March 13, 2023

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Opening Day is almost here, but with some regional sports networks heading for bankruptcy and others threatening to cease operations, will TV viewers get to watch their baseball games this season? FOS senior reporter Michael McCarthy talked to MLB chief revenue officer Noah Garden about the league’s plans [[link removed]].

Real Estate PSG Plans Bid for France’s Largest Stadium [[link removed]]

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France’s most successful soccer team could relocate to the country’s biggest stadium.

Paris Saint-Germain said Friday that it would submit [[link removed]] a bid for the 80,000-capacity Stade de France.

The Ligue 1 champions are at a standstill with the Parisian government over their current home, Parc des Princes. The team, owned by the state-run Qatar Sports Investments, has said that it wants to invest $540 million in renovations but will only do so if it owns the venue.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo replied that Parc des Princes — where PSG has played since 1974 — is not for sale.

The opposite appears [[link removed]] to be the case for Stade de France, which is owned by the national government. The stadium could be valued between $426.9 million and $640.4 million, per Le Figaro.

The venue hosted the 1998 World Cup final and three Champions League finals since 2000.

However, there will likely be competition from FIFA, which has explored purchasing the stadium. The French government will reportedly be open to proposals starting on Monday.

Stade de France’s lease is held in a consortium of French industrial companies Vinci and Bouygues. A stadium buyout would likely only become official after 2025.

Markets Allbirds Slows Store Openings As Sales Drop [[link removed]]

Allbirds

Allbirds is no longer soaring.

For the first [[link removed]] time in its history, the company failed to post year-over-year quarterly sales growth. The footwear and apparel company recorded [[link removed]] $84.18 million in fourth-quarter revenue, a 13% year-over-year decline from $97.2 million — and missing analysts’ estimates of $96.8 million.

The company attributed the decline to “a decrease in the number of orders and an estimated $3.2 million negative impact from foreign exchange.”

Allbirds’ net loss widened to $24.9 million in the fourth quarter and $101.4 million in its first full year as a public company.

Revenue for the full year increased 7.3% to $297.8 million — up 35.8% from 2020. In the U.S., net revenue increased 9.5% to $229.8 million.

Joey Zwillinger, Allbirds’ co-founder and co-CEO, told CNBC that its poor performance is partially attributed to losing “sight of what our core consumer fell in love with us for in the first place” — a reference to the company’s deeper dive into high-performance running products.

In its earnings release, Allbirds revealed a new transformation plan that includes optimizing U.S. stores and slowing the pace of openings, improving cost savings and capital efficiency, reigniting products and the brand, and evaluating the transition of “international go-to-market strategy.”

The company has more than 50 stores in over 35 countries.

For the first quarter of 2023, Allbirds expects a 20% to 28% year-over-year decline in revenue to $45 million to $50 million.

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Real Estate Brewers’ $290M Stadium Proposal Dead, Optimism Remains [[link removed]]

Mike De Sisti / USA TODAY NETWORK

A plan to deliver a state windfall to the Milwaukee Brewers is dead, but legislators expressed optimism that a deal can be done.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, had proposed providing $290 million from a budget surplus to fund repairs at the team’s American Family Field. In exchange, the team would commit to an additional 13 years on its lease, extending it to 2043.

That proposal appears [[link removed]] to be blocked in the state’s Republican-controlled legislature.

“I’m not sure the amount of time he’s asking the team to stay here is correct,” state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told reporters. “I think the deal that he cut is not a very good one for the taxpayer.”

Vos had previously referred to Evers’ proposal as a “bomb in the budget.”

The stadium is financed and managed by a five-county stadium district. It was previously funded by a 0.1% sales tax within those counties that expired in March 2020.

Optimism remains for an eventual deal to provide fixes to the stadium’s retractable roof and ensure that the Brewers stay put.

New Name for the Nest

Elsewhere in MLB, the Baltimore Orioles are planning to keep their stadium’s iconic “Camden Yards” moniker, but could sell [[link removed]] naming rights to their field.

The team could garner $6 million to $8 million for the field name, which would likely be followed by “at Camden Yards.”

World Barcelona Could Activate ‘Super’ Economic Lever [[link removed]]

FC Barcelona

Even amid financial troubles and allegations that it bribed [[link removed]] referees, FC Barcelona sits at the top of the La Liga table — and continues to find ways to spend.

The club is currently preparing [[link removed]] a $265 million “super” economic lever that would allow it to alleviate its financial woes and sign new players over the summer.

The main feature would be a 49% sale of Barca Licensing & Merchandising — a deal that almost happened last summer for $211.5 million when a consortium led by Fanatics and Investindustrial almost purchased the share.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta popularized the term “lever” ahead of last season, when the club sold [[link removed]] portions of its future TV rights to fund a $167 million spending spree on players such as Robert Lewandowski — who leads La Liga with 15 goals.

Even if this new super-lever comes to pass, the club may not be able to avoid controversy — economic or otherwise.

Following a formal investigation [[link removed]] that began earlier this week, Spanish authorities announced [[link removed]] that they are charging Barcelona with corruption in connection to payments made to former vice president of La Liga’s refereeing committee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who was also charged with corruption.

Former club presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu (2014-2020) and Sandro Rosell (2010-2014) are also facing individual corruption charges.

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Conversation Starters The World Baseball Classic takes center stage [[link removed]], with the competition drawing players away from spring training to showcase the game’s impact internationally. While every continent except Africa is represented, certain regions show an outsized love for the game and how that love generates top baseball talent worldwide — talent fully able to compete with the economic superpowers. Starting with its formation in 1979, the Big East became the most iconic conference [[link removed]] in college basketball. But by 2013, football had torn it apart when a media rights deal fell through and some schools departed. Now, the conference has regrouped and is thriving in 2023. Selection Sunday could be considered one of the most chaotic days [[link removed]] on the sports calendar. It is the official start of March Madness, when the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournament brackets are revealed. FOS looks behind the scenes at how the broadcast networks manage the chaos. Get your red cups ready as ESPN is bringing back [[link removed]] the “Bird and Taurasi Show” as an alternate telecast to the Women’s Final Four. Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will host the “Manningcast”-style show on ESPN2 for all three games, with guests and game analysis. Front Office Sports Today They Said What?

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“The general idea here is that if known results are secured under lock and key, gambling is OK … The wrestlers won’t know, the production crew won’t know and therefore it should be safe to gamble on selected big events.”

— CNBC reporter Alex Sherman on the WWE’s case to legalize gambling on scripted wrestling matches. For more on that and an interview with Erik Logan, the CEO of the World Surf League, check out the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

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Today's Action

NHL

06:38 PM

Sabres (+210) at Maple Leafs (-250)

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MLB

03:10 PM

Brewers (-110) at Reds (-110)

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NBA

06:40 PM

Grizzlies (-120) at Mavericks (+100)

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Question Of The Day

Which is your preferred brand for athletic apparel?

Lululemon [[link removed]] Nike [[link removed]] Adidas [[link removed]] Under Armour [[link removed]]

Friday’s Answer

9% of respondents have 1-2 pets in their household and 12% have 3+.

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