March 4, 2022

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Taxpayers in Georgia’s Cobb County are collectively losing $15 million a year on the Atlanta Braves’ stadium, as the $300 million-plus cost of funding the project outweighs its fiscal benefits, according to a Kennesaw State University sports economist. Meanwhile, the Braves’ revenue nearly tripled from $35 million to $102 million last quarter.

Chelsea F.C. Reportedly Receives Numerous $4B Bids

Chelsea FC/Design: Alex Brooks

Russian oligarch and Chelsea F.C. owner Roman Abramovich formally announced he would sell the team on Wednesday, with Raine Group — the bank handling the sale — asking for “indicative offers” to be in by Friday.

The PA news agency reported Abramovich has received [[link removed]] several serious bids in the $4 billion range — he has turned down $3 billion offers in the past. Goal reported that Abramovich, worth around $12.5 billion [[link removed]], is looking to sell his U.K.-based assets quickly [[link removed]] before sanctions take hold following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I and three other people received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea,” Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss said. Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers part-owner Todd Boehly is reportedly the first major partner of Wyss’ consortium.

Chelsea’s Change

While Chelsea is worth around $3.2 billion, the team is also [[link removed]] roughly $2 billion in debt.

Abramovich said [[link removed]] on Wednesday that he “will not be asking for loans to be repaid.”His team will also set up a “charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated” for the benefit of victims of the war in Ukraine. He is reportedly looking for around $2.66 billion to donate.On Thursday, the U.K.’s Charity Commission said it hadn’t received a registration application for the charity Abramovich described.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said that the quickest sale the league has ever done is in 10 days, but “that’s not to say that record can’t be beaten.”

Fitch: MLB Can Afford Lost Season

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

Negotiations often come down to who has more to lose. A report from Fitch Ratings finds that MLB owners could weather a full season without baseball.

MLB’s “ample liquidity position” at the end of last month and debt reserve funds can cover the loss of a full season, the financial analyst wrote [[link removed]].

Potential losses in 2022 could be covered by ticket revenue and media deals, Fitch noted.The league can draw [[link removed]] up to $2 billion from its A-rated MLB Club Trust Securitization and $1.25 billion from its MLB Facility Fund, which holds an A- rating.MLB holds around $2.1 billion in debt from those two facilities.

Fitch did caution that a lengthy lockout could “alienate the fan base and erode game attendance and viewership,” leading to “lower renewals of key revenue, including club seats, luxury suites, and sponsorship agreements.”

Winning by Losing?

Last week, MLB told MLBPA representatives that it would be willing to lose a month of games, which some players believe [[link removed]] is a desirable outcome for team owners. April games are poorly attended, and media deals are not broadly affected until around 25 games are lost.

“They continued to make offers they know were in the players’ best interest to refuse,” Chicago Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward wrote in an Instagram post. “They view the first month of the season as debt … season delayed [equals] they meet their goals.”

On Friday, the MLBPA announced [[link removed]] it was launching a $1 million fund to support workers affected by the lockout. MLB said it would create a similar fund.

SPONSORED BY TUBI

Streaming Sports and Entertainment Audiences in 2022

Ad-Supported Video On-Demand (AVOD) has maintained a sustained level of growth leading into 2022 amongst audiences streaming sports, news and entertainment.

Amid an array of consumer choices and behaviors, it’s paramount for brands to understand the latest trends. Tubi’s annual report, THE STREAM: 2022 ACTIONABLE AUDIENCE INSIGHTS FOR BRANDS [[link removed]], details the audience preferences and investment strategies that matter most for marketers.

While subscription video-on demand viewers grew 8% in 2021, growth on AVOD doubled. The majority of streaming audiences don’t subscribe to cable: 71% of Tubi streamers are cable-free. AVOD is no longer only appealing to cost conscious consumers — Tubi streamers who earn $150K+ increased by 83% last year.

For these insights and more, download Tubi’s latest report [[link removed]].

Hibbett Reports Q4 Loss In Net Income

Hibbett Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

In its Q4 earnings report, Hibbett reported net income of $17.7 million, down from $23.9 million during the same period in 2021.

