Porsche will not be entering Formula 1 with Red Bull after all.

Porsche was expected to purchase 50% of Red Bull’s F1 team and 50% of Powertrains, Red Bull’s new power unit manufacturer, according to a Financial Times report — but the pair weren’t able to come to an agreement.

“The premise was always that a partnership would be based on equal footing, which would include not only an engine partnership but also the team,” Porsche’s statement reads. “This could not be achieved.”

Red Bull’s investors reportedly weren’t willing to sell a stake in the team.

• Bloomberg reported in July that Porsche and Red Bull couldn’t decide how much technology would be provided to Oracle Red Bull Racing compared to sister team AlphaTauri.
• The sides were also in conflict over the power to name drivers for a joint race team.

But Porsche isn’t ready to call it quits with Formula 1.

“The racing series nevertheless remains an attractive environment for Porsche,” the statement reads.

The news comes shortly after Audi — which shares parent company Volkswagen with Porsche — announced plans to join F1 in 2026 as a power unit instructor.

Porsche’s Public Plans

Volkswagen announced plans earlier this month to take Porsche public through an IPO that could value the brand between $59.4 billion and $84.2 billion.

Volkswagen would offer 12.5% of Porsche, which has the potential to raise more than $10 billion.

The Arizona Coyotes rolled the dice on making a new home at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena — and so far, it’s paying off.

The team has already generated 50% more season-ticket revenue for the upcoming season than it “ever did” at Glendale’s Gila River Arena — where the Coyotes played until the city announced it would not renew the team’s lease when it expired on June 30. 

The Coyotes reportedly had $1.3 million in unpaid taxes and arena charges, but have since paid them.

Mullett Arena — tiny in size compared to other NHL venues — will be the Coyotes’ home for at least the next three seasons. 

• The arena has a capacity of 5,025, but the Coyotes are expected to be held to a slightly smaller number of attendees.
• Gila River Arena held 17,125.

At Mullett Arena, the average ticket price is $170 — nearly double the $90 average at Gila River Arena and more than the NHL’s average of $154. Tickets for the student section, which will have around 400 seats, will be roughly $25 to $50.

Home Ahead

In June, the Tempe City Council voted to move forward with discussions on a $1.7 billion project that includes a new arena and entertainment district.

It would reportedly be the first privately funded sports and entertainment district in Arizona’s history.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark expressed interest in expanding the conference westward during a visit to future member Cincinnati.

“The Big 12 is open for business,” Yormark said. “Obviously, going out West is where I would like to go, entering that fourth time zone.”

• Yormark vowed to vet “every option possible to further enhance this conference.”
• However, conference expansion is not imminent.
• If the Big 12 does expand, it aims to add “a program that has national recognition.”

The Big 12 will be losing Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC in 2025 and is preparing to add four new members.

In September 2021, the conference’s continuing members voted unanimously to invite four schools to join the conference: Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, and BYU.

Three of those programs — Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati — are working on a settlement to leave the AAC on July 1, 2023, which would be a year ahead of schedule.

Record Revenue 

In June, the Big 12 announced it will distribute a record $426 million in revenue to its 10 current members for the 2021-22 academic year, marking the first growth in revenue for the conference in two years. The distribution amount is a nearly 20% increase from the year prior.

The bump was attributed to the return of fans to stadiums following pandemic restrictions.

Video game developer Sky Mavis has recovered $30 million worth of cryptocurrency tokens with the help of U.S. authorities following a hack of its NFT-based title “Axie Infinity.” 

In March, “Axie Infinity” was hacked, causing Sky Mavis to lose $625 million. The title saw an exodus of players after it restricted the ability to transfer money out of the game. 

• Blockchain analyst Chainalysis helped in the recovery.
• Hackers stole a total of 173,600 Ethereum tokens.
• The hackers have been linked to a North Korean unit known as the Lazarus Group.

In April, Sky Mavis raised $150 million to help alleviate losses caused by the hack and a decline in daily active users. Led by cryptocurrency exchange Binance — whose tokens are used in “Axie Infinity” — the round was used to partially reimburse players and improve security.

Other investors in the round included software and venture firm Animoca Brands, VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, Switzerland-based capital enterprise Dialectic, and crypto-focused VC firm Paradigm. 

Taking Action 

On Friday, Sky Mavis landed a deal with Google Cloud to secure its blockchain network.

As part of the multiyear pact, Google Cloud will help validate transactions within Sky Mavis’ gaming network.