April 28, 2022

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A lot is happening in Vegas these days in terms of sports — and that includes the Desert Pines Golf Club. The Las Vegas City Council approved the conversion [[link removed]] of the city-owned course into an affordable housing community that will include 1,886 units, walking trails, a soccer field, and a community center.

Super Bowl, Olympics Power Comcast Through Q1

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Comcast got a needed boost from two of the world’s largest sporting events as it fought through challenges in other sectors of its business.

The NBCUniversal owner brought in $31 billion in the first quarter, up 14% year-over-year.

The company generated $1.5 billion from the Beijing Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, which collectively accounted for 21.6% of NBCUniversal’s media revenue in the quarter.

Advertising revenue leapt 59.2% year-over-year, due largely to the two major sports events.The Olympics, which took place over 16 days beginning Feb. 4, brought in $963 million in revenue, while the Super Bowl scored $519 million on Feb. 13.Over 200 million people watched at least one of the events, factoring in the network’s streaming service Peacock. While the Super Bowl had [[link removed]] a robust 112 million viewers, the Olympics sagged to its lowest ratings in NBCUniversal’s history broadcasting the Games. Feather in Their Cap

The two sporting events helped raise Peacock’s subscriber count by around 4 million, boosting its totals to 13 million paying users and 28 million monthly active accounts. The service still lost money in the quarter, however.

The news comes as investors are growing wary of streaming services following Netflix’s first subscriber loss in a decade. Netflix’s stumble not only knocked its own stock price down, but also triggered 4-6% declines in Disney, Roku, Discovery, and Paramount.

Comcast’s stock slid around 6% on Thursday, in part due to slowing growth in its broadband segment.

Chelsea Bidders Informed $623M Added to Offers

Chelsea FC

Roman Abramovich has reportedly made one more request for the final bidders of Chelsea FC: an extra $623 million.

The three remaining bidders, consortiums led by Todd Boehly, Sir Martin Broughton, and Steve Pagliuca, have been asked [[link removed]] to add the amount to their current bids — expected [[link removed]] to be around $3 billion — to contribute more to the team’s charitable causes.

Raine Group, the U.S. bank overseeing the sale, is confident that the winning bid will be chosen [[link removed]] by Monday.It’s expected to be the most expensive sale of any sports team in history.

In the last week, Raine Group also requested that bidders stay with the team for at least a decade. The group’s co-founder, Joe Ravitch, expects the [[link removed]] iconic club to be worth more than $10 billion in five years. In April 2021, the team was valued [[link removed]] at $3.2 billion.

Abramovich, who was sanctioned by the U.K. government for his ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin, has demanded the extra funds despite being unable to profit from the sale. He still has a say in which group wins the club’s ownership.

Cash Flow

The Financial Times reported [[link removed]] that the bidders in Broughton’s group are planning to finance their purchase with debt, something that the Russian oligarch has never had to do — Forbes estimates [[link removed]] he’s worth $13.9 billion.

The team has plans to take out a $630 million term loan and $125 million in revolving credit through Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase.

SPONSORED BY TICKETMASTER

Reaching the Next Generation of Fans

Now more than ever before, fans are craving immersive experiences that offer once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. The fan landscape is evolving, and it’s up to teams, venues, and companies to grow with the next generation of fans.

That’s why Front Office Sports has partnered with Ticketmaster to bring you our latest course – Modern Ticketing Essentials: Beyond the Ticket. This free online course [[link removed]] discusses the best ways to elevate the fan experience [[link removed]], including how to personalize the fan journey, implement data strategies, leverage NFTs and forge strong distribution partnerships.

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Churchill Downs Gallops To Record Revenue

Louisville Courier Journal-USA TODAY Sports

Churchill Downs reached record quarterly revenue in the company’s latest earnings report.

The casino owner and iconic home of the Kentucky Derby generated [[link removed]] $364 million in revenue in Q1 2022, up from $324 million for the same period last year. Churchill Downs saw its gaming segment pocket $179 million in revenue during the quarter, up $25 million compared to Q1 2021. The company benefited from lifted COVID-related restrictions across its properties.

