July 30, 2024

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Manchester United wants to build the U.K.’s largest stadium. … The WNBA’s media-rights deal has an important reevaluation date. … The Guardians set an MLB record. … Front Office Sports Today explores the Jaylen Brown versus USA Basketball drama. … And NBCUniversal continues its Olympics momentum.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Man United Plots $2.6B Stadium to Lead U.K. Sports Venue Evolution [[link removed]]

MUFC

Even in the midst of financial and competitive struggles, Manchester United is thinking big—very big.

Less than three weeks after a meager quarterly report [[link removed]] and a little more than two months after its worst Premier League finish, the club is now actively considering the development of a new stadium seating 100,000 and costing at least $2.6 billion. The facility, if constructed, would immediately become the U.K.’s largest, surpassing Wembley Stadium’s 90,000, and it would be aimed in part at advancing European facility standards that often have trailed modern U.S. venues.

Under the leadership of co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, Manchester United has been operating an “Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force” evaluating whether to renovate its venerable, 114-year-old facility (above) increasingly showing its age or construct a new one. According to multiple reports, that panel is now favoring the new-build option. Such a move is increasingly seen as a much more impactful choice than upgrading Old Trafford, and more formal plans for a new stadium are expected by the end of the year.

A new Manchester United facility would be built on land adjacent to Old Trafford. Financing, however, remains a question mark. The project would likely involve a mix of public and private financing, but there, too, specifics need to be developed.

U.S. Influence

During this deliberation process, club staff has been closely studying modern U.S. facilities to learn about design choices, amenities, and development processes. Among those venues is SoFi Stadium in California, the home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers and where Manchester United lost a friendly to Arsenal on Saturday. Stan Kroenke, owner of the Rams and SoFi Stadium, also owns Arsenal.

“I don’t draw this comparison lightly, but you can see a parallel with the opportunity back home in Manchester,” said Andy Cole, a former striker for the club who was part of the traveling party for SoFi Stadium match. “Manchester United fans and everyone in the north of England deserves a truly world-class stadium, and SoFi set the standard to aim for. This is the kind of arena the best players in the world want to be playing in, and fans want to be experiencing.”

A new stadium, meanwhile, would additionally be impactful as many entities of European soccer, including the Premier League, experience a growing divide between the economic haves and have-nots. The club’s eighth-place finish last season and the recent quarterly report showing a $91 million net loss and 20% drop in revenues further signaled the risk of Manchester United getting left behind top-tier clubs such as its crosstown rival, Manchester City—winner of the last four and six of the last seven Premier League titles—or Arsenal.

Manchester United, a dominant club in the 1990s and early 2000s, hasn’t won a Premier League title since 2013.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS EVENTS

From Fireside to Courtside

This Friday, Front Office Sports is headed to the Hamptons.

Huddle in the Hamptons [[link removed]] will bring together business leaders in sports, entertainment, technology, and media for an afternoon of panels, networking, and racket sports. The perfect way to spend a summer Friday, this invite-only event will begin with a series of fireside chats and conclude with a pickleball tournament.

The lineup of speakers includes: Wale Ogunleye, Midge Purce, Renee Montgomery, Scott Havens, and Marques Colston.

Request to attend [[link removed]] now for an opportunity to join the action.

WNBA’s New Rights Deal: A Pivotal Moment for League’s Future Growth [[link removed]]

Arizona Republic

The WNBA, together with the NBA, just signed [[link removed]] a media-rights deal with partners Disney, NBCUniversal, and Amazon until 2036. However, the next five seasons, including the ongoing campaign, might just be the most important stretch in the history of the WNBA.

The league will receive $200 million per year, or $2.2 billion in total, in the media deal starting in 2026, but part of the contract includes a price reevaluation after the 2028 season, according to CNBC [[link removed]?]. The three partners did not assign a value for the WNBA when negotiating the broader $77 billion deal with the NBA, and the recommendation of a media-consulting team from Endeavor Group—which owns the WWE and UFC—valued the WNBA at just $125 million per year.

The NBA insisted on more—citing the league’s exponential growth this year upon the arrival of rookies Caitlin Clark (above) and Angel Reese—which led to the $200 million–per-year figure.

Should the sides determine that the WNBA is worth more than its current price, the three partners aren’t required to shell out more dollars, though they will be incentivized in some capacity if they do.

Highs and Lows

The WNBA is in an odd position.

Women’s college basketball broke barriers when the women’s championship game outdrew the men’s title game by more than four million viewers, and the momentum has successfully transferred to the pro level.

