CA Wildfires' Impact on Sports

The Greater LA Wildfires’ Devastating Impact Reaches the World of Sports

January 9, 2025

Evacuation warnings have been widespread in the greater LA area as the wildfires burning across Southern California continued to grow Wednesday. The impact on many has been devastating, and the reverberations were also felt in the pro sports world:

⇢ The NHL postpones a game and the Lakers coach evacuates his family amid LA fires
⇢ NFL to move Rams-Vikings game out of Los Angeles area to Arizona if wildfires force shift

League One Volleyball Set to Embark on Inaugural Season
SBJ’s Xavier Hunter writes, “Women’s professional volleyball opens another chapter tonight with the debut of League One Volleyball (LOVB, pronounced as “LOVE”). Atlanta’s Gateway Center Arena will host to the league’s inaugural match between LOVB Atlanta and LOVB Salt Lake on ESPN+. The six-team league -- with franchises in Atlanta, Austin, Omaha, Salt Lake, Houston and Madison -- will embark on a 14-week campaign.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Roku, Pro Volleyball Federation Ink Two-Year Streaming Deal
Roku and the Pro Volleyball Federation have locked in a two-year media rights agreement, marking the first time Roku has entered a live rights deal with a women’s sports property. Financial terms of the latest deal were not disclosed.

The streaming platform will broadcast 20 PVF matches during the 2025 season, which tips off Thursday. This season, 45 matches will be nationally televised.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Saudi Arabia, Already Pumping Money Into Boxing, May Start League With TKO
The New York Time’s Tariq Panja and Kevin Draper write, “Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s vast sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund, watched the action from ringside, and is getting even closer to being part of the action. A company owned by the fund is close to creating a boxing league with TKO, the owner of Ultimate Fighting Championship. A deal for what would be a new competition, featuring up-and-coming boxers tied exclusively to the league, could be announced within weeks, according to three people familiar with the matter.”
^{The New York Times}

‘Robust Market’ Could Have New Twins Owner in Place by Opening Day: Source
The Athletic’s Dan Hayes writes, “Minnesota Twins ownership believes the club could be sold by Opening Day, an industry source briefed on the Twins’ sale process told The Athletic on Tuesday. The source said the club has a ‘robust market’ and is expected to be sold in full.”
^{The Athletic}

Prime Inks Hendrick Motorsports Deal Through '27
SBJ’s Adam Stern writes, “Amazon’s Prime Video has decided to sponsor a NASCAR team to help spread the word about its first ever slate of races that it will stream on its platform, signing on with Hendrick Motorsports and driver Chase Elliott. At a front-running team like HMS, a deal with such assets would typically be valued in the low seven figures annually; NASCAR runs 38-race campaigns from February through November. Prime will be strategic with its three races, using them in the weeks just before it starts its five-race slate of airing races in late May as part of NASCAR’s new seven-year, $1.1B per-annum deals with five different domestic media rights partners.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Flutter’s Profits Take a Hit as Gamblers Scored Big on NFL Games
Flutter -- owner of online betting platform FanDuel -- warned yesterday of a “hit to its profits from a hot streak of winning bets by customers” on U.S. sporting events, according to Daniel Thomas of the FINANCIAL TIMES via SBJ. Since the launch of online sports betting, they experienced the “highest rate of favourites winning in nearly 20 years.” Flutter mentioned that it “would take a hit to revenues of about” $390M and adjusted EBITDA of $260M for the period Nov. 12 to Dec. 31.
^{Financial Times via Sports Business Journal}

The PGA Tour’s Next Big Media Bet: Creator Competitions
The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin writes, “Can YouTube creators drive more interest in PGA Tour events? The Tour sure thinks so. The PGA Tour and its production partner Pro Shop are planning a series of golfing competitions this year that they are calling the creator series, which will pit popular golf content creators against each other at events connected to Tour competitions.”
^{The Hollywood Reporter}

After Dramatic ESPN Exit, Norby Williamson Joins FanDuel Sports Network
FOS’ Eric Fisher writes, “Just a week into its post-bankruptcy life, regional sports network operator Main Street Sports Group is making a big move by hiring former ESPN senior executive Norby Williamson to lead production at FanDuel Sports Network. 

“The move, first reported by Awful Announcing, will see Williamson take on his first major in-house role since leaving ESPN nearly a year ago. That departure was fueled by an apparent ‘disconnect’ between Williamson and Burke Magnus, ESPN president of content, and high-profile talent Pat McAfee publicly called Williamson a ‘rat’ who was trying to sabotage his show.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Audience Analysis: ESPN Non-CFP Bowl Average Best Since 2019-20
According to SBJ, ESPN averaged 2.7 million viewers for its 33 non-CFP bowl games this season (games across ESPN, ABC and ESPN2), tied with 2021-22 for the best figure since 2.9 million in 2019-20. Of the 33 games, 22 saw year-over-year gains, with 14 games hitting a five-year high and five hitting a 10-year high. Only three bowl games (not factored in here) aired on non-ESPN networks—the DirecTV Holiday Bowl no Fox (2.93 million viewers), Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl on the CW (567,000 viewers) and the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on CBS (not available at presstime).
^{Sports Business Journal}

Report: NFL Teams, Including the Raiders and Tom Brady, Are Reaching out to Bill Belichick Just a Month Into His North Carolina Tenure
According to the NFL Network via Yahoo Sports, “multiple” NFL teams have approached Belichick about their coaching vacancies. And one of those teams is the Las Vegas Raiders, where Tom Brady is a minority owner. Brady and Belichick won six Super Bowls together with the Patriots, and sources say Brady believes the situation in Las Vegas requires a coach of Belichick's expertise and stature to establish a sustainable winning program.
^{Yahoo! Sports}

Final Chapter: France’s Greatest Coach Didier Deschamps Says He’ll Leave After 2026 World Cup
Didier Deschamps announced Wednesday that he won’t continue as France coach after the next World Cup, bringing an end to an era in which he became the nation’s most successful manager over more than a decade. The 56-year-old Deschamps said that he will leave when his contract expires in the summer of 2026.
^{AP News}

Browns Approve the Titans’ Request to Interview Catherine Hickman for GM, AP Source Says
The Tennessee Titans have been granted permission to interview Catherine Hickman by the Cleveland Browns as the team looks for a new general manager, a person familiar with the request told The AP. Hickman has been assistant general manager and vice president of football operations with the Browns since 2022.
^{AP News}

Outdoor Hockey is Coming to Florida. The NHL Will Have Games in Miami and Tampa Next Season
The NHL announced Wednesday that the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will play host to the New York Rangers at loanDepot Park in Miami — home of baseball’s Marlins — on Jan. 2, 2026, in the Winter Classic, with the Tampa Bay Lightning playing host to the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 1, 2026, in a Stadium Series game.
^{AP News}

Md. Approves Financing Plan For Camden Yards Reno
Maryland's Board of Public Works approved a $135M financing plan Wednesday that will fund upgrades for Oriole Park at Camden Yards, "including a new scoreboard and sound system." Oriole spokesperson Jennifer Grondahl said the improvements "are expected ahead of the 2026 season.”
^{Baltimore Banner via Sports Business Journal}

Penn State Football's James Franklin on Improving CFP: Make Notre Dame Join a Conference
"I think everybody should be in a conference. I think everybody should play a conference championship game or no one should play a conference championship game," Penn State coach James Franklin said, prefacing his statement by saying his strong beliefs were not intended to criticize Notre Dame leader Marcus Freeman or his school. "I think everybody should play the same number of conference games."
^{Yahoo! Sports}

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