December 16, 2021

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Boston Uprising, the Overwatch League team owned by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, is merging with Oxygen Esports and plans to enter the Call of Duty League in 2022. Along with the expansion, Oxygen announced a $20 million capital raise led by Banner Ventures and notable investors, including Danny Ainge and Rob Gronkowski.

Apple, Amazon Vie for Piece of Growing Wearable Tech Market

Apple/Design: Alex Brooks

The fitness wearables market is poised for huge growth over the next seven years — and companies and investors are taking notice.

Separate reports from Grand View Research [[link removed]] and Fortune Business Insights [[link removed]] placed the fitness wearable market at $34.6 billion and $36.3 billion, respectively.

Fortune predicted compound annual growth of 15.4% through 2028, up to $114.4 billion. Grand View estimated an even higher growth rate of 18.9%. Startups and major tech companies are enhancing their hardware and software to claim a slice of that market.

Apple Faces Wearables Competition Apple rolled out its Watch Series 7 in September. The wearable is required hardware for the company’s $9.99-per-month subscription workout program, Apple Fitness+.Amazon rolled out a new line of Halo fitness wearables that same month. Its subscription program costs $3.99 per month after a six-month trial period.Meta is focusing on metaverse and VR tech for its fitness push. In October, it acquired VR fitness game developer Within.

Heart rate monitoring and movement tracking are nearly ubiquitous among smart watches, and many now track blood oxygen levels, sleep quality, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and a wide array of analytics derived from those biometrics.

Startups have not been deterred by the tech giants entering the space. WHOOP, which upgraded its hardware and software in September, raised $200 million in August at a $3.6 billion valuation. Oura raised $100 million in May at a valuation of around $800 million.

Salt Lake City Requires $2.2B Budget for Winter Olympics

Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

The Utah Olympic committee has projected that hosting a future Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City would require a budget of up to $2.2 billion.

Salt Lake City has yet to decide on whether it will submit a bid for 2030 or 2034, but the host of the 2002 Winter Olympics is in a position to be successful. A decision is expected [[link removed]] following the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

“Salt Lake is ready,” said [[link removed]] USOPC chief executive Sarah Hirshland. “We don’t have to build anything. We don’t need to garner public support. We don’t have a lot of barriers.”

Breaking Down the Costs

Salt Lake City beat out Denver, Colorado, and Reno, Nevada, as host for the next Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The budget is calculated using inflation to represent 2030 costs.Operational costs are estimated to reach $1.75 billion. A $200 million contingency is included.The remaining $250 million would be allocated toward legacy projects and winter sports.No infrastructure costs are included in the projected budget.

Holding the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2030 faces an uphill battle due to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Two consecutive Olympics in the U.S. could pose logistical challenges and would require the two cities to jointly raise private funds to avoid heavy use of public money.

SPONSORED BY FEVO

Spectra Announces FEVO as Official Group Ticketing Partner

FEVO has been named the official group ticketing partner of Spectra [[link removed]], an industry leader in live events and entertainment!

“Our partnership is driven by one major factor: fan experience,” Bryan Furey, SVP of Spectra Partnerships, said. “Attending live events is an inherently shared experience with our friends and our families. FEVO removes stress from the shared ticket-buying experience, while adding value to our venues and giving them tools to enhance those experiences through creative e-commerce solutions.”

Read the full release here [[link removed]].

Blockchain Fan Token Adoption Heating Up

Socios.com/Design: Alex Brooks

Soccer clubs have potentially made hundreds of millions of dollars selling fan tokens that unlock real-world benefits for fans.

According to data [[link removed]] from FanMarketCap.com, the fan token economy has seen 50% growth since June, with the total market cap increasing from $260 million to $391 million.

Leading the way is Socios.com, which allows fans to engage [[link removed]] with favorite teams and clubs through digital assets. The tokens unlock access to special offers and voting rights on decisions the team puts before the fans, such as which player should take over the team’s Instagram for a day.

The company has been able to provide instant value to partners. When F.C. Barcelona launched an initial fan token offering in June of 2020, the tokens sold out in less than two hours, generating $1.3 million for the debt-burdened club.

