s annual league meeting to approve the bid, sources told The Washington Post [[link removed]].

Wilson ⬇ The sports equipment manufacturer got some bad press when a ground ball went straight through the webbing [[link removed]] of Padres first baseman Jake Cronenworth’s glove (above) during Wednesday’s season opener against the Dodgers in Seoul, South Korea. With the game tied at 2, Cronenworth, using a popular Wilson A2000 model, was in position to turn a double play that would have ended the eighth inning. But the malfunction-induced error led to a Los Angeles run on that play, and the Dodgers won 5–2.

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Conversation Starters Indiana State hosted a “Manager Olympics” to determine which basketball manager would earn the sole bench spot for the NIT. Check it out [[link removed]]. ESPN is set to debut [[link removed]] Dude Perfect: A Very Long Shot, a 30 for 30 documentary, at the Dallas International Film Festival on April 25. For the first time during the Paris 2024 Olympics, NBC’s whip-around show Gold Zone will be streamed live on Peacock and hosted by Scott Hanson, Andrew Siciliano, Matt Iseman, and Akbar Gbajabiamila. Will you watch? Let us know [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Disgraced Ex-Spanish Soccer Chief Raided by Cops in Corruption Probe [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Police are investigating the Super Cup’s move to Saudi Arabia. Ted Leonsis’s Quest for Public Money Leads to Maryland, per Report [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The future home of the Wizards and Capitals remains unclear. WNBA Could Seek Its Own Media Deal [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]The league is open to splitting its negotiations from the NBA’s, sources say. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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