March 7, 2022

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The NFL has suspended Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley indefinitely for gambling on NFL games. According to the league, Ridley made bets during a five-day period in November 2021 while away from the Falcons’ facility on the non-football illness list. Ridley tweeted that he “bet $1500 total.”

Spring Training Delay Threatens $1.3B Economic Impact

The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY/Design: Alex Brooks

We are still weeks away from baseball’s originally scheduled Opening Day, but the impact of the ongoing lockout is already being felt.

Communities in Florida and Arizona are missing [[link removed]] out on combined economic activity worth around $1.3 billion due to the delay of spring training.

The annual exhibition, which was set to begin on Feb. 26, sees half the league’s 30 teams play in Southern and Central Florida’s Grapefruit League, with the other half playing in the Phoenix area’s Cactus League.

A study from 2018 found that spring training brought a $687 million impact to Florida, with 1.5 million fans in attendance, 52% from out of state.A separate study found that the Cactus League brought $644 million to the area in 2018. The league said that 1.8 million people attend each year, 60% from out of state.

While MLB and the MLBPA have resumed talks, the two sides remain far apart on core economic issues and are still debating rule changes to the sport.

Three-Year Impact

The lockout is just the latest hit to spring training communities, which saw the previous two seasons impacted by the pandemic.

Spring training was cut short in March 2020 and was played with around 25% fan attendance in 2021.

The MLBPA established a $1 million fund to support stadium workers and others impacted by the delay in the season. MLB said it will create a similar program.

Deal Close for Bills’ New $1.4B Stadium

Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

Details are falling into place for the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium.

New York State is expected [[link removed]] to lead the funding for a $1.4 billion venue in Orchard Park, with contributions from the NFL and team owners Kim and Terry Pegula.

New York is expected to chip in around $850 million in its state budget, which will be finalized on April 1. NFL owners could potentially vote on a proposal at the league meetings from March 27-30.The team can take out a $150 million loan from the league, repaid to the other 31 teams through visiting teams’ shares of Bills ticket revenue.To access that loan program, the Pegulas must commit at least $200 million, which can partly come from selling personal seat licenses to season-ticket holders.

The stadium was initially left out of the state’s $216.3 billion budget during negotiations. The current lease expires in 2023.

Shopping Around

The Pegulas have threatened to move the team to another city if they don’t get a deal they like, with Austin, Texas, named as a possible destination.

“Teams have other options,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said [[link removed]].

The new open-air stadium, planned for the area right next to Highmark Stadium, could open by 2026 and seat 60,000-62,000 — plus another 5,000 standing-room spots.

A survey [[link removed]] found that 70% of Bills fans are happy with the stadium plans, though only 33% approved of the decision to have an overhang instead of a roof.

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Griffin Gaming Closes $750M Venture Fund

Discord/Design: Alex Brooks

Griffin Gaming Partners has closed a $750 million venture fund to invest in the gaming space, adding LionTree as a strategic partner to the fund.

The company, which launched its first fund in 2020 with $235 million, now has more than $1 billion in assets [[link removed]] under management.

Amid investments in social platforms, Web3, and content, founder Peter Levin told [[link removed]] The Hollywood Reporter that the additional fund will allow for “more investing and investing with larger check sizes and a variety of different stages.”

The list of Griffin-backed companies continues to grow, with founder Phil Sanderson claiming the company sees “more than 1,300 qualified investment opportunities a year.”

Digital distribution platform DiscordMobile technology company AppLovin Corp.NFT platform ForteSoftware platform Overwolf, which helps developers create extensions for games

“There’s an opportunity for more gaming-focused venture capitalists,” said Sanderson, also an investment banker at LionTree.

Gaming’s Growth

Griffin says the gaming market is now “larger than movies, music, and books combined,” with data from Newzoo expecting the market to grow 248% in the next 10 years. Newzoo found that nearly one-third of the world’s population play games for almost an hour each day.

The global gaming market’s annual consumer spending is estimated to reach $256 billion in 2025.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, a proposal for a biennial World Cup is almost “off the table,” the WNBA commissioner speaks out on charter flights, the Premier League considers terminating Russian media deals, and a trial begins over whether Anaheim made an illegal deal with the Angels. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Soccer fans took to social media [[link removed]] urging FIFA to keep Mexico from hosting the 2026 World Cup following violent brawls in the stands at a match between Queretaro and Atlas that caused a reported 26 hospitalizations. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not comment [[link removed]] specifically on Russia’s detention of American basketball star Brittney Griner. Speaking generally, he said the government is “ready to provide every possible assistance.” With Sunday’s 54-point outburst [[link removed]] against the Nets, Jayson Tatum matched Larry Bird’s record four 50-plus performances for the Celtics. Tatum is presiding over a tremendous turnaround in Boston. Subscribe to Scoreboard here [[link removed]] for more.

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Market Movers

Major indices fell on Monday. Here is a look at the biggest movers among sports-related stocks.

BATRK [[link removed]]

Liberty Media Corp.

[[link removed]]

$24.36

[[link removed]]

-0.08%

[[link removed]] T [[link removed]]

AT&T, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$23.57

[[link removed]]

-0.53%

[[link removed]] CMCSA [[link removed]]

Comcast Corp

[[link removed]]

$46.32

[[link removed]]

-1.36%

[[link removed]] UA [[link removed]]

Under Armour Inc

[[link removed]]

$12.76

[[link removed]]

-8.76%

[[link removed]] LVS [[link removed]]

Las Vegas Sands Corp

[[link removed]]

$35.99

[[link removed]]

-11.14%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 3/7/22) What to Watch

The Denver Nuggets (38-26) host the Golden State Warriors (43-21) on Monday at Ball Arena.

How to Watch: 9 p.m. ET on NBA TV

Betting Odds: Nuggets -8 || ML -335 || O/U 221.5*

Pick: Expect the Nuggets to win at home. Take Denver to cover.

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

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

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