May 29, 2024

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Public funding for a new Bears stadium won’t be coming anytime soon. … Cricket is having a big week, and a bigger moment, in the U.S. … A women’s golf star is retiring before she turns 30. … And Front Office Sports Today explores the inner workings of Bay Area sports franchises.

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

‘Time Is Money’ for the Bears’ New Home. Now the Wait Is Even Longer [[link removed]]

Manica

The Bears already knew the pursuit of public money for their ambitious $4.7 billion stadium plan [[link removed]] along the Chicago lakefront was going to be an uphill slog. But the Illinois state legislature has made that task even harder.

About a month after the Bears unveiled [[link removed]] their stadium proposal—complete with a set of flashy renderings [[link removed]]—the legislature is set to adjourn this week for the spring without taking up any funding proposal relating to the project, and it won’t be back until the fall.

“A proposal of this magnitude deserves sunlight and scrutiny,” state Rep. Kam Buckner told the Chicago Tribune [[link removed]]. “Very often what has happened in this building is that things get rammed through at the last minute without much public input or transparency. So I welcome conversations that will probably begin once we’re done here [for the spring].”

The team wants public money to cover slightly more than half of the stadium cost, with $2.3 billion in private money pledged. Three phases of infrastructure development projected to total $1.5 billion are most notably not connected to any potential funding source. Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson is an ardent advocate for the Bears project, but Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office has called the effort a “nonstarter,” and interest has been cool among other legislators in Springfield in picking up the issue.

Both Confirming and Defying a Trend

That sentiment arrives amid a fast-growing skepticism in many sectors around the country toward supplying public funding for stadiums that house privately held teams owned by billionaires—particularly as the values of those teams in most instances continue to soar [[link removed]]. That sentiment is still spreading, even as the Bears’ proposal easily beats the team-level contributions for forthcoming facilities in Buffalo [[link removed]] and Tennessee [[link removed]], both in actual amount and percentage of overall development cost, and could also overtake what is being discussed in Kansas City and Cleveland [[link removed]].

Jacksonville, meanwhile, is also considering [[link removed]] a plan in which it would fund about 55% of a $1.4 billion renovation of the Jaguars’ EverBank Stadium with taxpayer dollars.

The Bears have steadily sought to keep up the pressure on timing for the public funding, with team president Kevin Warren repeatedly saying “time is money.” The team has estimated that every year lost to delays adds more than $150 million to the stadium cost.

Here’s Why Cricket Is Having a Major American Moment [[link removed]]

San Francisco Unicorns

The second-most popular sport in the world is finally gaining significant momentum Stateside.

On Saturday, a match in Dallas between the U.S. and Canada will officially begin the 2024 International Cricket Council Men’s T20 World Cup. The biannual tournament—which has expanded from 16 to 20 teams and will hand out a record $10 million in prize money—uses a different format of the sport in which matches play out in just a few hours instead of multiday affairs.

The U.S. is holding 16 matches in Dallas, New York, and South Florida over the next month as a cohost alongside the West Indies. (You may have already heard about the $30 million, 34,000-seat temporary stadium [[link removed]] constructed on Long Island.)

While the U.S. likely won’t be hoisting a trophy at the end of the T20 World Cup (India, Australia, and England are the favorites), its domestic league scored a huge victory this week. The ICC granted official List-A status to Major League Cricket, which drew roughly 70,000 fans across its inaugural 15-game season last year. That means players’ performance will now count toward their career stats, which wasn’t the case in Season 1, and further incentivize top talent to consider playing in the league.

“I was very pleasantly surprised,” Anand Rajaraman, a co-owner of MLC’s San Francisco Unicorns, tells Front Office Sports. “I thought it would take us a couple seasons to show the ICC that the quality of cricket is good.”

Since the U.S. is not a full member of the ICC, an exception had to be made to give MLC its new status. “The ICC very much wants to promote cricket in the U.S.,” Rajaraman says.

Game of Expansion

MLC is expanding its schedule to 21 games for Season 2, which begins July 5, less than a week after the T20 World Cup concludes, with many top players from the World Cup expected to stick around and also compete in this upcoming MLC season. In 2025, MLC plans to play 34 games.

The six-team league is also exploring adding four expansion franchises in the near future. In addition to San Francisco, MLC also has teams in Los Angeles; New York; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; and Texas. “It was always intended to be a 10‑team league,” MLC CEO Vijay Srinivasan told The ­Guardian [[link removed]].

The Texas Super Kings are currently the only MLC team with a permanent home venue: Grand Prairie Stadium, also the home of the U.S. men’s national cricket team, which received a $20 million renovation [[link removed]] in 2022. But plans are in the works for the rest of the league to build comparable stadiums built for hosting cricket.

With MLC set up for more potential growth in the coming years, cricket’s moment in the U.S. could hit a crescendo in 2028: The sport will return to the Summer Olympics, hosted by Los Angeles, for the first time since 1900.

