Commanders Raise Hail

The Washington Commanders are officially returning to the District of Columbia, as the D.C. City Council approved the $3.8 billion project

September 18, 2025

D.C. City Council Approves $3.8 Billion Commanders Stadium Project
The Athletic’s David Aldridge writes, “The Washington Commanders are, officially, returning to the District of Columbia. The D.C. City Council, in an 11-2 vote late Wednesday afternoon, gave second and final approval for a $3.8 billion project that will build a 65,000-seat stadium on the old RFK Stadium site, along with a massive mixed-use development project in the surrounding neighborhoods that will create multiple entertainment and dining areas.”
^{The Athletic}

Big-Time Women’s Sports Are Experiencing Growing Pains
Leichtman and her husband bought the Wave last year in a $113 million deal, at the time the highest price ever paid for control of a women’s soccer team. She’s part of a new crop of NWSL owners, ones who paid big money for their teams and have deep resources to push the league forward. They also have a bigger financial imperative to recoup their investments, and they’re confronting growing pains that have simmered quietly below the surface as the NWSL’s business has rapidly transformed. 
^Sportico

Cadillac F1 Team Announces Multi-Year Partnership With Jim Beam
The new Cadillac F1 team announced a multi-year partnership with Jim Beam on Wednesday, making the American bourbon distiller its official spirits partner.

SBJ’s Jenna Fryer writes, “The partnerships showcase Cadillac’s desire to be a true American team competing in a global series that consists primarily of European-based teams. Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez have been named the debut drivers, but California native Colton Herta is leaving IndyCar to become Cadillac’s test driver in an attempt to earn the super license he needs to compete in F1.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

OpenAI Gets Into MLB With ChatGPT Mets Pin
ChatGPT from OpenAI is doing its first activation in MLB on Wednesday through a collaboration with the Mets. All fans in attendance for Wednesday’s Mets-Padres game at Citi Field will receive a ChatGPT pin. Fans can access pre-loaded Mets prompts by tapping their phone and clicking a pop-up which opens ChatGPT. Over the course of the game, prompts will include topics like the 2015 Mets, 1986 Mets and 1B Pete Alonso.
^{AP News}

Audience Analysis: Fox Sets Sunday NFL Record
SBJ’s Austin Karp reports: “Fox drew its best Sunday regular season NFL audience ever in Week 2, with a Super Bowl rematch of Chiefs-Eagles going to 100% of markets. The 33.8 million viewers also marks the network’s best Week 2 game on record (and the best audience for any Eagles regular-season game ever). Fox’s regular record remains around 42 million viewers for a Giants-Cowboys game on Thanksgiving in 2022.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Fever Ratings Fall Without Clark, but Rest of WNBA Game 1s Surge
FOS’ Colin Salao writes, “The first returns of the 2025 WNBA playoffs viewership showcase both sides of the Caitlin Clark effect. The WNBA’s four-game slate on ESPN networks was down 16% compared to last year, according to Nielsen data. However, the decline was driven solely by the 3 p.m. ET game between the Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream, which drew 951,000 viewers on ABC, 47% less than the 1.8 million the Fever at Sun game drew last year.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Bethpage Black, Oak Hill Awarded 3 Majors Over Next Decade
One week before the Ryder Cup arrives in New York for the first time in 30 years, the PGA of America announced three more of its major championships through 2035 in the Empire State.

The KPMG Women's PGA will be played on the Black Course at Bethpage Black in 2028, and the PGA Championship will go to Bethpage Black for the second time in 2033. The PGA of America said the PGA Championship will return to Oak Hill near Rochester for the fifth time in 2035.
^{Associated Press via ESPN}

Tampa Bay Rays Presidents Stepping Down From Roles as Part of Team’s Pending Sale
Tampa Bay Rays presidents Matt Silverman and Brian Auld will step down from their roles as part of the pending sale of the team to new owners. The Rays said Wednesday that those moves are connected with the franchise’s sale that they said could close within the next two weeks, pending final approvals. The team said it would share information about the sale and new ownership group after the transaction is completed.
^{AP News}

ATP Hires Eno Polo as New CEO
SBJ’s Rob Schaefer writes, “The ATP has filled its vacant CEO position with former tennis player and longtime sports executive ENO POLO, who had served as a player rep on the tour’s board of directors since 2021. The ATP had been in the market for a CEO since it announced in April that MASSIMO CALVELLI (now an operating partner at RedBird) would depart the role at the end of June. It now brings in Polo, whose sports business resume includes stops at Nike (including as GM of Juventus Merchandising), Global Brands Group, FIFA, LeDap Group and Premier Padel…”
^{Sports Business Journal}

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CFB TV Ratings Stay Hot As Georgia-Tennessee Sets ABC High of 12.6M
FOS’ David Rumsey reports: “Georgia’s 44–41 overtime victory over Tennessee was the most-watched Week 3 college football game and ABC’s largest audience of the season, drawing 12.6 million viewers Saturday. It’s the second-most-watched game of the season so far, behind only the 16.62 million people who watched Ohio State’s 14–7 victory over Texas on Fox in Week 1. The contest also marked ABC’s highest college football TV rating in the 3:30 p.m. ET broadcast window since 2006, showcasing the value of the complete SEC package that Disney took over from CBS last year.”
^{Front Office Sports}

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