Two MLB teams test the market; Leonsis eyeing Nats? Jay Monahan in the spotlight and NWSL team eyes attendance record
A former golf channel executive teams with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy on a new technology concept. And Jay Monahan is set to meet the media today in Atlanta. But first another big market major league baseball team hits the marketplace. And this is your Morning Buzzcast for Wednesday, August 24th. Good morning. I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast.
We could see two major transactions in major league baseball as some ownership groups are seeing the recent team sales and deciding it's a good time to move on and cash out. We know the Washington Nationals are on the market and more on that later, but on Tuesday Angels owner Arte Moreno said he believes the time is right to explore a sale of that franchise, and he has retained Galatioto Sports Partners as his financial advisors. So Arte Moreno has owned the Angels since 2003. He bought the team from the Walt Disney Company for about or over $180 million.
And it should be noted, Arte Moreno was a breath of fresh air when he came into the league. He talked about making the game more fan friendly. He talked about reducing ticket and concession prices. He also has consistently spent on players and payroll, but he has never, never won a title. He has also kept a very, very low profile, barely speaking publicly, and is in the middle of a dispute about a future new ballpark in Anaheim. So he decided the time is right for him to at least explore offers. The team's most recent valuation was pegged at about $2.5 billion and most insiders expect this franchise to receive strong interest and draw a strong purchase price.
So as Arte Moreno explores a sale for the Angels, Ted Leonsis has emerged as a suitor for the Washington Nationals, that's according to this morning's Washington Post. It was previously reported there were five approved groups reviewing financial data on the Nationals, and Ted Leonsis is reportedly one of them. Now this comes as SBJ's John Ourand reported on Tuesday that Ted Leonsis has grown his media footprint and his media empire as his monumental sports and entertainment is in the process of buying NBC Sports Washington. That is that regional sports network in the Mid-Atlantic region. They will buy it all from Comcast. Now Leonsis already owned a stake in NBC Sports Washington, but like I said, he will buy majority full control. Now this shows that Ted Leonsis is eager to control that DC, Maryland, Virginia sports media rights marketplace, and the family sees real value in local live rights. Now, Ted Leonsis owns the Wizards, the Capitals, the Mystics, a G-League team, an NBA 2K team, and of course, Capital One Arena.
So having control of the media production, sales and distribution is a very powerful platform. Yes, we've talked a lot on the Buzzcast about how the future of regional sports networks is in question because of rising fees and shrinking distribution. But Ted and Zach Leonsis believe they are better suited in controlling their media destiny. So monumental plans to rebrand NBC Sports Washington, and merge this with the media company they already own, which is the streaming service Monumental Sports Network. But this type of move is one of the reasons that Ted Leonsis is one of the most influential and powerful owners and sports. And you see what he controls in that Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, which is a key market. It's a key international market, and you see the potential for what he is building in that region of the country. So Ted Leonsis, expanding his media footprint.
Let's move on to golf. I mentioned it at the top of the Buzzcast, but former Golf Channel president Mike McCarley, who worked at NBC Sports for years and is well known in the sports business, has entered into a new venture with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, a new sports media company called TMRW Sports that plans to use new technology as a way to bring golf to young fans and young viewers. So one concept they are exploring is to stage a series of one-day stadium events during golf's off season, so that's January to March. The competitions will be tech focused, but held before live audiences. Now McCarly's idea for this concept has been floated in the industry for about oh eight to 12 months. I heard it was close to coming to fruition at the Masters in April, but now it's fully public and reports have that the PGA Tour could partner on these events and that NBC Sports has an option to be a media partner in the venture, which wouldn't surprise me because of McCarley's background.
Now Tiger Woods is investing in this concept via his TGR Ventures. And Rory McIlroy is investing via his Symphony Ventures. Other notable equity holders and investors include former NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol, who is a longtime mentor to Mike McCarley, as well as sports business veterans John Collins and Eric Grubman, and a roster of athletes that includes former Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. So a number of boldface names investing in TMRW Sports. TMRW Sports is led by Mike McCarley and it's set to bring some new concepts to draw younger fans to sports by 2024.
Staying with golf, it's a big week for the PGA Tour in Atlanta, home of the Tour Championship. Last night at a reception in the city, Billy Andrade received the PGA Tour's Payne Stewart award presented by the Southern Company. This is always a great award. It's given each year to a golfer who exemplifies character and charity and sportsmanship. And so Billy Andrade, a well deserving recipient of that award. This comes as the Southern Company extended its relationship around the Tour and this award through 2027. Meanwhile, commissioner Jay Monahan will meet the media today during a press conference from the Tour Championship, there will be plenty of news coming out of this. I think you'll see the framework of a new plan for the PGA Tour. We'll recap all of that tomorrow on the Buzzcast.
Let's shift to women's sports because women's sports on broadcast television continues to gain momentum and the latest moves were announced yesterday. The NCAA Women's Basketball Championship will shift from its traditional window Sunday nights on ESPN to now air on ABC on a Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, the NWSL Championship will now air on CBS on a Saturday night prime time after CBS received a heavy media commitment from Ally, which is an NWSL sponsor and continues to step up in supporting women's sports.
Now the NWSL Championship game was slated for a noon Saturday start, but getting broadcast windows is rare. So this is a chance for far more exposure for the events, and it's good news for women's sports. This news comes as the WNBA saw a big increase in regular season viewership after a number of its games were of course on ABC. So you see the value in being on broadcast television. Staying with the W, ABC's coverage of the Dallas Wings Connecticut Sun first round game over the weekend, well it was the most watched WNBA playoff game in 15 years, that's according to our Austin Carr. And again, it supports the theory that I'm stating here, that being on broadcast television certainly helps draw more eyeballs.
And staying with women's sports, we could see an NWSL attendance record as the San Diego Wave have sold more than 27,000 tickets for its September 17th match against its rival Angel City FC. That would break an NWSL attendance for a single game. Now that game will be held at Snapdragon Stadium. That will be the opening game of that facility, which is located on the campus of San Diego State University. There's a lot of publicity around this venue. They believe that they can actually hit over 32,000 for this game because tickets of course are still being sold. So we'll continue to keep an eye on ticket sales around this September 17th matchup between two NWSL rivals, Angel City FC visiting the San Diego Wave.
And finally, we'll end with this. The PGA of America has a new home. Yes, it's opened it's new state of the art office in Frisco, Texas. It's a facility that will be home to about 120 employees and its executive leadership team. They have been historically based in Florida. This is the first time since the 1950s that the PGA of America will be based outside of Florida. Now it's a 600 acre, $550 million campus, and it really features everything. You have to check out the images of this complex. There's two 18 hole golf courses. There's of course, a clubhouse, a practice facility, a performance center, Omni has opened a new hotel there, and there's a PGA district, which is an indoor-outdoor golf centered entertainment area. So again, a 600 acre facility. It is one of the most impressive new facilities I've seen. And the rest of the complex, the rest of what they're calling PGA Frisco, is on track for completion by next spring. But if you have a chance, check out the images of the new PGA of America facility in Frisco, Texas.
So that is your Morning Buzzcast for Wednesday, August 24th. I made Abe Madkour, thanks for listening. Have a great day, stay healthy, be good to each other, I'll speak to you tomorrow.