March 9, 2023

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In an exclusive story by senior writer Mike McCarthy, sources tell Front Office Sports that ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro is on a small list [[link removed]] of names to possibly succeed Disney’s chief executive officer. Pitaro famously snared Troy Aikman and Joe Buck to cover “Monday Night Football” from Fox Sports.

Real Estate Titans Take Another Big Step Toward New Domed Stadium [[link removed]]

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans have cleared another hurdle for a new $2.1 billion stadium.

Metro council members approved legislation for the domed stadium on Tuesday in the first of three votes, despite 10 council members voting against the proposal. The second and final votes are scheduled [[link removed]] for April 4 and 18.

Adjustments to the final proposal include [[link removed]]:

The Titans are now responsible for additional infrastructure included in the project scope. Excess revenue generated from the venue can be used to prepay parts of bonds. Metro is capped at $42 million for maintenance to Nissan Stadium. The Titans will give the city money every year through the Nashville Needs Impact Fund, to be shared with nonprofits.

Mayor John Cooper said [[link removed].] the proposed agreement would “relieve the existing enormous unfunded financial burden on the city, return 60 acres of land back to city control, and keep the Titans in Nashville for the long term.”

A Titans spokesperson said that there have been 34 public meetings regarding the plan since July, and at least 10 more will be held ahead of the second council vote.

It was previously reported that funding would include around $1.26 billion in revenue bonds, $840 million from the NFL and the Titans, $500 million in state money, and hotel tax revenue. Any cost overruns would be paid by the league and team.

College Athletics Pac-12 Could Reportedly Earn $200M Less Per Year Without USC, UCLA [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff still hasn’t inked a new media rights deal — despite eight months of negotiating.

Part of the holdup: The conference will lose its two biggest brands, USC and UCLA, to the Big Ten.

One source told [[link removed]] the Los Angeles Times that the Pac-12 could’ve earned about $200 million more a year than it can expect without them now.

The conference’s current package, which ends in 2024, allows it to send each school between $30 million and $35 million a year from media rights and other conference distributions, according to tax returns.

But the Pac-12 would be lucky to maintain that number in its next deal, despite having to split distributions between fewer members, one source told [[link removed]] Front Office Sports.

The Race for Media Revenue

Meanwhile, all the other Power 5 conferences have secured their futures beyond the 2024 season.

The Big 12 jumped ahead of the Pac-12, securing [[link removed]] a $2.28 billion deal with Fox and ESPN last fall — even though the Big 12’s deal isn’t up until a year after the Pac-12’s.

The Big Ten has [[link removed]] a mid-$7 billion deal — the largest conference package in NCAA history — and the SEC isn’t far behind thanks to a package including a 10-year, $3 billion deal [[link removed]] with Disney.

The ACC is locked into its deal until 2036 — and though it contributes to conference payouts that don’t reach $40 million each, its stability has never looked better.

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Leagues Major League Rugby Reportedly Seeking $100M Investment [[link removed]]

MLR

Major League Rugby is reportedly looking for $100 million to grow the sport in the U.S.

The 12-team North American rugby league is raising [[link removed]] money to expand its reach, according to Bloomberg.

The league was founded in 2017 and began its sixth season in February.

“The Rugby World Cup — the third-biggest sports event in the world after the Olympics and the soccer World Cup — is coming to the U.S. in 2031, and then the women’s in 2033, and so our league is perfectly positioned to grow and receive a ton of attention and investment,” MLR chief commercial officer Harry Hardy said [[link removed]] on Front Office Sports Today.

Hardy said the event’s arrival is “a huge indicator for the potential of the sport in this country, and how the global rugby community sees North America as the next big destination for the sport.”

MLR extended its deal with Fox in January, which will air MLR matches on FS1 and FS2 every weekend during the season, as well as the conference finals and championship match on the main Fox network.

CVC Capital Partners bought a stake in the Europe-focused Six Nations Rugby in March 2021, while Silver Lake bought a stake in top New Zealand club the All Blacks after contentious negotiations.

Law Prosecutors Investigating Barcelona Over Ref Bribery Allegations [[link removed]]

FC Barcelona

The Barcelona referee scandal isn’t going away anytime soon.

Spanish prosecutors have expanded [[link removed]] the purview of the case to involve not just the refereeing official Barca is accused of bribing, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, but also the team itself and former president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Former presidents Joan Gaspart and Sandro Rosell, as well as current president Joan Laporta, will be summoned as witnesses. However, they can’t face charges due to expired statutes of limitations.

Laporta, who ran the club from 2003-10, took over again in 2020, when Bartomeu resigned amid tax fraud allegations.

Barca paid Negreira’s firm at least $7.4 million for referee consulting and other services from 2001-18. Both the team and Negreira have denied that the payments were to influence refereeing. Negreira sat on La Liga’s refereeing committee until 2018.

Last month, it was revealed [[link removed]] that Spanish referee Xavier Estrada Fernandez filed a criminal lawsuit against Negreira and his son, alleging sporting fraud.

Barcelona enjoyed a 78-game streak, ending in 2018, in which opposing teams were not awarded a single penalty kick — though Barca was given at least 32 during that period. The club also had a stretch of at least 28 games in which players weren’t given a single red card.

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In the first of three episodes, Wie West talks with fellow Stanford graduate Chiney Ogwumike [[link removed]], a two-time WNBA All-Star, ESPN analyst, and investor.

Learn how the first overall pick from the 2014 WNBA draft launched a career at ESPN and how her experiences as an athlete and broadcaster have informed her investment philosophy.

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

Conversation Starters From March bracket-busters to magic at The Masters, Atmosphere Sports is the ultimate streaming destination for businesses that want constant sports news, live scores, and highlights. Learn more [[link removed]].* Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC owner Shahid Khan’s superyacht [[link removed]] is officially on the market. While a price isn’t listed, the 312-foot Kismet was estimated to be worth $200 million in 2018. CBS Sports and ESPN veteran Bonnie Bernstein is launching [[link removed]] her new podcast interviewing high-profile women in sports and business, “She Got Game,” at a good time. ESPN just posted its most-viewed regular season of women’s college hoops since 2014-15, averaging 199,000 viewers per game — up 11% from last season. Front Office Sports Today They Said What?

Zach Dilgard/HBO

“I’m not looking for minuscule topics. I’m looking for big ones, but finding the thing that nobody has said in this space about the big topic or nobody’s been in a position to explore, using the tools that we got to try to explore it. But that’s the biggest thing for me.”

— Bomani Jones on making his show “Game Theory with Bomani Jones” on HBO his own. Jones talked about that, his other show — “The Right Time with Bomani Jones Show” on ESPN — as well as the NFL and NBA on 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

10:00 PM

Senators (+120) at Kraken (-140)

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MLB

12:35 PM

Giants (-180) at Pirates (+155)

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NBA

08:10 PM

Nets (+650) at Bucks (-950)

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Have you attended a NASCAR race?

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Wednesday’s Answer

39% of respondents ski/snowboard.

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