Clubs generate revenue from the Socios.com platform in the form of direct payments. Currently, teams fan tokens are trading down relative to their Q2 highs.

Paris Saint-Germain fan tokens are currently trading at $14.56 with a $45.3 million market cap.Manchester City tokens are currently trading at $9.49 with a market cap of $33.8 million. Barcelona tokens are currently trading at $8.8 with a $31.1 million market cap.

Socios.com has also partnered with U.S. properties in the MLS, NBA, NHL, and NFL. While those partnerships have yet to offer fan tokens, the model could soon be introduced domestically.

If you want to learn more about the use case for fan tokens and blockchain in sports, check out our Insights report. [[link removed]]

Foot Locker Unveils First Womenswear Brand

Foot Locker/Design: Alex Brooks

Two months after announcing LCKR, its first private apparel label in three years, Foot Locker unveiled Cozi, the company’s first proprietary womenswear brand.

Launching with a cast [[link removed]] including skateboarder Briana King and basketball player Hannah O’Flynn, the brand is aimed at “women who keep up with trends, love sneakers, and crave premium wardrobe staples at an affordable value.”

The brand’s first collection is already live exclusively at Champs and Foot Locker, both in-store and online, with pieces ranging from $35-$50. Cozi will release seasonal collections throughout next year, making a greater mark in the athleisure market [[link removed]], which is expected to reach $549 billion by 2028.

Foot Locker’s Business Shift

LCKR and Cozi aren’t the only ways Foot Locker has shifted its business.

August: purchased [[link removed]] Text Trading Company for $360 million.September: closed $750 million acquisition of WSS parent Eurostar.November: launched lifestyle brand All City by Just Don with Don C.; announced [[link removed]] it would be merging its Champs Sports and Eastbay brands; closed [[link removed]] its $360 million acquisition of footwear retailer atmos.

Foot Locker recorded [[link removed]] third-quarter total sales of $2.2 billion, up 3.9% year-over-year, and net income of $158 million. For the first nine months of the year, net income reached $790 million.

SPONSORED BY OPENDORSE

Gain Key Insights Into the First 6 Months of NIL

Since the NCAA passed the NIL policy [[link removed]] in July 2021, college athletes have received hundreds of thousands of NIL deals — just six months in, the market appears to be hitting its stride.

Tune in today at 1 p.m. ET as college athletes Gloria Mutiri (Oregon Volleyball) and Trevor Bassitt (Ashland University Track & Field) join Adam White, CEO, FOS, and Blake Lawrence, CEO of Opendorse, to discuss the opportunities, challenges and major takeaways from the first 6 months of NIL in our latest webinar, NIL at Every Level: The First 6 Months [[link removed]].

Hear firsthand how these student-athletes are taking advantage of the NIL policy, and gain insights into the billion-dollar market to come, including conferences that are leading the way, what kind of regulation to expect in the future, and more.

Grab your seat today [[link removed]]!

Conversation Starters The Chicago City Council approved [[link removed]] sports betting at or near Wrigley Field, Soldier Field, Wintrust Arena, Guaranteed Rate Field, and the United Center on Wednesday, allowing the Cubs and DraftKings to move forward with their proposed sportsbook at Wrigley Field. SIGNA Sports went public [[link removed]] on the NYSE on Tuesday, completing its merger with Yucaipa Acquisition Corporation. SeatGeek reported [[link removed]] a 46% year-over-year increase in third-quarter net revenue to $59.7 million – a company record. Steph Curry admitted [[link removed]] he wouldn’t call himself the greatest shooter ever until he set the all-time record for three-pointers, and on Tuesday, he became the new king. Subscribe to Sports Section [[link removed]] for more. Today's Action

NHL

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Senators (+200) at Lightning (-250)

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Pistons (+375) at Pacers (-510)

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08:20 PM

Chiefs (-170) at Chargers (+150)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

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

Question Of The Day

Are you interested in attending the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City?

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Wednesday’s Answer

31% of respondents have heard of eBay’s new tools for pro collecting.

Written by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]], Liam Killingstad [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]]

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