By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek
April 16, 2013
1. Revenue projections for the casino games earmarked to help fund the new Minnesota Vikings stadium continue to fall. The games originally were expected to generate $35 million in taxes this year, but officials now anticipate the games bringing in just $1.7 million.
2. Ron Burkle is out of the group bidding to keep the Kings in Sacramento because of his ties to a sports agency. Burkle is an investor in Relativity Media, whose sports division represents more than 50 players. Other Kings investors are expected to pick up Burkle’s stake.
3. The NHL has decided against opening the 2013-14 season with its annual Premiere Games in Europe. The Premiere Games opened five consecutive seasons beginning with 2007, but weren’t held this year because of the lockout. The league hopes to replace the Premiere Games with a World Cup of Hockey, which would be held every four years.
4. The Miami Marlins’ season-ticket base is down to about 5,000 after the team slashed its player payroll in the offseason. The reduction represents a 58% fall from the 12,000 season tickets the team sold last season, its first at Marlins Park.
5. South Carolina-based financier Darla Moore, one of the first two female members of Augusta National, has said that she will not campaign for more women members at the renowned golf club. Moore said her role is as a member, not as an advocate.
1. The PGA Tour in 2012 posted record revenues of $1.1 billion, up from a previous high of $1.02 billion in 2010. The Tour’s revenues are expected to set another record this year, as its new TV rights deals with CBS and NBC, which pay a total of $800 million annually, go into effect.
2. Miami-Dade County and the Dolphins have reached a deal to give the team $7.5 million a year in hotel taxes to help fund a Sun Life Stadium renovation, pending state approval and the results of a May referendum. The Dolphins have agreed to make county funding conditional on being awarded either Super Bowl 50 or 51.
3. MLB players received $132 million in licensing checks from the union last year, according to Eric Fisher & Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal. The licensing checks were particularly large because they included more than $105 million the union had withheld for several years while negotiating a new labor agreement.
4. The NHL officially announced that the 2014 Winter Classic would be played in Ann Arbor’s Michigan Stadium after this year’s game at the stadium was cancelled due to labor unrest. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman expects the game to set a world hockey attendance record with at least 105,000 fans.
5. New York Knicks forward Carmelo Antony has surpassed Miami Heat star LeBron James in having the best-selling jersey in the NBA this season. Anthony is the first Knicks player to top the list since the league began releasing jersey sales in 2001.
1. The NBA could hold a vote on jersey sponsorships later this month, but Golden State Warriors President Rick Welts thinks it could be another year or two before owners implement the proposal. Welts said eliminating the revenue disparity between big market and small market teams is holding up the jersey sponsorships.
2. Rory McIlroy has switched watch endorsement deals to Omega from Audemars Piguet. The deal is estimated to be in the mid-six figures, and likely includes a combination of cash, products, and incentives. Omega also sponsors the PGA of America, Greg Norman, and Michelle Wie.
3. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed formally requested a meeting with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to discuss the Oakland A’s quest to build a new ballpark in the city. The San Francisco Giants hold territorial rights to San Jose and oppose an A’s move.
4. The NFL is increasingly likely to move to a draft format for selecting Pro Bowl teams as it attempts to make the game more exciting for fans. The league hopes to have all logistics, including plans for a primetime TV selection show, in place by the end of the month.
5. Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Florida Panthers, will help Florida Atlantic University sell its football stadium naming rights. SSE and FAU previously had a short-term sales agreement before the school reached its much-maligned naming rights deal GEO Group internally.