The rookies’ arrival has driven television viewership [[link removed]], attendance [[link removed]], and merchandise sales [[link removed]] for the WNBA, and it could continue as Clark and Reese develop, while current college stars Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins will likely bring in sustainable fanfare.

That outlook explains why WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson and women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller believe this new deal still undervalues [[link removed]] the WNBA.

On the other hand, the league has been in a compromised [[link removed]] financial position pretty much since its inception in 1996. Whether it’s the fault of the league itself, the NBA, or its partners, those mistakes—which include the shutdown [[link removed]] of several franchises—don’t just dissipate after a few years of success, and they could explain why Endeavor valued the league at just 62.5% of what it ultimately received.

The WNBA does have several moves to boost its valuation. It has already confirmed two expansion teams over the next two years: the Golden State Valkyries [[link removed]] starting next season and an unnamed team in Toronto [[link removed]] in 2026. The league is also set to expand [[link removed]] its season from 40 to 44 games starting next year, yet another way to boost revenue.

Momentum is on the side of the WNBA to prove its worth—and even shatter its current valuation—by 2028, but it’s operating from a compromised position and is still banking on positive developments. How it navigates the next five years will determine just how high the league will go.

OLYMPICS UPDATE Ratings Keep Soaring

David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

41.5 million

Total audience delivery for the Paris Olympics on Sunday across NBC, Peacock, and all key NBCU platforms, according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics [[link removed]]. The figure is nearly double that of the opening Sunday of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and aired at an unfriendly time zone for U.S. viewers.

However, prime-time viewership is also up as NBCUniversal posted a three-day total of 34.5 million viewers for the combined U.S. (8–11 p.m. ET) and Paris prime-time (2–5 p.m. ET) slots during the first weekend of the Games.

The U.S. men’s basketball team’s win over Serbia averaged 10.9 million viewers, which is 1.6 million more than the gold medal game in Tokyo. The U.S. women’s national soccer team’s win over Germany averaged 4.2 million viewers, more than any soccer match—men’s and women’s—from both the Tokyo and Rio Games.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY The USA Basketball ‘Conspiracy’

FOS illustration

Jaylen Brown and Grant Hill exchanged comments about the “conspiracy” [[link removed]] behind USA Basketball. We sat down with Front Office Sports reporter Colin Salao to discuss the claims and what’s next in this saga.

Plus, the downside of legalized gambling in the U.S. is starting to rear its head. FOS breaking news reporter Alex Schiffer has the latest on a new study that details bankruptcy, low credit scores, and poor financial health.

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

ONE BIG FIG Class Honors

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

$20.4 million

The total of signing bonuses given by the Guardians to their 21 draft picks this year, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis [[link removed]], setting a league record. The team already went into the draft with the biggest bonus pool in the event’s history, set at $18.33 million, but then exceeded it as it came to terms with its entire class. The outlay was led by top draft pick Travis Bazzana (above) from Oregon State, a key figure in MLB’s changing approach [[link removed]] to developing and marketing young talent.

Beyond the Guardians, MLB’s individual signing bonus record was also topped twice by the 2024 draft class. The prior mark of $9.2 million, set by Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes [[link removed]], was surpassed by the Reds’ Chase Burns and Rockies’ Charlie Condon, the second and third picks in the draft. Each signed for $9.25 million. Bazzana signed with Cleveland for $8.95 million, below his slot value of $10.57 million.

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Conversation Starters Duke just unveiled its newly renovated football locker room funded by donor organization Starting 11. Check it out [[link removed]]. U.S. gold medal winners will receive around $38,000, much less than what some other countries will give as a reward. Take a look [[link removed]] at the list. Olympic Rugby Sevens drew 66,000 fans during its first day, the largest crowd [[link removed]] in women’s rugby history. Editors’ Picks Seine Water Quality Throws Olympic Triathlon in Doubt [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]] and Eric Fisher [[link removed]]Weekend rain caused triathlon practice to be canceled Monday. The NCAA League That Could Save the Olympic Pipeline [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]An under-the-radar league has become a ‘catch-all’ for niche Olympic sports. Paris Offers the Biggest Betting Opportunity in Olympic History [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]‘If you put a line on anything that’s televised, people will bet.’ Question of the Day

Will the Seine ultimately be the site of Olympic swimming events?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Monday’s result: 88% of respondents think the U.S. men’s basketball team will win gold at the Paris Olympics.

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]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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