Oakland’s incoming mayor will work to keep the A’s — but insists that the city protect its own budget in any deal.

Sheng Thao, who will replace mayor Libby Schaaf in January, has maintained Schaaf’s priority of keeping the team while not depleting city coffers. 

• “I am going to put every single effort into keeping the A’s here,” Thao said, “but I refuse to allow for the taxpayers of Oakland to be held responsible for any of the finances of developing the stadium.”
• Schaaf’s administration lobbied for state and federal grants for infrastructure improvements to help account for the increased foot and vehicle traffic a new stadium would bring.

The A’s have proposed a $12 billion waterfront stadium, housing, and retail area at Howard Terminal. In June, a city commission voted to remove the area’s “port use” designation, allowing the project to go ahead. 

The city and team must still arrive at a final agreement.

City On Deck to Spend

Whether or not the A’s stay, Oakland is prepared to spend from a $259 million state grant on projects mostly located between Howard Terminal and the downtown area. 

While the funding will be key to any deal it is not dependent on the A’s proposed development. The A’s have asked the city to improve streets, sidewalks, and lighting to make transportation to the Howard Terminal area easier and safer for pedestrians.

Order volumes for major sportswear brands are anticipated to decline starting next year. 

Companies like Nike and Adidas are expected to reduce their order volumes by 30%-40% beginning next summer, with both companies reportedly notifying their manufacturing plants.

It’s unclear how long it will last, but some outlets have reported that the volume decrease is expected to continue until the winter — likely resulting in less footwear on the market until summer 2024.

The reduction is primarily attributed to pandemic-related hurdles in China and companies pulling out of Russia. 

• Russia and Ukraine accounted for less than 1% of Nike’s total revenue. The company permanently exited Russia in June.
• Adidas suspended its Russia operations in March. The country made up about 2% of its revenue.

The retail market in North America and Europe has seen growth, but is also expected to drop.

In Vietnam and Indonesia, average factory operation rates have already dropped from 82%-84% to 61%.

Purchasing Plans

The decline in order volumes will start after a record Black Friday this year — sales raked in $9.12 billion from online shoppers, with online exercise equipment purchases up 218% year-over-year. 

But the trend may be changing. More than 60% of Americans said the state of the economy was impacting their holiday spending.

Spain’s premier soccer league has taken exception to an iconic Italian club. 

La Liga has called for sanctions on Juventus FC after a shakeup of the Serie A club’s board following heavy financial losses and alleged financial improprieties. The call is a byproduct of the league’s campaign for stricter regulation throughout European soccer. 

On Monday, the entire board of Juve — including president Andrea Agnelli — resigned amid an investigation for allegedly taking illegal commissions from player transfers and loans, as well as false accounting practices regarding those transactions. 

• La Liga plans to ask UEFA and Serie A to impose sanctions on Juventus.
• Sanctions could include point deductions or financial constraints, per Bloomberg.
• Shares in the team fell 6% in early trading Tuesday in Milan before recovering. 

Earlier this year, La Liga submitted a complaint regarding Juventus — the ninth-most-valuable club in the world at $2.45 billion, per Forbes — but the league has also targeted other big European teams including Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain for what it believes are violations of FIFA’s Financial Fair Play rules due to irregularities regarding revenues and costs.

Heavy Losses 

Juventus reported a $246.1 million loss for the 2021-22 season — the largest financial deficit in Serie A history and the club’s fifth consecutive annual deficit. The club attributed the loss to the pandemic and reduced media revenue due to an early exit from the UEFA Champions League.

Over the past three years, Juventus has reported a combined loss of $517.45 million.