Where does MLB go from here after Diamond's missed payment? Patriots move the ball on parking costs; One step closer for the Bears' big plans and Hugh Weber goes for soccer in Seattle
We are just three weeks away from SBJ's Tech Week on March seventh to ninth in New York. Visit the event section of sportsbusinessjournal.com to register. And remember, let me know if you will be at the Daytona 500 this weekend, as I'd love to say hi. And this is your morning Buzzcast for Thursday, February 16th. Good morning, I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast. First, this is a topic that I usually reserve for my colleague John Ourand and his Sports Media podcast with Andrew Marchand, which is fantastic by the way. But it's something, it's a topic we have to hit on in the Buzzcast, and that's the plight of the regional sports networks and how it will impact teams because it's starting to get more and more real, and more and more concerning.
Diamond Sports Group, which owns and operates 19 regional sports networks, many in your region, will not make a 140 million dollar interest payment on its debt. That is likely to lead to a bankruptcy filing, and that means a great deal of uncertainty for Major League Baseball, the NBA, and the NHL and its teams. While it's missing this payment, Diamond Sports says it's still talking to the leagues and its creditors to come up with a deal to continue to televise the games on the Bally Sports Networks across the US like Bally Sports South where I am in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's far too complicated to say what could happen, but we know the first league to feel the pain, really, will be Major League Baseball because their games start in April and payments to the teams would be due at that time. I'm told that the games will likely continue on the Bally Networks, and Major League baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said that baseball is prepared to show the games on its own if Ballys shutters.
They could hire their own crews. They could produce the games digitally and on traditional television. They feel that they could go forward, take matters into their own hands and produce these games and distribute them. Again, this is very, very complicated. This is the light version on this topic, but it's the most important story in the industry right now. It dominated our conversations at the Super Bowl, and I'm sure we're going to have more on this topic in the days and weeks ahead. Let's move on to some NFL news. First, Elevate Sports Ventures has won the right to do sales consulting on the Titans' new 2.1 billion dome stadium. That's according to SBJ's Terry Lefton. Now this venue has been the buzz of the industry for some time. It's expected to be completed in time for the 2026 NFL season. Nashville is a hot city. To get a new dome stadium in that city would be magnificent for major events.
The Titans' officials will take the lead on selling naming rights in the big inventory, with Elevate responsible for strategy and packaging and pricing. Now remember, the Titans have had a deal with Nissan at their old stadium. That was signed in 2015, but they are now looking ahead to a new stadium to open in 2026 and Elevate will do sales consulting for the franchise. Let's move a little north to Chicago because are the Bears one step closer to possibly leaving the city of Chicago? While the team closed a deal on the Arlington Park property reaching an agreement to acquire 326 acres in Arlington Heights, the Bears stressed that closing on this property does not mean that a new stadium will be built on the site or that they're leaving Chicago, but they did pay nearly 200 million dollars for the land and everybody expects the team to move ahead on a much talked about mixed-use development complex and a massive marquee stadium that could host events like the Super Bowl or the NCAA Final Four.
So this is the first big project for new CEO Kevin Warren, as now the team will look to the state and the county for help to build the project. But this is a big step for the Bears in closing the deal to buy the land in Arlington Heights. And staying with the NFL, how many of you have been to a New England Patriots game in Foxboro and waited in dense traffic along Route one for hours? Well, I know I have. And now the Patriots are hoping to address it with two pretty interesting concepts that I haven't seen adopted widely across sports. First, the Patriots are allowing free parking in one of the main lots outside Gillette Stadium, hoping that just allowing cars to come in and park quickly will speed traffic and end the delay of taking money. So basically, the team hopes eliminating the delays of exchanging cash will speed the parking process.
So that's one. In addition, I believe the Patriots are the first team in sports to really incentivize ticket holders and drivers with $50 Visa gift cards if they register to park in a delayed release lot. That means that the fans agree to wait 75 minutes after the game to leave. So the Patriots are essentially paying fans to park and stay 75 minutes after a Patriot's home game beginning this season, hoping that will alleviate post-game traffic jams on Route one. Route one connects to Interstates 95 and 495. Those who sign up get a $50 Visa gift card. When they arrive in the lot, they can use the card anywhere Visa is accepted including Gillette Stadium. So two pretty novel approaches by the New England Patriots on parking announced this week.
Let's shift to Major League Soccer. One of the franchises to watch? That is the launch of MLS's newest club St. Louis CITY SC, which has won very strong marks from the league and leaders in St. Louis for its ownership, its leadership, and its business acumen. The team will host 17 home games at their new soccer-specific City Park Stadium. And in an effort to be fan-friendly and part of the community, the team is hosting pet-friendly celebrations on game days. Yes, before games, the teams will host music, and food, and games, and have performances by the Purina Incredible Dog Team. Now here's the connection. Purina is a founding partner and the club's official kit sponsor, and so it's working with the team to allow dogs to enter St. Louis CITY SC games. So there will be four private boxes at City Park that hold 16 fans and their dogs, and the seats come with special treats for the dogs and things for the dogs to do.
This is only in a limited area. Dogs are not allowed in the rest of the stadium, but this is just one element that this franchise is rolling out to be really part of the community, and sources I speak with think that this team will be one of the best business performers in Major League Soccer this season in year one. So certainly a pretty interesting story coming out of St. Louis with St. Louis CITY SC. Staying with soccer, well-known sports executive Hugh Weber is becoming the new president of business operations for the Seattle Sounders. He will take over from Peter Tomozawa, who is stepping down to oversee Seattle's local bid for the World Cup. Now, Hugh Weber is a veteran executive. He is well-known. He's well-respected. He served as president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. He stepped down last May. Before joining Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, he was with the New Orleans Hornets for years in Seattle.
Hugh Weber lands in a great situation. The Sounders are one of the most successful MLS teams with one of the most ardent fan bases and track records of success. Seattle is a crowded sports market, but the Sounders have clearly defined their role in that market, and Hugh Weber will find himself in a great situation with a great brand with the Seattle Sounders. And we will end on this, as Rich Paul's Klutch has its own sports line. Rich Paul, of course, is Klutch Sports' CEO, and the agent to LeBron James. He is teaming with New Balance on a new sportswear brand named Klutch Athletics. It will be targeted to young athletes and launched in late April. It will be a new line of training and performance apparel for men and women, again, specifically targeted to youth athletes. The collection will be available in stores that carry New Balance as well as on the company's website.
But Klutch Athletics, one of the few new brands launching, targeting young athletes. And I know I've mentioned it a few times this week, but for you loyal Buzzcast listeners who are not subscribers to Sports Business Journal, well, we set up a special offer just for you. Go to the subscribePage at sportsbusinessjournal.com. Use the code Insider 19, that is Insider and the number 19, and you'll receive your first month of SBJ Insider for only $19 for the month. It's a great deal. You'll get our daily newsletters, our weekly coverage, again, for only $19 a month. Go to our subscribe page and put in Insider 19. This offer ends February 19th, and that is your morning Buzzcast for Thursday, February 16th. I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast. Thanks for spreading the word on the Buzzcast. Stay healthy. Be good to each other. I'll speak to you tomorrow.