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Afternoon Edition

January 16, 2025

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The Indiana Fever’s explosion in popularity since the arrival of Caitlin Clark has manifested in yet another way, as the team is building a $78 million training center. We explain how the star factored into the franchise’s decision to make this investment.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Caitlin Clark Effect Fuels Fever’s New $78M Downtown Training Center [[link removed]]

The Indianapolis Star

The Caitlin Clark Effect is now extending to the Fever’s plans to develop a $78 million training center in downtown Indianapolis.

The forthcoming Indiana Fever Sports Performance Center, slated to open before the 2027 WNBA season, will feature two full-size courts, strength and conditioning facilities, a range of additional recovery and wellness rooms including those with infrared light therapy and hydrotherapy pools, and even podcast and content production studio space. Fever owner Pacers Sports & Entertainment will privately fund the development of the three-story, 108,000-square-foot facility.

The decision to build the new training complex, of course, is not solely a function of Clark’s arrival last year to the team, but the timing does provide another indicator of how transformative she has been [[link removed]] to the Fever—and the league overall—over the past nine months.

With the former Iowa superstar in the fold, nearly all of Indiana’s games were nationally televised, fueling the league’s most-watched regular season [[link removed]]. Attendance across the WNBA rose 47%, and the Fever specifically increased by nearly 320% to a league-leading average of more than 17,000 per game.

Now, the Fever are poised to have a training facility commensurate with that rising stature and impact. The facility will be located on the site of the former Marion County Jail. The Fever have been practicing in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the arena they share with the NBA’s Pacers.

“As we look to the future, the focus of creating a first-class player experience designed exclusively for women athletes will set us apart,” said Fever president of basketball and business operations Kelly Krauskopf.

Bigger Development Push

The Fever are hardly alone across the WNBA in developing or seeking better training facilities.

Long a pain point within the league as it continues its accelerating growth trajectory, other franchises that have made similar moves to create purpose-built practice complexes in the last two years include the Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury, and Seattle Storm—while the Chicago Sky [[link removed]] have one under construction and scheduled to open late this year, and the defending league champion New York Liberty are pursuing one as well. Each project has exceeded $35 million in cost, with the Las Vegas facility nearly three times as expensive.

In addition to their training benefits, these hubs are also widely seen as a critical tool in player recruitment and engagement [[link removed]], with teams such as the Sky losing out on multiple talent opportunities because of what they’ve had to offer for a practice facility.

LIV Golf Gets New Media Deal—and Greg Norman’s Replacement [[link removed]]

Erich Schlegel-Imagn Images

LIV Golf is set to head into its 2025 season with a new media-rights deal and a replacement for its controversial leader, Greg Norman.

The league made two key formal announcements this week as it gears up for its season opener in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 6–8.

Fox Sports has signed a multiyear media-rights deal to become LIV’s sole U.S. broadcast partner, following the past two seasons with The CW. Airing on the main Fox network will give LIV its best TV exposure yet. Some rounds will also air on the cable channels FS1, FS2, and even Fox Business Network [[link removed]].

LIV’s recent schedule shift [[link removed]] was likely made in accordance with the crowded sports slate on Fox, which is paying an undisclosed rights fee. LIV’s season will end in late August—earlier than it has in the past three seasons—and for the first time on the same weekend as the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship.

Fox has a heavy dose of college football and NFL broadcasts on Saturdays and Sundays in the fall, which would have likely reduced LIV’s placement on its networks.

Shift at the Top

LIV has also announced the hire of Scott O’Neil as its new CEO, replacing Norman, who is handing off the day-to-day management duties he had as CEO and commissioner, but he will remain involved with LIV.

Norman took a mostly adversarial approach toward the PGA Tour since LIV’s launch in 2022, so finding a new leader could smooth things out between the two tours, as LIV’s financial backers at the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia continue to work on a deal with the PGA Tour to unify men’s professional golf.

O’Neil has a deep sports history, and he was previously the CEO of 76ers and Devils parent company Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. His relationships from that job should be valuable for LIV. For example, David Blitzer is a co-owner alongside Tiger Woods of Jupiter Links Golf Club [[link removed]], one of six teams in TGL, the new indoor golf league that launched this month and has backing from the PGA Tour.

Trump’s Impact on Golf

The state of the PIF–PGA Tour negotiations could speed up after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday.

LIV will once again play at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in South Florida in April, and Trump has previously said [[link removed]] he could get a PIF–PGA Tour deal done “in the better part of 15 minutes.”

The Department of Justice is also expected to be more merger-friendly under Trump’s administration, which would be a positive sign for the tours.

SPONSORED BY UNITED FOOTBALL LEAGUE

The FOS Interview With UFL President Russ Brandon

In the newest FOS Interview [[link removed]], Front Office Sports editor-in-chief Dan Roberts sits down with United Football League president and CEO Russ Brandon to review the spring football league’s inaugural season post-merger of XFL and USFL [[link removed]]. They talk ratings, learnings, and future growth—as well as Russ’s view as a former NFL front office executive on private equity and how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped the UFL [[link removed]].

Jimmy Butler Set for Heat Return, Bucks Emerge As Trade Option [[link removed]]

Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Jimmy Butler is expected to return from a seven-game suspension [[link removed]] when the Heat host the Nuggets on Friday. But the uncertainty around his future in Miami remains.

The six-time All-Star, who has requested a trade from the Heat, reiterated to team president Pat Riley last week that he wants to be traded [[link removed]], according to a report by ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania. Multiple reports have confirmed that Phoenix is Butler’s desired destination [[link removed]].

