Full Stadiums, Strings Attached

Though the Pandemic is a Thing of the Past, Full Stands Have Complications

November 13, 2024

Good morning! Live event attendance is up but at a price

Viral Dances, Makeup Tutorials and Now … Sports Tickets
Sportico’s Jacob Feldman writes, “Despite pandemic-era fears, live event attendance is booming again. Leagues are seeing visitor records, prices are up and younger generations—rather than settling for community online—have been among the most eager to show up in person. 

“Full-again stands, however, have come with a behavioral sea change. Fans increasingly buy tickets within 72 hours of events—if not day of—despite the additional headaches that causes teams. People are more comfortable making significant purchases on their phones, more trusting of ticket transfer apps and more trained to expect instant gratification, including grabbing seats at the end of a tailgate party.”
^Sportico

The $23 Million Reason a Daniel Jones Benching Is Looming
FOS’ Margaret Fleming writes, “After years of insisting Jones was the starter, head coach Brian Daboll was noncommittal when asked about it after Sunday’s debacle.

“‘I’d say we got a lot of work to do here in the next few days, in the next week, and we’ll evaluate where we’re at and what we need to do,’ Daboll said.

“Jones’s latest contract extension gives the Giants a palatable out after 2024—but only if he doesn’t trigger 2025’s injury guarantee. If he fails a physical in March, $23 million of his 2025 salary becomes guaranteed.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Endeavor Selling OpenBet and IMG Arena Sports-Gaming Units in $450 Million Management Buyout Backed by Ari Emanuel
Variety’s Todd Spangler reports: “Endeavor agreed to sell OpenBet and IMG Arena, its sports gambling and technology businesses, in a $450 million management buyout backed by Endeavor chief Ari Emanuel with participation from OpenBet CEO Jordan Levin and other execs.

“The deal ‘is a necessary step’ for the closing of the proposed Endeavor take-private deal with Silver Lake, expected to occur in the first quarter of 2025, the company said.”
^Variety

Durant Eyeing Potential Austin WNBA Franchise
Kevin Durant could be part of an Austin, Texas, ownership group pursuing a WNBA expansion team, SBJ has learned, becoming the latest NBA player to leverage the league’s collective bargaining agreement that allows active players to buy up to 4% of an independent W franchise.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Sports Media: Taking On Local TV
SBJ’s Tom Friend writes, “In an early NBA season that toggles between the court and the courtroom, a new business model has emerged amid the minutiae. In the Pacific Northwest, it’s Rip City Television Network. In the Bayou, it’s Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network. In the Windy City, it’s Chicago Sports Network. And in Cleveland, it’s the presumptive Rock Entertainment Sports Network. New brands all built on the fly.

“The cause is the damaged RSN blueprint, which is hanging by a strand of thread as Diamond Sports Group — the desperate face of a flawed industry — tries to stave off bankruptcy. The effect is NBA teams taking matters into their own hands, or cameras, through free over-the-air broadcasts and the creation of 24-hour sports networks that will either pay off in the long term or die a quiet death.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Bears Fire OC Shane Waldron; Passing Coordinator Thomas Brown to Take Over
The Chicago Bears have finally made a change after this weekend's awful 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots. The Bears announced Tuesday morning that offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is out after just nine games. Head coach Matt Eberflus made the final decision. Thomas Brown, the passing game coordinator, will reportedly take over as offensive coordinator and play caller for the rest of the 2024 season.
^{Yahoo! Sports}

Phillies Lose Brian Kaplan, Who Joins Diamondbacks as Pitching Coach
The Athletic’s Matt Gelb writes, “The Philadelphia Phillies have valued continuity ever since they broke a decade-long postseason drought in 2022—and that meant keeping most of the behind-the-scenes forces in place. They promoted people and retained them with higher salaries. But they could not keep an important member of the organization, Brian Kaplan, who departed Tuesday to become pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.”
^{The Athletic}

GM Clare Duwelius and Associate Head Coach Katie Smith Leave Lynx
The Lynx have lost two key staff members, with General Manager Clare Duwelius and associate head coach Katie Smith leaving the organization. Duwelius will be GM and executive vice president of the new three-on-three Unrivaled league, which was co-founded by Lynx star Napheesa Collier and will begin play in January in Florida.

Smith is headed to her alma mater, Ohio State, where she will be an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team.
^{The Minnesota Star Tribune}

Twins Front-Office Upheaval Sees Falvey Replace St. Peter as Team President
Twins President Dave St. Peter announced that he is “stepping back from the chief-executive role” he has held since 2002, according to Phil Miller of the MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE via SBJ. St. Peter will remain with the Twins as a “strategic advisor to his successor” -- current President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey, who will “become the team’s chief executive over both baseball and business” -- while VP/assistant GM Jeremy Zoll has been promoted to GM. Zoll now inherits the title most recently held by Thad Levine, who left the organization in October, but perhaps with a “somewhat broader role, given Falvey’s new responsibilities.”
^{The Minnesota Star Tribune via Sports Business Journal}

Berlin Launches Official Bid to Host NFL Games From Next Year
As AP News reports, Berlin’s city government launched an official bid campaign on Tuesday to host NFL games over a five-year period from next year. Berlin would be the third German city to host regular-season games after Munich, which hosted the first game in 2022 and the Carolina Panthers’ 20-17 overtime win over the New York Giants on Sunday, and Frankfurt last year. NFL Commissioner made sure to state that the NFL also has plans to be back in Frankfurt and Munich.

Games would be held at the Olympiastadion, which hosted NFL exhibition games in the 1990s and has a capacity of more than 74,000. It’s previously hosted the finals of the men’s soccer World Cup in 2006 and European Championship this year.
^{AP News}

Hurricane-Damaged Tropicana Field Can Be Fixed for About $55M in Time for 2026 Season, Per Report
A detailed assessment of the hurricane damage to Tropicana Field concludes that the home of the Tampa Bay Rays is structurally sound and can be repaired for about $55.7 million in time for the 2026 season.

The 412-page report released Tuesday by the City of St. Petersburg, which owns the building, found that the basic structure of the domed stadium “does not appear to have been adversely affected” by Hurricane Milton’s winds, which shredded most of its fabric roof.
^{AP News}

Athletic Director Pete Bevacqua Shares Challenges of the Role
“I think we are in the midst of [big changes] now with NIL, the House settlement and with college athletics drifting more and more to a professional model, particularly in football and men’s and women’s basketball,” Bevacqua said.

Bevacqua referenced the upcoming settlement that allows universities to directly compensate student-athletes up to a cap amount, which should be around $20 million. He noted that while most of that figure will go to football, all 26 of Notre Dame’s sports programs will benefit.
^Sportico

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