December 10, 2021

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The 2021 Game Awards went down in Los Angeles last night. Game of the Year — the title that delivers “the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields” — went to EA’s co-op adventure “It Takes Two.” 🎮

Amazon Planning Daily Sports Shows

Courtesy: Amazon Prime/Design: Alex Brooks

Amazon’s evolution into a major player in sports media is beginning to take shape as the tech giant eyes studio shows that could potentially compete with the daily lineups at ESPN and FS1.

Amazon has been in talks with Sony Pictures Television’s Embassy Row to develop the shows, Front Office Sports confirmed. The New York Post was the first to report [[link removed]] Amazon and Embassy Row have held discussions to create a daily morning show and develop other studio shows.

Embassy Row — which has studios in Culver City, the same Southern California city where Amazon has based much of its burgeoning sports operation — produces “Men in Blazers” for NBC Sports and NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.”

An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment.

Amazon’s Sports Moves

It’s not an unexpected development given how aggressively Amazon has made moves in the sports world over the last several months.

Amazon has carried “Thursday Night Football” since the 2017 season but will produce and carry [[link removed]] the games exclusively beginning next NFL season.FOS reported last month that Amazon emerged as the favorite to acquire a minority stake in NFL Media, which includes NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and NFL.com. Amazon is also bidding for “NFL Sunday Ticket.”

Beyond the NFL, Amazon partnered with YES to stream 21 New York Yankees games per season and has a deal in place to carry 20 Premier League games.

Real Madrid Secures Additional Funding For Stadium

Real Madrid/Design: Alex Brooks

Real Madrid has secured an extended $255 million loan from JPMorgan and Bank of America for the redevelopment of Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

The extension has a 27-year term [[link removed]] with a 1.53% fixed interest rate — reportedly [[link removed]] the “largest” conditions ever for a long-term loan in the sports industry. Real Madrid will not start repaying until July 2024 thanks to a grace period.

The funding will allow Real Madrid build a new greenhouse, helping preserve “ optimal conditions [[link removed]]” for a retractable pitch that opens the door for additional events to be held at the facility.

Other Stadium Plans

Secured in April 2019, the initial loan is worth $651 million and will be used toward the retractable roof, 360-degree video scoreboard, and exterior skin of steel bands for image projections.

Reports also stated [[link removed]] that the new stadium will include space for a casino, first-class restaurant, and museum. The redevelopment plan is not expected to be completed until the end of next year.

The team was valued [[link removed]] at $4.75 billion in April, beat out only by rivals Barcelona, valued at $4.76 billion. In the 2019-20 season, Real Madrid brought in $792 million in revenue.

SPONSORED BY EBAY

eBay Sells 130 Every Minute

Couldn’t fill in the blank? Here’s a hint: It’s trading cards [[link removed][CACHEBUSTER]&gdpr=[GDPR]&gdpr_consent=[GDPR_CONSENT_929]&siteid=0&ipn=admain2&placement=553654].

That’s right — in the first half of 2021, there was an average of over 130 trading cards sold every minute on eBay (to go along with 41 million new trading cards listed for sale overall).

The trading card game has never been hotter, and eBay is helping to lead the charge with their Trading Card Marketplace [[link removed][CACHEBUSTER]&gdpr=[GDPR]&gdpr_consent=[GDPR_CONSENT_929]&siteid=0&ipn=admain2&placement=553654]. Featuring price guidance and portfolio management tools, as well as card scanning for easier selling and simple shipping, it’s a great time to be a card collector on eBay.

Create your account right here. [[link removed][CACHEBUSTER]&gdpr=[GDPR]&gdpr_consent=[GDPR_CONSENT_929]&siteid=0&ipn=admain2&placement=553654]

Vail Resorts to Acquire Seven Springs Mountain Resort for $125M

Vail Resorts/Design: Alex Brooks

Vail Resorts has agreed to acquire Seven Springs Mountain Resort in a deal valued at roughly $125 million.

“We have been focused on acquiring resorts near major metropolitan areas,” said [[link removed]] Vail Resorts CEO Kristen Lynch.

The deal includes Hidden Valley Resort and the operations of Laurel Mountain Ski Area in Pennsylvania.Vail will acquire all assets related to the mountain operations of the resorts, including ski areas, a hotel, lodging, and a conference center.The transaction is expected to close this winter, with operations continuing in ordinary fashion for the 2021-22 season.

