In a surprising move in the sports business, entertainment mogul Jay-Z has opened up a new sports agency. Roc Nation Sports is the newest division of Jay-Z’s full-service entertainment company. The agency already has signed top New York athletes Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz as clients. 
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For-profit prison operator GEO Group has withdrawn its $6 million gift for the naming rights to Florida Atlantic University’s football stadium after becoming too much of a distraction for the company and the school. The agreement had received widespread criticism since being announced, having been mocked on late night TV shows and being protested against by FAU students and faculty.
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**NHL players may be forced to wear visors because of insurance concerns--one insurance agency said it would no longer supplement the coverage supplied by the league if a player doesn’t wear a mouth guard and visor.
**Interest in Seattle Sonics tickets has been “overwhelming” since an online waitlist went live last week.
**Chicago suburb Rosemont has offered the Cubs a 25-acre parcel of land to build a new ballpark and whatever else the Ricketts family would want on a stadium complex.
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Another Major League Baseball season gets underway, as the Houston Astros join the American League, interleague play occurs every day, and the average franchise is valued at a record $744 million. Boosted by lucrative national and local TV contracts, franchise values increased a whopping 23% this offseason.
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While MLB players were off this winter, teams had the opportunity to renovate their stadium without distraction. The highest-profile renovation belonged to the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose deep-pocketed ownership group spent $100 million to modernize Dodger Stadium. Among the new amenities are new HD video boards, a new clubhouse, and better cell phone reception and WiFi service.
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The battle between Sacramento and Seattle over the future of the Kings just got a lot more interesting. The Sacramento City Council last week approved a nonbinding term sheet for a $448 million downtown arena. The city will contribute $258 million to the project, with a group of prospective Kings owners paying the $190 million balance.
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Five months after passing a transformative $525 million bond referendum, El Paso is beginning to see the success of its efforts. Forbes listed El Paso among the top U.S. Cities’ Emerging Downtowns, and the New York Times and Texas Monthly published two very positive travel reviews highlighting area dining, leisure, and entertainment offerings.
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The NCAA men’s basketball Final Four tips off next weekend at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Officials expect 100,000 people to visit the city from out of town, staying in an estimated 10,000 hotel rooms and bringing $70 million in economic impact.
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**The Washington Redskins are without $18 million in salary cap space this year as a penalty for frontloading contracts in the uncapped 2010 season.
**Go Daddy received $2.9 million in media value during the Daytona 500 through its sponsorship of Danica Patrick.
**The NHL recently met with the Los Angeles Kings to assess the feasibility of hosting an outdoor game in the city next year.
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In 2010, CBS and Turner Sports partnered on a 14-year, $10.4 billion deal to purchase the NCAA men’s basketball tournament rights. The deal is worth an approximately $771 million annually, or 90% of the NCAA’s 2012-13 revenue. By comparison, rights to the women’s tournament reportedly are $17 million per year.
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