April 19, 2022

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What a year two-time NBA champ JR Smith is having. Smith, who made headlines after enrolling at North Carolina A&T and joining the school’s golf team, has officially signed an NIL deal as a brand ambassador with Lululemon — making him the first male golfer to sign with the company.

Chelsea Bidders Bulk Up for Final Stretch

Chelsea FC

The remaining three bidders for Chelsea FC are strengthening their groups and eyeing potential hires and partnerships.

The consortium led by Sir Martin Broughton, which includes Philadelphia 76ers, Crystal Palace FC, and New Jersey Devils’ co-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, is bringing on billionaire Alejandro Santo Domingo.

Santo Domingo, a board member of Budweiser-owner AB InBev, will hold a minority stake in the team if the bid is successful.

The consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake added George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister David Cameron from 2010 to 2016.The group, which also includes Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, hired Robey Warshaw, an advisory firm Osborne joined in 2021.Robey Warshaw is working with Goldman Sachs as advisors on the bid.

The Raine Group is expected [[link removed]] to announce its preferred bidder in the coming weeks, but may wait for the Premier League to clear all three finalists first.

Atalanta Tag Team?

The third remaining bidder, Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca, also owns Serie A club Atalanta. It has been presumed that he would have to sell his stake in the Italian team if the bid is successful, but Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi is envisioning [[link removed]] a partnership.

“An axis of collaboration could be created which for Atalanta would be very precious,” Percassi said, saying that the two clubs could strike favorable deals through the player transfer market.

UEFA rules state that if two teams with the same majority ownership are scheduled to play one another, one team would have to forfeit.

Champs Sports Rides Experiential Wave

Champs Sports

Foot Locker’s Champs Sports unveiled its new retail concept, Champs Sports Homefield — which at more than 35,000 square feet is the largest Foot Locker location ever.

Coined a “true home for the modern athlete,” the store in Pembroke Pines, Florida, will offer [[link removed]] experiences, performance and lifestyle products, and services catered to athletes’ lives.

Full-sized basketball and multi-sport courtChamps Sports Combine digital VR systemNutritional and recovery productsApparel, sneakers, and equipment for various sports and activitiesTry-on treadmill for running shoes

Champs Sports Homefield arrives after Foot Locker reported [[link removed]] a record earnings year with a net income of $893 million. The company’s earnings per share increased 91.3% from 2019. As of Jan. 29, 2022, Champs had 525 open stores — Foot Locker merged [[link removed]] the Champs and Eastbay brands in November.

Retail Revolution

Champs isn’t the first retail store to provide experiences to its consumers.

Last year, Dick’s Sporting Goods opened [[link removed]] its first House of Sport location in Victor, New York, a 100,000-square-foot store that includes an indoor rock-climbing wall, golf driving bay, putting bay, and health and wellness store. Shortly after, a second location opened in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Other brands with similar concepts include Lululemon, YETI, Vans, and Tonal, which added stations to at least 40 Nordstrom locations last year.

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AC Milan Sale Could Reportedly Hinge on $733M Stadium Project

AC Milan

Several recent reports have suggested that AC Milan is in “exclusive talks” about changing ownership.

Investcorp, the Middle East’s biggest alternative asset manager, is allegedly [[link removed]] close to purchasing the club from Elliott Management for $1.1 billion.

But the fate of the team’s $733 million new stadium project [[link removed]] with Inter Milan now appears to be a centerpiece of the deal, according [[link removed]] to a recent Eurosport.it report.

Before the Bahrain-based asset manager can purchase the club, there must be a guarantee that the project can move forward.It has been stalled [[link removed]] by the local government.

The deal was reportedly set to close on May 4.

A New Home

The project for a new stadium was originally announced in 2019, but a design was only unveiled last December.

“The Cathedral,” which would replace the historic yet antiquated San Siro, features blueprints created by well-known stadium developer Populous. The stadium would be LEED-certified and carbon neutral. Part of the plans include a pedestrian-only district and area of greenery outside.

Golden State Warriors Are Getting Into Entertainment

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors are building out their brand with the announcement of a new division called Golden State Entertainment.

With David Kelly, the team’s top legal executive, at its helm, GSE will produce [[link removed]] music, host Bay Area events, and create licensed documentary content — including films covering the stories of two former NBA players.

The concept of GSE has been a few years in the making, but it came to the forefront following the success of “The Last Dance.” The documentary, which followed Michael Jordan’s last season with the Chicago Bulls, averaged 6.1 million viewers in the first two episodes.

“The Last Dance” was a 10-part series originally released on ESPN, then distributed through Netflix.Kelly expressed that GSE will look to license its content to streaming platforms.

“We’re not just a sports team,” Kelly said. “So, it’s incumbent upon us to flush out what that means.” He added that majority owner Joe Lacob also wants the Warriors to be a media and technology organization.

Warriors’ World

While the Warriors have a $5.6 billion valuation — the second-most valuable NBA team behind the New York Knicks — the franchise won’t only focus on itself.

“We want to tell some Warriors stories, and we think we’re well-positioned to be able to tell those stories, but we’re not limiting ourselves to Warriors stories,” Kelly said.

Two-time MVP Steph Curry won’t be featured in GSE’s content until he retires due to language in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.

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Conversation Starters About 3 million viewers [[link removed]] tuned into the USFL on Saturday night on FOX and NBC combined. The matchup between the New Jersey Generals and Birmingham Stallions had an audience close to that of Alliance of American Football’s and the XFL’s respective debuts in 2019 and 2020. On the anniversary of the attempt to form the breakaway Super League, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has called [[link removed]] on the Glazer family to remove themselves from the club. Manchester United was one of six Premier League clubs that unsuccessfully attempted to join the now-defunct league last year. The Professional Fights League has secured [[link removed]] a partnership with Rival, an esports tournament organizer. The partnership, which marks Rival’s first deal within the combat sports space, will see the PFL launch a dedicated gaming community for fans, along with esports initiatives. A Canadian government rule that requires [[link removed]] a person to have a second COVID-19 vaccine dose is set to impact a number of MLB teams. Question Of The Day

How many times do you attend a sporting event as a fan per year?

0 [[link removed]] 2-4 [[link removed]] 5+ [[link removed]]

Monday’s Answer

32% of respondents are interested in attending the World Cup in Qatar.

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

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