SPONSORED BY WENDY’S

Wendy’s New $3 English Muffin Deal

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With Wendy’s $3 English Muffin Deal [[link removed]], you get your choice of a tasty grilled sausage or applewood-smoked bacon English Muffin Sandwich with a fresh-cracked egg and gooey cheese. But wait! There’s more!

This breakfast wouldn’t be complete without a small side of crispy Seasoned Potatoes [[link removed]], which are truly worth waking up for. Oh, and did we mention you get all that for just three bucks? So, grab a proper breakfast with Wendy’s new $3 English Muffin Deal at your earliest, literally, convenience.

Limited time only. U.S. price and participation may vary. Select or request an English Muffin Deal [[link removed]] to obtain the discount. Not valid for à la carte or combo orders. Single item at regular price. Prices are higher in AK and HI.

ONE BIG FIG Calling It a Career

Amanda Inscore/The News-Press / USA TODAY NETWORK

$14,054,983

Career earnings of LPGA star Lexi Thompson, 29, who announced on Tuesday that she is retiring from full-time golf at the end of this year. Thompson, currently ranked No. 54 in the world, has 11 victories on the LPGA Tour, including one major title (2014 Chevron Championship). She turned professional in ’10 at the age of 15 but wasn’t allowed to join the LPGA Tour, which required members to be at least 18. She won an LPGA event in ’11 while playing on a sponsor’s exemption and joined the tour in ’12 after a successful petition to the age limit.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Former A’s Exec: Move to Vegas Never Made Sense

Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

Andy Dolich was an executive with the A’s, 49ers, and Warriors, among others, in his storied career in sports. He joins the show to offer his perspective on how the Warriors suffered little to no consequences for their move to San Francisco, how the Niners only recently recovered from a dip after their move to Santa Clara, but that the A’s may never bounce back from their planned move to Las Vegas. After the A’s leave, Dolich explains why MLB would be wise to consider Mexico City and Oakland as top targets for expansion.

🎧 Watch, listen, and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], Spotify [[link removed]], and YouTube [[link removed]].

TIME CAPSULE May 29, 1922: The Most Far-Reaching of Cases

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

On this day 102 years ago: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Sherman Antitrust Act did not apply to Major League Baseball, in turn becoming one of the most hotly contested legal decisions in sports history. In the original case in which the former Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League alleged that the National and American leagues conspired to monopolize baseball, the court unanimously ruled that baseball was not interstate commerce within the parameters of the Sherman Act.

MLB is the only major U.S. sports league to enjoy an antitrust exemption like this, and it’s the primary reason why there have not been any competitor baseball leagues since then. But there have been many challenges over the past century to the original decision, most recently by two minor league clubs that lost their affiliation with MLB in a case that was ultimately settled [[link removed]]. (The original decision has been upheld twice by the Supreme Court.)

Several moves have also been made, though, to somewhat narrow the scope of the original ruling. Among those is the Curt Flood Act of 1998 [[link removed]] from Congress—named for the former MLB outfielder who lodged a particularly notable but unsuccessful challenge to the exemption—that mandated that the employment of players in MLB is subject to antitrust law. But other key facets of MLB operations, such as franchise expansion and relocation, team sales, and marketing, remain exempt.

Given the bevy of hot-button issues surrounding the sport—including the reorganization of the affiliated minor leagues, the ongoing reconstruction [[link removed]] of MLB’s media business, the relocation [[link removed]] of the A’s, and potential expansion [[link removed]]—it’s rare that more than a few months ever go by before there is new legal or regulatory discussion around the exemption.

SPONSORED BY WENDY’S

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Warriors star Steph Curry has filed two trademarks that may indicate plans to build or sponsor an arena. Check them out [[link removed]]. The Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl will be the first college football postseason contest to provide name, image, and likeness deals for all players involved, the rapper just announced [[link removed]]. Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most highly anticipated events on the 24-race calendar, and its contract is set to expire in 2025. Currently, Monaco pays $20 million per season, equivalent to 6.6 million $3 Wendy’s English Muffin Breakfasts, which is the lowest hosting fee on the schedule. F1 owner Liberty Media is looking to increase this fee in Monaco’s next contract.

Breakfast Fun Fact

Formula One drivers typically lose 4–6 pounds due to sweat during a Grand Prix. Their bodies work overtime to regulate heat and cope with g-force stress. To fuel up efficiently, drivers load up on carbohydrates before a race. A typical race day breakfast includes porridge with berries, bananas, nuts, and honey.

Editors’ Picks New Man United Owner Tells Entire Staff They Can Resign Rather Than Work Remotely [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Jim Ratcliffe is reconfiguring Old Trafford lounges to become offices. The European Super League Inches Closer to Reality, Legally [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]A Spanish court says FIFA and UEFA have ‘abused their dominant position.’ From Revenue-Sharing to Private Equity: Breaking Down the NCAA’s Historic Week [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]Commercialization of college sports has never been more evident than this week. 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 Peter Richman [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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