March 2, 2023

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New NCAA president Charlie Baker’s tenure [[link removed]] started Wednesday. A former Massachusetts governor known for bipartisan negotiating, he will essentially turn the NCAA into a lobbying firm. College sports’ governing body wants to ward off threats to amateurism, but it’ll need to convince Congress to pass favorable legislation.

Teams Red Bull Says It Won’t Sell Formula 1 Team [[link removed]]

Aaron E. Martinez-USA TODAY Sports

Following recent reports that Red Bull might move its Scuderia AlphaTauri team from Italy to England or sell it altogether — possibly to Michael Andretti — team principal Franz Tost said [[link removed]] it has no plans to abandon the Formula 1 team.

“I had some very good meetings with [Red Bull’s managing director] Oliver Mintzlaff, who confirmed that the shareholders will not sell Scuderia AlphaTauri, and that Red Bull will continue supporting the team in the future,” Tost said ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. AlphaTauri finished ninth out of 10 teams last season.

“All these rumors have no foundation, and the team has to remain focused for the start of the season to perform better than last year.”

Red Bull has owned [[link removed]] the team, which rebranded in 2020, since the end of the 2005 season.

Aston Martin’s Money

As one Formula 1 team looks for investors, another’s owner is set to improve its own financial status.

Aston Martin Lagonda more than doubled year-over-year pre-tax losses to $598 million in 2022, but expects [[link removed]] better profitability this year. The company, which reentered Formula 1 in 2021, reported a 26% increase in revenue to $1.67 billion.

Last year, the team announced [[link removed]] plans to raise $663.6 million in a rights issue by leaning on existing investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Leagues MLB Creates Local Media Department to Address RSN Challenges [[link removed]]

Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK

Major League Baseball has taken a big step toward taking control of its teams’ local media rights.

MLB has hired three staff members with decades of regional sports experience to join the league’s newly created Local Media department, led by media industry executive Billy Chambers.

Doug Johnson is joining as senior vice president and executive producer of local media. Greg Pennell is SVP of local media. Kendall Burgess is vice president of local media technical operations.

“These new hires are an important step in our preparation to address the changing landscape of MLB game distribution in light of the increasing challenges and pressure facing regional sports networks,” MLB chief revenue officer Noah Garden said in a statement.

The league is attempting to rein in its local media strategy in the wake of troubling news for regional sports networks.

In February, Diamond Sports Group — the Sinclair Broadcasting subsidiary that owns and operates 19 Bally Sports RSNs — missed [[link removed]] a scheduled $140 million debt payment and now could be headed for an $8.6 billion bankruptcy.

About a week later, MLB created [[link removed]] an economic reform committee to address its local media deals and payroll disparity.

A white knight could be on the way, though: E.W. Scripps has created [[link removed]] a new sports division that will be in the running to buy local and even national sports rights, hiring veteran TV exec Brian Lawlor to run the operation.

PRESENTED BY PITCHBOOK

Bringing the NWSL to the Bay

When Leslie Osborne [[link removed]] learned that Los Angeles would be getting its very own NWSL team – now Angel City FC – she knew if L.A. was getting a team, she had to do everything she could to bring a team to the Bay Area.

So for the last two and a half years, Osborne and her co-leaders of #NWSLToTheBay have been partnering with investors in Silicon Valley to make this dream a reality.

In the third and final episode of Driven with Michelle Wie West [[link removed]], in partnership with PitchBook, learn about Osborne’s experience attracting investors, raising funds, and bidding for an NWSL expansion team. Plus, Osborne’s own experience as an entrepreneur of Hustle Beauty and as an investor.

Watch the full episode [[link removed]] now.

Real Estate New Aloha Stadium To Cost ‘Under $500M,’ Says Governor [[link removed]]

NASED/Crawford

Earlier this week, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green reportedly [[link removed]] said the future Aloha Stadium will cost “under $500 million.”

The project, which could also include an entertainment district and private residences for the surrounding area, was previously estimated [[link removed]] to cost $440 million. It will include 35,000 seats — 15,000 less than the old stadium.

Green said the local government will have to agree on a blueprint for the project in the next month or so, and that the fate of a potential housing complex could depend on “cooperation” from the U.S. military, which controls a significant amount of land in the state.

Unlike other stadiums nationwide, taxpayers wouldn’t have to foot the bill — naming rights could fund the project — but there isn’t an NFL team or ownership group to bear most of the cost.

The former Aloha Stadium was a cornerstone of football — it hosted the annual NFL Pro Bowl for many years and was the home stadium for the University of Hawaii.

The new venue will aspire to youth and communal use, as well as opportunities for U.S. soccer and rugby, Green said. It could also host non-sporting events like concerts.

The stadium itself is slated to be finished for the 2026 season.

Deals New $500M Fund Targets Soccer Teams’ Revenue Streams [[link removed]]

Shutterstock

Another private firm is sprouting up to tap into growing sports revenues.

Two London-based hedge funds, Fasanara Capital and Tifosy Capital & Advisory, are pairing up to create [[link removed]] a fund of up to $500 million targeting soccer teams.

Instead of focusing on ownership stakes in teams, the fund will seek to tap into revenue streams such as broadcast rights and ticket sales. Fasanara, which manages $4 billion in assets, will manage the portfolio, with Tifosy sourcing deals.

Top European soccer leagues have been eager to cash in on a portion of their media rights.

In December 2021, La Liga secured a $2.1 billion deal with CVC Capital Partners, though top Spanish teams Barcelona and Real Madrid opted out. France’s Ligue 1 sold 13% of its broadcast rights to CVC Capital Partners for $1.5 billion in March 2022.

In September, Serie A renewed [[link removed]] talks to sell a portion of its media rights after a previous attempt fell apart amid opposition from teams including Juventus and Lazio. The league was seeking around $1.8 billion at the time from a group led by CVC.

Apax Partners, Three Hills Capital Partners, Carlyle Group, and Searchlight Capital have shown interest in working with Serie A on a deal.

Bundesliga is reportedly engaged [[link removed]] with at least five firms on a similar deal, which would sell a 12-15% stake in its media rights over 25-30 years for between $2.7 billion and $3.25 billion.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LEARNING

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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]].* Brian Flores secured [[link removed]] a significant courtroom victory Wednesday when a federal judge kept his racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and three teams in her court instead of arbitration. Madison Square Garden is creating [[link removed]] MSG+, a standalone streaming platform that will enable fans to purchase games for the NBA’s New York Knicks as well as the NHL’s New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and Buffalo Sabres. A Texas federal judge granted [[link removed]] NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin’s request for expedited discovery on Wednesday and gave the hotel chain Marriott until March 7 to hand over footage of the alleged incident that led to his suspension from the network. Front Office Sports Today They Said What?

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

“High 60s, low 70s, now probably higher because they don’t test for it.”

— Former NBA player Matt Barnes on the percentage of players in the league who currently use cannabis. For more on that — including our discussion with Paul Pierce, Stephen Jackson, and Barnes talking about their “All The Smoke” podcast — 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

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03:10 PM

Brewers (-110) at Reds (-110)

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76ers (+140) at Mavericks (-165)

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03:07 PM

Royals (-105) at Athletics (-115)

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