Following the recommendation of the NBA’s relocation committee, the league’s Board of Governors voted 22-8 against moving the Sacramento Kings to Seattle. While current Kings owners the Maloof family still must reach a formal deal to sell the team to Vivek Ranadive’s group, the league’s vote ends any chance of the team moving to Seattle next season. With the team staying in Sacramento, the city will contribute $250 million to a new arena for the Kings. 
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One of the unique features of the NBA Draft relative to other pro sports leagues is the lottery, which deters teams from intentionally trying to get the worst record by not guaranteeing them the top pick. While the system is weighted to give the worst team the best chance at receiving the first selection, since 1990, only three teams with the worst record have actually won the lottery.
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Here’s a sports marketing partnership you don’t see everyday. The Barclays Center has signed a marketing deal with the University of Southern Cal for brand exposure during home football games at L.A. Memorial Coliseum. The three-year deal is worth in the low to mid-six figures annually, and gives Barclays Center a hospitality presence of the West Coast.
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Fast food chain Zaxby’s has signed sponsorship deals with 25 universities as it attempts to brand itself as “The Official Chicken of College Sports.” The schools that are partnering with Zaxby’s – including Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina – are concentrated in the Southeast, which is where most of the restaurant’s stores are located. Zaxby’s has 570 locations across 13 states.
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To the naysayers who contend that professional sports teams and facilities don’t make significant contributions to local economic impact, look no further than the Oklahoma City Thunder. Research done by the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau found that the team this season generated $64 million for greater OKC. The Thunder also have a strong affect on civic pride.
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Golf Channel and NBC must be thrilled. Deep into the second day of The Players Championship, arguably golf’s “fifth major,” with an attendant star-studded international field and golf’s heftiest purse--$9.5 million, with the winner pocketing over $1.7 million. Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia atop the leaderboard, Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy not far behind. A controversy—V.J. Singh, his use of verboten deer antler spray, and the “humiliated” golfer suing the PGA Tour.
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The big question around football circles these days is where Tim Tebow will play next year, if anywhere. There’s been little interest from either NFL or Canadian Football League teams, but one fan base has been trying extra hard to get Tebow in their jersey. A petition was recently filed on the White House’s website asking President Obama to call Jacksonville Jaguars GM David Caldwell and demand the team sign Tebow.
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Levi Strauss has purchased the naming rights to the San Francisco 49ers’ new $1.2 billion stadium. The company will pay $220 million over 20 years for the naming rights, and will call the facility Levi’s Stadium. At an average of $11 million annually, the deal represents about 4% of the company’s annual marketing budget.
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It’s little secret that ex-Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson wants to get back into the NBA as soon as next season. Jackson reportedly turned down a lucrative head coaching inquiry from the Brooklyn Nets because he’s interested in rejoining the league on the management side.
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For the first time in its history, the X Games gets underway in Barcelona, Spain. The city is one of six across the world that’s hosting an X Games event this year, part of a plan to spread the extreme sports competition to markets throughout Europe and South America. The Games bring upwards of $50 million in economic impact to the communities that host the four-day event, as well as significant worldwide media exposure.
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