February 28, 2023

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Buffalo Bills fans had another reason to get excited on Monday. The team released [[link removed]] updated renderings of their future $1.4 billion stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The state-of-the-art open-air stadium is expected to have a minimum seating capacity of 60,000 seats and could hold up to 63,000. The stadium is expected to be completed by fall 2026.

Leagues Formula 1 Teams Looking for $600M Entry Fee for Andretti, Others [[link removed]]

Joe Skibinski / IndyCar

Formula 1 teams are naming their price for how much it will take to welcome an 11th team.

While the FIA, F1’s governing body, has a $200 million entry fee to offset revenue and prize money dilution from another team entering, that has not swayed most teams from supporting an additional contender.

Instead, teams are looking for at least $600 million, per Motorsport [[link removed]].

One source said that that is the lowest figure they have heard, and some teams are pushing for more. The current FIA rules apply through 2025, but some teams are pushing for them to be amended earlier to increase the entry fee.

The current top contender to join F1 is a joint bid from Andretti Global and Cadillac. The group has a deal in place with Renault to supply its engines if the bid is successful.

Red Bull principal Christian Horner has suggested that Andretti could buy an existing team instead of starting a new one, and Horner may help put one on the market.

The team is reportedly considering [[link removed]] a sale of AlphaTauri. The team could also relocate AlphaTauri to England, which could ease certain logistical challenges.

Should its bid to enter F1 prove challenging, Andretti, which sought to purchase Sauber in 2021, could pivot to AlphaTauri.

Deals Manchester United Bids Reportedly Too Low for Glazers [[link removed]]

Manchester United FC

The only two public bids for Manchester United are reportedly too low for the club’s current owners.

Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS have both confirmed their separate bids for the Premier League club, but Telegraph Sport reported [[link removed]] that the bids would need to be larger in order for the Glazers to sell.

Sheikh Jassim confirmed his bid for a full takeover without debt on the Feb. 17 deadline. It was reported [[link removed]] that INEOS, which has the help of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co., wanted to take a 69% stake in the club.

It’s unclear how much either bid is, but neither are believed to reach the roughly $6 billion the Glazers are thought to be looking for, which would be a record price for a sports team. Forbes last valued the club at $4.6 billion.

Raine Group was hired by the Glazers, who purchased the team for roughly $942 million in 2005, in November to explore a potential full or partial sale. The Athletic reported [[link removed]] on Friday that Joel and Avram Glazer are reluctant to sell, but are unable to buy out the four family members who do want to sell.

Elliott Management, Ares Management, and Oaktree Capital have all reportedly offered [[link removed]] funding to bidders.

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Real Estate Latest Proposal for New $2.1B Titans Stadium Approved By Mayor [[link removed]]

Tennessee Titans

After months of planning and deliberation, plans for the Tennessee Titans’ new stadium appear to finally be moving forward.

The office of Nashville mayor John Cooper recently filed legislation providing more details on the deal to construct the Titans’ new $2.1 billion stadium in Nashville.

The new proposal takes into account feedback from the Nashville Metro Council and the city community at large after the mayor approved [[link removed]] an initial plan in October.

This final agreement adds “key details in the form of development and lease agreements,” as well as “street and plaza infrastructure to be covered by the Titans, in addition to infrastructure required to open the new stadium,” per [[link removed]] The Tennessean.

The project will rely on revenue bonds, sales and hotel tax diversions and state contributions, adding up to $1.26 billion in public money — the largest amount ever for an NFL stadium.

Once the proposal is approved, Nashville will start collecting [[link removed]] a 1% hotel tax as part of that public funding.

The legislation will go before the Metro Council on March 7, with a vote taking place by the end of April, according [[link removed]] to Nashville Business Journal, which also expects the stadium to be completed by 2027.

It’s the culmination of a long process that began [[link removed]] in February 2022, when the Titans decided that building an entirely new stadium would be preferable to making at least $600 million in upgrades to their current home, Nissan Stadium.

Markets After Shutting Down Gaming, FuboTV Reports Record Year [[link removed]]

Shutterstock

FuboTV, which calls itself a “sports-first cable TV replacement product” in the U.S., surpassed $1 billion in global annual revenue for the first time in 2022.

In North America, revenue increased [[link removed]] 55% year-over-year for the full year to $984 million, with advertising revenue reaching $100 million — also a record. Subscribers jumped 29% year-over-year to a record 1.45 million.

For the rest of the world, revenue reached $7.2 million and subscribers increased 117% year-over-year to 420,000.

“In 2022, we added differentiated content, including Bally Sports’ expansive portfolio of regional sports networks, aimed at driving subscriber growth and doubling down on our sport-first positioning,” said Edgar Bronfman Jr., executive chairman at Fubo.

Fourth-quarter revenue increased 38% year-over-year to $319.3 million. In North America, fourth-quarter revenue jumped 36% year-over-year to $312.1 million, with advertising revenue up 30% year-over-year to $33.6 million.

FuboTV reported a Q4 net loss of $95.9 million.

During the quarter, FuboTV closed [[link removed]] its Fubo Gaming subsidiary and operations of its Fubo Sportsbook, which launched in 2021. Fubo had revealed in August it would no longer pursue independent wagering.

FuboTV claimed [[link removed]] that “while multiple parties expressed interest in the business, none of these opportunities would have allowed Fubo to lower its funding requirements and generate sufficient returns to shareholders.”

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Conversation Starters From the wildest passes and the biggest dunks to the final serve, Atmosphere Sports is streaming sports back to the center with live scores, highlights, and more. Learn more [[link removed]].* Mo Bamba is wasting no time transitioning from the Orlando Magic to Los Angeles. After being traded to the Lakers earlier this month, the center put his Orlando condo [[link removed]] up for sale. The University of Nebraska is on the quest to break its single-game volleyball attendance by playing a game [[link removed]] at the Cornhuskers football stadium. Front Office Sports Today They Said What?

The Courier-Journal

“The NCAA is trying to prevent the death of amateurism … they are trying to put the cat back in the bag about the fact that these NIL deals are kind of like quid pro quo.”

— Front Office Sports reporter Amanda Christovich discusses how the NCAA handed down its first infractions ruling related to NIL against the University of Miami women’s basketball team. For more on that and news on the Washington Commanders sale, check out the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].

Today's Action

NHL

08:30 PM

Canucks (+230) at Stars (-275)

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12:35 PM

Giants (-180) at Pirates (+155)

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08:10 PM

Magic (+155) at Pelicans (-180)

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