The report noted the athletic apparel retailer saw a “strong sales trend leading up to the Christmas holiday.” CEO and President Mike Longo attributed the lack of major growth to supply chain disruption, inflation fears, and the rise of the Omicron variant.

Net sales increased 1.7% compared with the same period last year, from $376.8 million to $383.3 million. But comparable sales decreased by 1%. While e-commerce sales increased by 1.8%, brick-and-mortar comparable sales decreased by 1.6%.

Longo noted, “We have also achieved significant growth on a two-year basis.”

During the third quarter, the Alabama-based company posted [[link removed]] a net income of $25.2 million — also slightly down from the same period in 2021.

Annual Report

The company’s fiscal year earnings provided a sunnier outlook.

Net sales reached $1.69 billion, a 19.1% increase from last year’s total of $1.42 billion — and a 42.8% increase from 2020.

Comparable sales went up by 17.4%, and brick-and-mortar comparable sales went up by 21.4%. E-commerce sales, however, posted a slight decline of 1.6%

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, NCAA officials outline equity improvements made to the Division I women’s basketball tournament, Amazon launches a new gaming service, Mubadala Capital invests in motorcycle racing, and Signa Sports reports its quarterly earnings. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Apple is exploring an audacious plan to scoop up the NFL’s available rights with a single, multibillion-dollar deal, sources [[link removed]] tell Front Office Sports. The University of Oregon, in conjunction with Opendorse, launched [[link removed]] an official marketplace to connect brands with athletes for name, image, and likeness deals. A federal court judge approved [[link removed]] a change to the NFL’s concussion settlement, in which eligible retired players can now have their concussion scores recomputed without race being a factor. Black retirees were previously given a lower cognitive baseline.

SPONSORED BY NIKE

How Nike is Leveling the Playing Field

The fight for racial equality has gained much needed attention and amplification from people and organizations throughout the sports industry, including Nike.

Check out [[link removed]] the recent conversation between Ernest Baker, Editor-in-Chief at Front Office Sports, and Jarvis Sam, Vice President of Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Nike as they go into detail about the company’s approach towards celebrating Black History Month through three initiatives:

The Black Community Commitment 2022 Black History Month Product Launch The Future Movement

Watch now [[link removed]].

Fanatics At It Again

Find out exactly what’s happening in the private markets every week with highlights from our Front Office Sports Insights Deal Tracker.

We carefully monitor both public and private market data to capture a picture the sports landscape.

This week’s Insights Deal Tracker [[link removed]] highlights:

PowerUp Acquisition, a blank-check company targeting companies in the media, digital media, sports, entertainment, and/or leisure sectors, with a particular focus on video gaming, gaming-adjacent, and new metaverse video gaming space, raised $250 million in an IPO. Fanatics, an operator of a multichannel sports merchandise retailer and digital sports platform, raised $1.5 billion in development capital from Blackstone, MSD Capital, and Fidelity Management & Research. Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco and led by Serena Williams, closed its inaugural $111 million seed and early stage fund. iFIT Health & Fitness, a health and fitness subscription technology company, raised $355 million in capital from L Catterton. Reebok, the manufacturer, distributor and retailer of sports apparel, closed a deal with Authentic Brands Group via its financial sponsors CVC Capital Partners and HPS Investment Partners to be purchased through a leveraged buyout for $2.46 billion. Thatgamecompany, the developer of a video game designed to provide an interactive gaming experience, raised $160 million in venture funding from TPG and Sequoia.

Try out the full Deal Tracker. [[link removed]]

What to Watch

The Chicago Bulls (39-24) host the Milwaukee Bucks (38-25) on Friday at the United Center.

How to Watch: 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: Bucks -4.5 || ML -180 || O/U 223*

Pick: Expect the Bucks to capitalize on the Bulls’ injuries. Take Milwaukee to cover.

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

Written by Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]

MORE FROM FOS:

The Leadoff [[link removed]] - Daily business of sports podcast

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

Front Office Sports Scoreboard [[link removed]] - The biggest stories in sports and the numbers behind them

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