The Suns—who made a minor trade Wednesday by acquiring Nick Richards from the Hornets in exchange for Josh Okogie—still face the same dilemma: They must find an acceptable deal involving Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause. Beal’s agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told The Athletic [[link removed]] on Tuesday that “nothing is brewing” between the Heat and Suns involving Beal.

NBA insider Chris Haynes reported last week that some teams, particularly the Grizzlies, have been told to steer clear of trading for Butler. The Heat star can opt out of his contract this offseason to become a free agent, so any team that acquires Butler without the assurance he will re-sign is in danger of him turning into a half-season rental.

However, The Athletic reported Tuesday the Bucks have not been given the same guidance as Memphis. Milwaukee is in a similar position as the Suns since they are second-apron violators [[link removed]] and have two stars—Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard—who would likely not be involved in a deal. The trade offer would have to revolve around their third star, Khris Middleton, who is in the second season of a three-year, $93 million deal with a player option next season.

Unlike Beal, Middleton does not have a no-trade clause, which makes the deal much easier to facilitate, should the Heat be interested. In order to match Butler’s $48.8 million salary this year, Milwaukee will likely need to include former Sixth Man of the Year Bobby Portis Jr. ($12.6 million) or Pat Connaughton ($9.4 million).

LOUD AND CLEAR Three-Pointer Overload?

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

“We will tweak it. We will correct those issues.”

—NBA commissioner Adam Silver on the increase of three-point shots during a Wednesday appearance on The Herd With Colin Cowherd. The average NBA team launches 37.6 threes per game this season [[link removed]]—about 42.3% of total field goals attempted. The number is up by 2.4 attempts from last year and 13.5 from 10 seasons ago.

The NBA’s ratings decline has been a hot topic this season, and some fans and media members have blamed the volume of three-point shots for causing monotony in play styles. “I have a theory that [the ratings] are down because we’re looking at the same thing,” NBA legend and TNT studio analyst Shaquille O’Neal said in November [[link removed],'t%2C%E2%80%9D%20Goldsberry%20said.].

STATUS REPORT Four Up

Mike Frey-Imagn Images

Taylor Fritz ⬆ The top-ranked U.S. men’s tennis player is donating the winnings from his first-round victory at the Australian Open toward relief funds for victims of the wildfires in Los Angeles. The amount is around $82,000. Fritz was born in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney ⬆ The celebrity owners of Wrexham are part of a new ownership group that acquired Club Deportivo La Equidad, a Colombian professional soccer team, the club announced Wednesday. Other investors include MLB pitcher Justin Verlander, his wife (model Kate Upton), former NBA All-Star Shawn Marion, and actress Eva Longoria.

A’s ⬆ The MLB club’s offseason aggressiveness, fueled in part by a need to spend more on player payroll [[link removed]], took another step Wednesday with the acquisition of Japanese two-way player Shotaro Morii in MLB’s newly opened 2025 international amateur free-agent signing period [[link removed]]. Morii, 18, signed for a $1.51 million bonus, the largest deal for a Japanese amateur outside of that country’s Nippon Professional Baseball. The A’s are hoping for a combined pitching and hitting talent along the lines of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani [[link removed]], though Morii is not a phenom like Ohtani was. The Morii deal also extends a frenetic offseason for the A’s that also includes a $60 million extension for designated hitter Brent Rooker [[link removed]].

Tubi ⬆ The Fox-owned streaming outlet will air the upcoming Super Bowl LIX on a free, unauthenticated basis, a boon for a service that typically does not offer live sports. The move—which will be counted by Nielsen and included as part of broader audience totals for the game across several other Fox properties—also extends a push by the NFL to make the Super Bowl accessible each year to as many people as possible, an effort that helped lead to a record-setting draw for last year’s game [[link removed]].

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS NETWORK

Brandi Chastain Joins ‘Redefined’

In the first episode of Redefined, Leslie and Arielle welcome on Brandi Chastain, who owns one of the most iconic moments in sports history from the ’99 World Cup. In the episode, the trio gets real and vulnerable, discussing the challenges, triumphs, and redefining moments of being an athlete, mother, owner and their impact on the next generation.

Brandi opens up about her struggles during college years, her parents’ lessons on accountability, and her historic moment in USWNT’s most iconic victory.

Redefined is a Front Office Sports Network show that celebrates the stories, experiences, and realities of multidimensional women in sports who are redefining success. New episodes release every Wednesday and can be found on Spotify [[link removed]], Apple [[link removed]], YouTube [[link removed]], and the FOS website. [[link removed]]

Conversation Starters Ella Hamlin, a walk-on for TCU’s women’s basketball team, was offered a full scholarship. Watch [[link removed]] the emotional announcement from head coach Mark Campbell. The hosts of the hockey podcast Spittin’ Chiclets announced they will be co-owners of Greensboro Gargoyles, an ECHL team. Check out [[link removed]] their announcement. Learn more [[link removed]] about TGL, the new indoor golf league owned by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, on the latest episode of FOS Explains. Editors’ Picks Jersey Victor Wembanyama Gave to Child Up for Auction Weeks Later [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The jersey from the viral swap is now on the auction block. Why the Ravens Claimed a Disgruntled Player They Already Cut [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Baltimore leads the NFL in compensatory picks since they debuted in 1994. Bob Uecker, Legendary Baseball Announcer, Dies at 90 [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]The Brewers announced the icon’s death Thursday. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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