Churchill Downs expanded its portfolio of properties and improved existing ones in Q1 2022.

It completed the two phases of a $90 million expansion of Rivers Casino Des Plaines.The company purchased Peninsula Pacific Entertainment in a deal valued at $2.5 billion.It agreed to acquire Chaser’s Poker Room with a plan to invest $150 million in the facility.

The company announced it repurchased 116,863 shares in Q1 2022 for a total cost of $25 million. Churchill Downs is also expecting [[link removed]] 150,000 fans at the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 7.

Last year, Churchill Downs saw 51,838 fans attend [[link removed]] the “most exciting two minutes in sports.”

A New Look

Churchill Downs unveiled [[link removed]] plans for a redesigned paddock projected to cost between $185 million and $200 million. Set to debut by May 2024, the redesign seeks to increase guest capacity by 1,300 people, provide enhanced visibility of the Twin Spires, streamline guest circulation, and improve the audiovisual experience.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, Amazon expands its live sports offerings with an MMA promotion, the Kansas City Chiefs ask for patience on a new stadium decision, Reebok owner Authentic Brands Group considers a takeover bid for a British fashion retailer, and the PGA Tour Superstore seeks to double its store count by 2026. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. ESPN was served a lawsuit [[link removed]] by anchor Sage Steele that alleged the network and parent company Walt Disney Co. violated Steele’s First Amendment rights and Connecticut’s free-speech protections. ESPN is contesting the narrative that it temporarily suspended Steele over her alleged criticism of former President Barack Obama and COVID-19 vaccine mandates. For the first time in franchise history, the Las Vegas Golden Knights will not be competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The disappointing [[link removed]] finish to the season capped an epic late-season meltdown in which the team lost 20 of its final 34 games. Travon Walker rocketed from key component of a fierce University of Georgia defense to the likely No. 1 overall selection [[link removed]] by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 NFL Draft after dazzling scouts at the combine. Jacksonville is expected to kick off Thursday’s event in Las Vegas by taking Walker. Subscribe to Scoreboard for more [[link removed]].

SPONSORED BY ATTEST

Crypto Over Time

Over the years, crypto has crept its way into people’s vocabulary — earning a role in the way people invest, spend, and make business decisions. But what does this growing acceptance [[link removed]] of crypto look like?

To understand consumer trends behind crypto, Attest [[link removed]] conducted a survey on consumer’s feelings towards crypto-trading over time. They found that overall, there has been a spike in people saying they’d invest in/buy cryptocurrencies, especially in men.

Attest also exposes that the three main reasons people have not started participating in crypto is lack of trust, lack of understanding, and unpredictability.

Check out the full results [[link removed]] of this survey on the Attest dashboard.

Market Movers

U.S. stocks experienced gains across all three major indexes on Thursday. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:

MANU [[link removed]]

Manchester United Plc.

[[link removed]]

$13.40

[[link removed]]

+0.22%

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

Under Armour Inc

[[link removed]]

$14.39

[[link removed]]

+1.70%

[[link removed]] ARMK [[link removed]]

Aramark

[[link removed]]

$37.59

[[link removed]]

+1.93%

[[link removed]] DKS [[link removed]]

Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$101.00

[[link removed]]

+3.37%

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

Las Vegas Sands Corp

[[link removed]]

$35.74

[[link removed]]

+3.90%

[[link removed]] SIRI [[link removed]]

Sirius XM Holdings Inc

[[link removed]]

$6.32

[[link removed]]

+4.04%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 4/28/22) What to Watch

The Phoenix Suns face the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday at Smoothie King Center. The Suns lead the Western Conference first-round playoff series 3-2.

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

Betting Odds: Suns -2.5 || ML -140 || O/U 214.5

Pick: Expect the Pelicans to force a Game 7. Take New Orleans to cover.

Refer Friends to Score Your Favorite Team’s Jersey

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

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