By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek
April 22, 2013
“Bust”: Top Five Reasons the Armageddon is Near
1. The Miami Dolphins could post a $14 million loss next year amid debt payments and renovations to Sun Life Stadium. A review of the team’s financial statements by Miami-Dade County also found the Dolphins have recorded $70 million in cash losses since Stephen Ross bought the team in 2008.
2. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has declined to meet with San Jose’s mayor to discuss the Oakland A’s desire to move to his city. Selig more than four years ago put together a committee to study the potential move, but no conclusion has been reached. At issue is the San Francisco Giants’ territorial right to San Jose.
3. The Brazil stadium scheduled to host the opening Confederations Cup match in June won’t be completed until days before FIFA takes over the venue, prompting FIFA to express ’’great concerns’’ with the delay. This is the second major stadium issue Brazil has encountered this month as the country prepares for next year’s World Cup.
4. NASCAR has cancelled its annual pit crew challenge after being unable to find a title sponsor. The All-Star weekend event had been sponsored by Sprint, but the company in January reallocated the funds to take over naming rights of the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.
5. Arizona State University doesn’t plan to let Notre Dame back out of their scheduled 2014 football game, saying it would hurt the school competitively and financially. Notre Dame wants to cancel the game because it’s obligated to play five ACC opponents each year beginning in 2014.
“Boom”: Top Five Reasons that Prosperity is Right Around the Corner
1. The city of Chicago and the Cubs reached a deal for a $500 million renovation to Wrigley Field. Per the agreement, Cubs owner the Ricketts family will contribute $300 million for Wrigley and $200 million for a new hotel next to the ballpark. In exchange for the investment, the Cubs get more night games and are allowed to install new advertising signs at the historic landmark.
2. The SEC is partnering with ESPN to launch its own conference TV network next August. The conference in recent weeks reacquired its third-tier TV rights from IMG College, Learfield Sports and CBS Sports, giving ESPN full control of SEC football with the exception of CBS’s one weekly game.
3. Dubai-based Emirates Airline is close to signing a jersey sponsorship deal with Real Madrid valued at nearly $40 million annually for four to six years. The airline also is the shirt sponsor for top clubs in England, France, and Italy.
4. The sports and entertainment company founded by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has organized a new international soccer tournament beginning this summer. Real Madrid, Juventus, and the Los Angeles Galaxy are three of the eight teams that will participate in the inaugural International Champions Cup, which has a title sponsor and a three-year TV rights deal.
5. Formula 1 CEO Bernie Eccelstone is rumored to be interested in bringing the circuit to Long Beach during the 2015 season. F1 hasn’t held a race in Southern California since 1983, but one insider called Eccelstone’s plan "inevitable." The circuit currently has two U.S. races on the 2014 calendar: one in Austin and one outside of NYC.
“Hope”: Top Five Reasons That Creativity is the Key to Economic Survival
1. NASCAR says it will start taking a closer look at race sponsorships after the criticism drawn by last weekend’s NRA 500. Currently, tracks negotiate their own race title sponsorships, which are then approved by NASCAR. Sponsors have to buy advertising separately if they want mentions during the race telecast.
2. The NFL this season is relaxing its video board rules to encourage crowd noise. Home teams will be permitted to use stadium audio to prompt fans until there’s 20 seconds left on the play clock, as well as use video boards to encourage the crowd regardless of how much time is left. The previous policy required teams to discontinue audio with 30 seconds remaining on the clock.
3. MLB Advanced Media and Minor League Baseball have expanded MiLB.TV to include all Double-A teams and some Single-A teams, according to Eric Fisher of SportsBusiness Journal. The package, which now is available over mobile devices, includes more than 3,500 games for 70 teams.
4. The third incarnation of a women’s professional soccer league in the U.S. began play last weekend, backed by the U.S., Canadian, and Mexican Soccer Federations. The NWSL features eight U.S.-based teams, whose games are being streamed and archived on YouTube.
5. The University of Connecticut unveiled a new fiercer, wolf-like mascot and logo, part of the school’s institutional rebranding and marketing campaign. The new marks were designed free of charge by Nike, which worked with UConn for the last 14 months on the project.
