Why MLS is bullish on San Diego; Why NBA Con is an intriguing idea and the facility that time may have forgot, but not NASCAR
The WNBA season tips off this weekend, four games Friday night before five more on Saturday and Sunday, including Brittney Griner's return. The key for me this season will be to see continued growth around the W. And this is your Morning Buzzcast for Friday, May 19th. Good morning, I'm Abe Madkour. Hope to see plenty of you or many of you at the Sports Business Awards on Wednesday, May 24th. Let's start with this. Can you imagine having an event at a stadium that really hasn't hosted anything for more than 26 years? Well, that's what NASCAR is doing this weekend. It's going back in time. And for the first time since 1996, NASCAR will race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, about 90 miles outside of Charlotte. NASCAR's All-Star Race is Sunday at this historic track, which will host a NASCAR race, I'll say it again, for the first time in more than 26 years.
Now, this blast from the past comes during NASCAR's 75th anniversary campaign, and it is certainly a way for the sport to give a nod to its history and its hardcore fans who miss racing at this historic track. But it's going to be fun to watch as this track, which opened in 1947, in this tiny town will look a little bit different, as its owners, Speedway Motorsports and Wilkes County, put more than $20 million into renovating the facility, about $14 million of that went to renovating the track while $4 million went to extend water lines from the town to the venue and install a sewage system. So you see what they had to do to get this facility ready. This facility was in a state of almost total disrepair just a few years ago. Now, they have had some smaller grassroots events that helped convince Speedway Motorsports that a more high profile race was possible.
The track has a capacity of about 30,000. It should be sold out. And just getting to the venue itself will be a journey. This track in North Wilkesboro is located off a two-lane country road that will surely be a test for traffic. Now, I was with some people from NASCAR yesterday and they were very excited about the event. They were eager to see how the track will hold up, especially the racing surface, but it should be a very fun day. It hearkens back to NASCAR's roots. It will be Sunday. It almost feels like a Field of Dreams event for NASCAR. But again, the steps they've made to make this track even game day ready are impressive. So check that out, NASCAR's All-Star Race Sunday. Let's shift to MLS because Major League Soccer will begin play in 2025 in San Diego, which will be the home of its 30th franchise. The ownership group is headed by an Egyptian millionaire, Mohamed Mansour, and his group paid an MLS record $500 million expansion fee, that far exceeds the $325 million that Tepper Sports & Entertainment paid MLS in 2019 for the rights to launch Charlotte FC.
So just look at that growth in the expansion fee at MLS. So this club in San Diego will be a tenant of San Diego State at Snapdragon Stadium. That stadium is really changing the game in San Diego. It opened just last year. It was designed with both football and soccer in mind. It has a capacity of more than 32,000 for soccer, so that will be one of the larger facilities in Major League Soccer. Now, San Diego has proven to be a good market for soccer. The NWSL San Diego Wave, that is actually leading the league, averaging more than 20,000 fans per game in just its second season. So San Diego fans showing up for soccer. We know that recent MLS expansion has been very successful in Austin, in Nashville and Charlotte. Now we will see if that playbook can work on the West Coast. Remember, Las Vegas was seen as the favorite to land the 30th franchise, but that bid got bogged down by efforts around a new stadium.
Now, MLS sits at 30 teams. And I'm told they will pause any future expansion for now, but there are certainly many more markets that would be interested in MLS and it's easy to see that league eventually adding two more teams in the future. Speaking of Major League Soccer, let's go through attendance during the first two months of the season. Here are the top five MLS teams in terms of average attendance. Number one, Atlanta United through six games averaging more than 47,000 fans per game. Pretty impressive. Number two right here in Charlotte, Charlotte FC through six games averaging more than 37,000 fans per game. Number three, Seattle, the Sounders, always a strong market, through six games averaging 31,000 fans per game. The fourth-highest team, Nashville SC at Geodis Park through seven games averaging more than 28,000 fans. And number five, FC Cincinnati through six games averaging more than 25,000 fans per game.
So you see that Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Cincinnati make up four of the top five, and then a mainstay Seattle sitting at number three. So those are the top five teams in terms of average attendance so far through MLS's first couple of months of its season. Let's shift to some other news. Next year's Super Bowl, Las Vegas. In February 2025, New Orleans. And SPJ's Ben Fischer reported last night that NFL owners are expected to award the 2026 Super Bowl to Levi's Stadium. That will be decided at next week's owners' meeting. It will be the facility's second Super Bowl and a big win for that organization and that building. Remember, on the Buzzcast recently, we noted the 49ers are embarking on a major renovation project at Levi's Stadium in an effort to upgrade premium spaces, scoreboards, and other areas of the facility as they look to host a Super Bowl and World Cup matches.
Now, hosting a Super Bowl is a big, big win for any organization. And Levi's Stadium last hosted the Super Bowl in 2016. That was for Super Bowl 50. Pretty impressive that Levi's Stadium will get its second Super Bowl. Remember, the stadium opened in 2014. Here's one idea I love that was announced yesterday, and that was the NBA's plans for a full out NBA convention. Yes, all things NBA. They are launching NBA Con, a fan event that is centered around fashion, music, games, food, art, technology, and, of course, athletes. I've actually heard about this concept on a different scale a few times over the last few years, but this one will be focused just around the NBA. NBA Con will debut at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas this July, July 7th through 9th. It'll be held around the NBA Summer League. So it's basically a three-day celebration of the NBA.
There'll be plenty of player appearances, there'll be product drops, there'll be musical acts, there'll be brand experiences, there'll be games, there'll be live podcasts, all these things centered around the NBA at this convention center. And they just think it's going to be an interesting concept that could draw a lot of NBA fans, celebrities across pop culture who are NBA fans, and they could really build this into a key tentpole event for the NBA in the middle of the summer. So this is a time of year that the NBA believes it can grow some attention and grow some interest and keep this yearlong narrative around the game and around the sport. So NBA Con debuting this July in Las Vegas. And I do think this is a concept that other leagues and other events are going to watch and see how successful it is, and they could try to replicate it in the future.
Let's hit on a couple things as we end the Buzzcast. A tough day at Warner Brothers Discovery Sports as SBJ's John Ourand noted that the media group laid off more than 50 staffers over this past week as part of a cost-cutting effort at the division. The job losses were spread throughout the company with many of them hitting the digital group. The cuts did not affect reportedly senior management or on-air talent. These cuts come more than six months after Warner Brothers Discovery Sports laid off around 70 people as part of across the board cuts. So some job cuts continuing at Warner Brothers Discovery Sports. Never like to see that. And let's end this week's Buzzcast around someone who I've known for years, a good man named Jay Jacobs. He is formerly retiring following nearly 40 years in college athletics.
Many of you know Jay Jacobs. He's 62 years old. He spent 13 years as Auburn's athletic director. That's when they won the 2010 National Championship. Cam Newton was the quarterback. Auburn, of course, very high profile institution. Jay Jacobs led Auburn during that time. He will step down at the end of June. He is currently Florida's associate athletic director for external affairs. Jay Jacobs says he plans to stay close to college athletics, even in retirement. He could serve as a consultant or work on another endeavor. But I have known Jay Jacobs for years. He's a good man, a kind family man. He has great energy. And I wish him all the best as Jay Jacobs is formally retiring, following nearly four decades in college athletics. And so that is your Morning Buzzcast for Friday, May 19th. I'm Abe Madkour. I'll be in New York all week next week giving you the Buzzcast. Hope to see you while I'm in the city. Remember, stay healthy, be good to each other, and I'll speak to you next week.