Bold face names in the news on team sales, NCAA hoops to tip off in Paris, TJ Adeshola departs Twitters as exodus continues and Katie Haas returns to baseball with the Mets
We're just a few days away from the CAA World Congress of Sports. Hotel rooms at the JW Marriott are nearly sold out. We are near record attendance and we hope you can join us. Let me know if you have any questions, or go to worldcongressofsports.com to register today. Can't wait to see you in LA.
And this is your Morning Buzzcast for Thursday, April 13th. Good morning. I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast.
Well, don't count on Jeff Bezos to save the Washington Commanders. After months of intrigue, it seems for now that Bezos has no interest in making a bid for the team. With Bezos apparently not interested, such a move leads the way for a potential deal for Dan Snyder to sell the team to a group led by Josh Harris. Now, we know that so many of the fans were hoping the Amazon founder would buy the team, and there was a lot of speculation that the NFL would be comfortable with Jeff Bezos as part of their ownership circle. But right now, he appears to be on the outside. No clear reason was given for his lack of interest in a bid, and his mind could change. But it does seem that for now, Josh Harris' group is the clear favorite. There is no timetable for any deal, but there are hopes that a sale could occur in the coming weeks north of $6 billion.
Now, Josh Harris, of course, owns the 76ers and the Devils and has put together a very strong group of investors. So the deal intrigue continues right now with apparently Jeff Bezos not interested in bidding for the Commanders. Staying with team deals, the Ottawa Sun has a bit of a surprise in reporting that a new face has entered the sale process for the Ottawa Senators. Now, this is a deal we've talked about a lot on the Buzzcast, and now the Ottawa Sun reports that Sacramento King's owner Vivek Ranadivé and his representatives were in Ottawa this week to meet with senior management and have a tour of the Canadian Tire Center, the team's home arena.
One source said that Ranadivé has been looking at the senators, but it's not clear if he made a bid for the team by the March 6th deadline, or he may make a last minute bid for the franchise. Certainly the NHL would love to see as many wealthy interested bidders in the mix as possible. And this could potentially lead to that bidding war for the team that could drive the sale price of the Senators to a billion dollars. That's the figure I'm keeping my eye on. We will see, but Ranadivé is a serious player when it comes to team ownership.
We have talked about possible baseball expansion on the Buzzcast for months, and we've mentioned Nashville. We know about Las Vegas' interest in the Ace. We've mentioned Montreal, we've mentioned Charlotte and Portland, Oregon. Well, a group in Salt Lake City, Utah is planning to pursue a major league baseball franchise in the coming years. Now the group includes some real money and it includes former Utah Jazz owner Gail Miller. So that's significant in its own right. Her colleague, Miller Company CEO Steve Starks, who of course led the Utah Jazz for years, touted the prospects of Salt Lake City, which he positioned as a major league city in the fastest growing state in the US. So he believes that's a very appealing proposition for any baseball expansion. So now Salt Lake City will be actively in the mix in any discussions regarding conversations about MLB expansion because officials at Major League Baseball in New York and the Utah Group began discussions about a year ago. So bottom line, put Salt Lake City in the mix as among those interested in baseball's expansion prospects.
Let's shift to college basketball because more growth and exposure for women's basketball comes this fall as the University of South Carolina and Notre Dame will make history in November by playing the NCAA's first regular season basketball game in Paris. The game in France will mark the season opener for both teams as well as the first game of the '23-24 NCAA basketball season. Now, details were scarce, including where they will play and the television outlet and ticket information, but just the fact that the women's game will represent the first regular season college basketball game to be played is notable. And secondly, to play in Paris, France, I think speaks volumes to the appeal and the growth of basketball and of course, spreading basketball, spreading the game of basketball around the world. So more details to come, but this is certainly a noteworthy occasion and a noteworthy game happening in November in Paris.
We'll end the Buzzcast today with some very big personnel news in sports business. First, SBJ's John Ourand reports this morning that more change is coming to Twitter as it has lost its top sports executive as TJ Adeshola is stepping down as the head of Global Content Partnerships. TJ Adeshola spent 10 years at Twitter. And a year ago he was promoted from heading up US sports partnerships to running global content partnerships. So he had a big promotion just a year ago. Adeshola is very well regarded in the industry. He has a broad network. He was a member of SBJ's 2020 40 Under 40 class. Adeshola says he plans to stay in the media business and said he hopes to work on several passion projects over the next few months. But there has been quite an exodus from Twitter. As Adeshola leaves now, David Hermann, who was co-head of US Sports Partnerships, also departed the company earlier this year. So we're seeing more and more change at Twitter and it's certainly impacting their sports division.
We keep talking about Steve Cohen and the Mets and how Cohen is putting together his leadership team. Yes, he is still looking for a team president, but Steve Cohen has made a key hire in Katie Haas who will join the Mets as executive vice president of Ballpark Operations and Experience. Now, this is a strong hire by the Mets. I've known Haas for 20 years. I saw her work at the Charlotte Bobcats and the Boston Red Sox. At the Red Sox, she had a number of roles. She oversaw all of the team's Florida operations and was key to the team opening up JetBlue Park, which really set the standard for minor league facilities.
Then Katie Haas shifted to tennis, and her last role was as chief executive officer of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati as we have talked about how successful that tennis event was and why it was so sought after when it was sold last year. And much of that had to do with her leadership. So she has broad experience as a very good operator and should be a really good fit for Steve Cohen's big vision for the Mets and the experience at City Field. Katie Haas will relocate with her family to the New York City area and start her job on May 1st, but a big hire by the New York Mets.
And finally, I need your help. Next week at the CAA World Congress of Sports, I'm sitting down with a number of people, including the CEO of Formula 1, Stefano Domenicali, Fanatics founder, Michael Rubin, and Clippers owner, Steve Ballmer. So for those three interviews, be thinking about what would you ask them? What would you like to hear them answer? I'd love to hear any suggestions or ideas that you have. Email them to me at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
And that is your Morning Buzzcast for Thursday, April 13th. I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast. Stay healthy, be good to each other, have a great day. I'll speak to you tomorrow.