In September, the company announced a $315 million-to-$325 million capital plan to install 19 new chairlifts across 14 resorts in an effort to improve guest experiences for the 2022-23 season.

Vail’s Latest Earnings

Vail Resorts — which operates 37 mountain resorts and ski areas — generated $175.6 million in revenue in fiscal Q1 2022, up from $43.8 million for the same period last year.

The company suffered a net loss of $139.3 million during the quarter, an improvement from a loss of $153.8 million in fiscal Q1 2021.

Arizona Coyotes Avoid Eviction From Home Arena

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

Just months after the Arizona Coyotes unveiled a $1.7 billion plan for a new Tempe complex, the City of Glendale threatened to lock the team out of its current home — Gila River Arena — for failing to pay arena charges and delinquent tax bills.

With more than $1.3 million in unpaid [[link removed]] city and state taxes, the Arizona Department of Revenue filed a tax lien notice on Dec. 3 against IceArizona Hockey, the company that owns the Coyotes.

The team was apparently unaware of its debts, citing “human error” as a potential cause. It told The Athletic it would make sure that by Thursday morning, “the Arizona Coyotes are current on all of our bills and owe no state or local taxes whatsoever.”

The team followed through, paying [[link removed]] all their bills Thursday.

The club reportedly owed Glendale roughly $250,000 in unpaid city taxes.The state tax lien said the team had taxes owed from June 2020. Coyotes’ History with Glendale

The team has called Glendale home since the 2003-04 season, but the city decided earlier this year not to renew its lease, making the 2021-22 season the Coyotes’ last in Gila River Arena.

In August, city manager Kevin Phelps wrote [[link removed]] in a letter that the team owed more than $1.4 million to the arena as of July 17, and more than $300,000 of it was “over four months delinquent.”

SPONSORED BY FEVO

2021 Best Employers in Sports Winners

The wait is over…Front Office Sports is pleased to announce the 2021 Best Employers in Sports Award winners.

Now in its third year, the Best Employers in Sports Award, presented by FEVO [[link removed]], recognizes organizations across the sports industry that are doing the best for their employees.

Awards are based on anonymous employee surveys. In collaboration with primary research partner Yrdstck [[link removed]], responses were evaluated using patented AI technology powered by Canvs, free from subjectivity and human bias.

This year’s survey centered around five key areas, including:

Leadership Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Professional Development and Advancement Philanthropic/Social Endeavors Employee Wellbeing

The winners represent the top 15% of all companies that participated. Check out the entire list, including two- and three-time winners here [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters Former soccer executive Alexander Steinforth has been appointed [[link removed]] to lead the NFL’s Germany operations as the league moves toward holding regular-season games in the country. A current Activision Blizzard employee has called [[link removed]] on the company to create a victims fund in “excess of $100 million” as she detailed harassment allegations in the workplace. International Ice Hockey Federation women’s national teams and the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship will be added [[link removed]] to “NHL 22,” the first time EA Sports has made women’s teams available in the franchise. After falling to Bayern Munich 3-0 on Wednesday, Barcelona will miss [[link removed]] the Champions League knockout stage for the first time since 2003-04. Click here [[link removed]] to subscribe to Sports Section, a free daily newsletter. Today's Action

NHL

10:08 PM

Flyers (+190) at Golden Knights (-235)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

NCAA

06:00 PM

Michigan (0) at Alabama (0)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

NBA

08:10 PM

Cavaliers (+100) at Timberwolves (-120)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See [[link removed]] for details.

Question Of The Day

What is your go-to platform for buying trading cards online?

StockX [[link removed]] eBay [[link removed]] Goldin Auctions [[link removed]]

Thursday’s Answer

55% of respondents are more inclined to go to an in-person fitness class than a livestream class.

Written by A.J. Perez [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]]

MORE FROM FOS:

Sports Section [[link removed]] - Daily Sports Newsletter

The Leadoff [[link removed]] - Daily Business of Sports Podcast

Front Office Sports Insights [[link removed]] - The most promising opportunities where sports meets industry

*If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2357)(IL). Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ/WV/PA/MI), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-888-532-3500 (VA) or call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN). 21+. NJ/PA/WV/IN/IA/CO/IL/TN/MI/VA only. Odds and lines subject to change. Eligibility restrictions apply.” See [[link removed]] for details.

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