June 3, 2022

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When Megan Rapinoe saw the XFL’s new logo back in April — one that bore a resemblance to that of media brand Togethxr — she tweeted, “Welp. This is awkward.” Led by Rapinoe’s wife and the outlet’s co-founder, Sue Bird, Togethxr filed [[link removed]] a suit Wednesday that claims the XFL’s logo is “confusingly similar” to its own.

Lululemon Eyeing Record Year After $1.6B Quarter [[link removed]]

Lululemon

Exceeding expectations in the company’s latest earnings report, Lululemon is projecting a record fiscal year.

The athletic apparel retailer generated [[link removed]] $1.6 billion in revenue in Q1 2022 — a 32% increase year-over-year — surpassing [[link removed]] analysts’ estimates of $1.5 billion in revenue for the quarter.

Direct-to-consumer sales made up 45% of total revenue in Q1 2022.Total comparable sales grew by 28% compared to the same period last year.Lululemon opened five new brick-and-mortar locations in Q1, bringing its total to 579.

Lululemon also expects to outpace its previous full-year revenue guidance. The Canadian company projects revenue to range between a record $7.6 billion and $7.7 billion in FY2022.

It previously estimated [[link removed]] full-year revenue in 2022 to be between $7.5 billion and $7.6 billion.

Growing Business

Lululemon is making strides to compete with top athleticwear brands like Adidas and Nike. The retailer has been expanding its reach by leaning [[link removed]] into footwear specifically engineered for women.

The retailer launched The Blissfeel — its first women’s running shoe — in March, which retails for $148. Lululemon will unveil men’s footwear in 2023 as part of a previously announced plan [[link removed]] to grow its menswear business and presence in the international market.

By 2026, Lululemon plans to increase men’s apparel revenue to twice the amount it garnered in 2021. The retailer expects international market revenue to quadruple in that same period.

Arizona Coyotes Cleared to Negotiate on $1.9B Arena, Mini-City in Tempe [[link removed]]

Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes may one day graduate from playing on a university campus.

Tempe’s city council voted 5-2 on Thursday to continue negotiations with the team on a $1.9 billion entertainment district centered on a new 16,000-seat arena.

The vote does not signal full approval of the project but allows the two sides to continue negotiations.The team told council members the team would invest $1.7 billion in the project, which would create almost 7,000 new jobs.The proposal [[link removed]] includes securing $200 million in public infrastructure bonds, which would be sold to private investors.

The team is looking to build on a former garbage dump and said it would have to remediate and remove 1.5 million tons of trash.

The Coyote’s current lease for Glendale’s Gila River Arena expires this month, and the team has made arrangements to play the next three seasons at Arizona State University.

From Dump to Mini-City

Like many new stadium and arena projects, the Coyotes are planning for much more than a sports venue.

The team has laid out designs for a 200-room hotel, retail, and restaurant locations, as well as 1,680 residential units.

The project has faced opposition from the city of Phoenix and nearby Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, mostly for its inclusion of residential units.

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Florida Gov. Vetoes $35M for Rays Facility Over Team Gun Reform Support [[link removed]]

Tori Schneider/USA TODAY NETWORK

The Tampa Bay Rays stood up for gun violence prevention in the wake of the horrific shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York. Now, their governor is punishing them for it.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed [[link removed]] legislation that would have provided $35 million for a youth sports facility tagged as a possible spring training site for the Tampa Bay Rays.

On May 26, the Rays and New York Yankees’ Twitter accounts tweeted facts about gun violence in lieu of updates on the game against one another.“We all deserve to be safe — in schools, grocery stores, places of worship, our neighborhoods, houses, and America,” the Rays tweeted [[link removed]]. “The most recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have shaken us to the core. The Tampa Bay Rays are mourning these heartbreaking tragedies that took the lives of innocent children and adults.”The Rays also donated $50,000 to the gun reform advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.

Many other teams joined the call for gun reform, including [[link removed]] another Florida team, the Miami Heat.

Team on the Move?

The Rays could potentially seek a much larger sum from the Florida government, should they seek to build a new stadium in the state. The team is considering [[link removed]] sites in St. Petersburg and Ybor City.

In 2018, the Rays announced plans for a $892 million stadium in Ybor, but later quashed those plans over a financing dispute with local officials.

One factor is that the team believes their new stadium should have a roof, which will add an estimated $90 million to the cost.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, Nike co-founder Phil Knight reportedly bids more than $2 billion for the Portland Trail Blazers, the Denver Broncos bidding is down to four groups, the Boston Red Sox become the first MLB team with an in-market streaming service, and golf moves toward gender pay equality. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. The secondary market’s average [[link removed]] list price for Warriors-Celtics is currently $3,241 — the second-most expensive Finals series since TicketIQ started tracking. On Thursday, Mark Jones, Mark Jackson, and Lisa Salters became the first [[link removed]] all-Black broadcast team in NBA Finals history. The Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi [[link removed]] after a 22-29 start and being 12 games behind the National League East-leading New York Mets. Subscribe to Scoreboard for more [[link removed]].

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Learn How Crypto Is Influencing Sports

While the first cryptocurrency may have been introduced over a decade ago, it wasn’t until more recently that the world of crypto, NFTs and blockchain technology really began to be adopted by the masses.

Today, sports leagues, teams, athletes and fans have embraced crypto – ultimately creating impacts on sponsorships, fan engagement, experiences, and so much more. That’s why Front Office Sports has partnered with Coinbase [[link removed]] for its latest course, Crypto in Sports Essentials [[link removed]].

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Sports Properties Still Prime Targets

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

We carefully monitor both public and private market data for a snapshot of the sports business landscape.

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

AC Milan, the Italian Serie A soccer club, was purchased by Red Bird Capital for $1.3 billion. New Zealand Rugby, the organization that operates the national rugby team of New Zealand, sold a $131 million minority stake to private equity firm Silver Lake. Kryptomon, operator of a blockchain gaming platform creating the next step in the evolution of crypto-gaming, raised $10 million of venture funding in a deal led by NFX. WIN Reality, developer of a VR-based training tool designed to offer athlete evaluation and development, raised $49 million through a combination of Series A and Series A-1 venture funding in a deal led by Lago Innovation Fund. Tripp, developer of a digital psychedelic platform promoting emotional wellbeing and transformative states, raised $11.2 million of venture funding in a deal led by BITKRAFT Ventures, Amazon Alexa Fund, and Qualcomm Ventures.

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

What to Watch

The Tampa Bay Lightning face the New York Rangers on Friday at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers lead the Eastern Conference Finals series 1-0.

How to Watch: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: Lightning -1.5 || ML -130 || O/U 5.5

Pick: Expect the Rangers to build on Wednesday’s win. Take New York on the moneyline.

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Written by Justin Byers [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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