March 13, 2023
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Placing bets on … scripted wrestling matches? WWE is making an argument for it, pushing for a new frontier for legal sports betting. We’ve got the latest with guest Alex Sherman from CNBC on Front Office Sports Today, plus World Surf League CEO Erik Logan.
Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].
Teams They’re Back: Utah Royals Become NWSL’s 13th Team [[link removed]]
Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
The Utah Royals are officially returning to the NWSL.
The league, Smith Entertainment Group, and Global Football Holdings announced [[link removed]] that the team will begin play in 2024 as the league’s 13th team — four years after it was acquired and moved to Kansas City to become the Current.
When the team moved, its MLS counterpart Real Salt Lake kept the rights to the team name and branding with the ability of bringing it back in 2023 or 2024 for a predetermined fee, reported to be between $2 million to $5 million.
David Blitzer, co-founder of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, and Smith Ownership Group purchased Real Salt Lake last year for a reported $400 million. Blitzer said “it was a matter of when, not if, the NWSL would return to Utah.”
The Royals will return to America First Credit Union Field, which is shared with Real Salt Lake. America First Credit Union was also announced as the Royals’ front-jersey partner.
Other investors in the club are 42 Futbol Group and five “business leaders” including Jessica Gelman, Kraft Analytics Group CEO and co-founder of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.
In January, the Wall Street Journal reported [[link removed]] that the league was in the late stages of discussions to also add teams in San Francisco and Boston, with the former launching after 2024. The entrance fees are expected to be around $50 million each.
Media MLB Will Reportedly Stream Games for Free in Some Markets [[link removed]]
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Major League Baseball has a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
The league will stream games of roughly six teams for free following the expected bankruptcy of Diamond Sports Group, which owns and operates the 19 Bally’s regional sports networks, according [[link removed]] to the New York Post.
“If any of the RSNs are no longer able to produce local games, we will be in a position to step in to produce and distribute those games with linear and direct-to-consumer options,” MLB chief revenue officer Noah Garden told [[link removed]] Front Office Sports last week.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has previously suggested that MLB could broadcast its games on its MLB Network channel to provide a linear option. The MLB.tv service would be used for streaming.
That would allow MLB to stream games in each local market, which it has been unable to do under local broadcast contracts with Diamond and others.
“If MLB takes over local distribution in any market, our goal would be to allow for both a linear option and a direct-to-consumer streaming service, which would remove the blackout in that market,” said Garden.
Diamond reportedly plans to use its coming bankruptcy filing to cut off its contracts with at least four teams to whom it pays more in rights fees than it makes in cable subscriptions and ad revenue: the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Diamond would lose $20 million on its Padres contract this year.
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World Seoul to Bid for 2036 Olympics With Notable Exclusion [[link removed]]
Handout Photo-USA TODAY NETWORK
Seoul is planning to bid for the Olympics again, but this time without North Korean capital Pyongyang.
The pair submitted [[link removed]] a proposal to host the 2032 Olympics in 2021 — three years after the countries marched under a unified flag at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics — before it was awarded to Brisbane in hopes [[link removed]] of better relations with North Korea, according to Reuters.
Now, Seoul is making a bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics alone, according to Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon.
“I think the strategy for 2032 was doomed to failure because of unpredictable inter-Korean relations,” Oh said.
In the last year, North Korea has tested a record number of ballistic missiles and regularly threatens Seoul and its allies. Washington, D.C., officials say North Korea may be preparing to test nuclear weapons again for the first time since 2017.
Seoul is reportedly open to holding some events in the Demilitarized Zone or Pyongyang if relations improve.
The national government and individual cities would have to decide whether to jointly host with Pyongyang, according to an official with the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, who said they had not received any formal statements of intent to bid from Seoul or Busan.
Germany, Qatar, India, Egypt, and Mexico have also been named as potential bidders.
Conversation Starters Nearly 40,000 fans attended the Battlehawks’ win over Arlington in St. Louis, officially making it the largest [[link removed]] crowd in XFL history. The roof on Intuit Dome, the $2 billion future home of the Los Angeles Clippers, is complete. Take a look inside [[link removed]]. One of Texas’ most expensive mansions [[link removed]] has turf from Super Bowl LI for a backyard.
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While today’s metaverse is still loosely defined, the lines between the physical and digital worlds are becoming increasingly blurred.
That’s why Front Office Sports has partnered with Meta to launch Metaverse Essentials: Building the Future, our latest course [[link removed]] covering the next evolution of technological innovation in sports.
In this free, five-lesson course, execs from Meta and top sports organizations examine the growing relationship between the metaverse [[link removed]] and the sports industry. We also explore how teams and organizations can leverage emerging technologies like VR, AR, Avatars, and digital collectibles to build unprecedented connections with players and fans.
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What to Watch
The Phoenix Suns (37-30) take on the Golden State Warriors (35-33) on Monday at Chase Center.
How to Watch: 10 p.m. ET on ESPN
Betting Odds: Warriors -4.5 || ML -190 || O/U 236
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