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Wednesday 4:00pm ET....Latest News....Rocky Mountain Hire

  • Sources: Pete D'Alessandro Leaving Kings To Re-Join Nuggets
  • StubHub, Ticketmaster Execs Address Concept Of Ticket Ownership
  • USTA Unveils Fully Installed Roof Matrix At Arthur Ashe Stadium
  • Ebersol, Solomon Talk Mentorship At Women's Leadership Summit

Sources: Pete D'Alessandro Leaving Kings To Re-Join Nuggets

Sources said that NBA Kings GM Pete D'Alessandro is "finalizing a deal to return to a front-office job" with the Nuggets and Avalanche. He reportedly "will serve in an operations position," answering to President Josh Kroenke. D'Alessandro went to the Kings three years ago from the Nuggets, where he had been Assistant GM. He "had a chance to return to his alma mater, St. John’s," as AD, but "chose to stay in the NBA" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/10).

StubHub, Ticketmaster Execs Address Concept Of Ticket Ownership

By Austin Karp

Execs from StubHub and Ticketmaster skirted the details of their pending litigation during the opening panel of the '15 Veritix Ticketing Symposium, but addressed the overall concept of ticket ownership. Ticketmaster Exec VP/Client Revenue Cole Gahagan said, "This is that inevitable question where, no matter where he is, my general counsel feels the hair on the back of his neck stand up. ... Our job is to operate within the confines of the law and the world we live in. Then, based on what our partners need, our job is to go out and build the technology, and that's what we've done, and will continue to do."

StubHub Head of Partnerships & Business Development Geoff Lester said, "For a team trying to sell a ticket, I don't know why you would want to limit that to one channel. We all rely on large sellers or brokers. We all rely on millennials, who want to be able to do what they want to do. And we all rely on ticket sales. To limit that to one place is not a good experience for anybody. ... A monopoly is not good for anybody in this room. It's lower revenue to clubs, higher fees to fans and less innovation for everyone."

For more on the opening panel and coverage of the conference, see tomorrow’s issue of THE DAILY.

USTA Unveils Fully Installed Roof Matrix At Arthur Ashe Stadium

By Daniel Kaplan

The last bar of steel, weighing 500 pounds and 40 feet long, was installed this afternoon to complete the roof matrix on Arthur Ashe Stadium at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open. The USTA invited media to film and snap pictures of the bar’s ascent and then descent into place. In all, the roof matrix consumed 5,000 tons of steel. The retractable roof portion will not be installed into the matrix until after this year’s Open, but will be ready for the '16 edition. Still, the new roof structure instantly gave the cavernous tennis stadium a different feel, making it – while not intimate – less wide open.

USTA officials said it will take 150 tractor-trailer trucks to remove the three giant cranes currently on the grounds of the BJKNTC. The roof is one part of a $500M redevelopment, which will not be fully complete until '19. It includes new number two and three stadiums, plus the creation of a second fan thoroughfare designed to ease congestion.

Ebersol, Solomon Talk Mentorship At Women's Leadership Summit

By Ian Thomas

Former NBC Sports Chair Dick Ebersol and Golf Channel Exec Producer Molly Solomon today spoke about leadership and mentorship at the KPMG Women's Leadership Summit this morning at Westchester Country Club ahead of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. The two shared moments and reflections on their own careers, as well as on Solomon's rise to her current position, which made her the first woman to serve as executive producer for a national sports network. The two worked together for a number of years, starting when Solomon became the first female Olympic researcher for NBC for the '92 Barcelona Games.

"I got the impression very early on that her personality was going to carry her a long way," Ebersol said. Chronicling the work they did together on the Olympics, including the push of the coverage to cable networks that Solomon oversaw, the two spoke of the importance of strong relationships with those you work with and partners, especially in the sports television industry. "Mentors can help push you out of your comfort zone. Dick knew I was ready for a new challenge before I was," Solomon said.

Both commented on the growing diversity of voices in the industry, something Ebersol said was much needed. Solomon said when she first joined NBC, there was a lack of female role models to look up to, but it was people such as Ebersol, who embraced opposing opinions and took the time to listen, who helped empower her.

Colts Re-Open Stadium Store Under Lids Sports Group Management

The Colts today are holding a "grand re-opening" of the Colts Pro Shop at Lucas Oil Stadium under the management of Lids Sports Group. In a deal finalized earlier this year, Lids "now handles team and NFL merchandise at the Colts' brick-and-mortar and online stores," replacing MainGate. Colts COO Pete Ward said, "Lids' reach is certainly one of the things that really appealed to us." Lids holds contracts with 15 teams across pro and college sports (IBJ.com, 6/10).

Topps Names Posey Brand Ambassador Ahead Of Card Release

Topps today named MLB Giants C Buster Posey its brand ambassador for '15. Posey, who is repped by CAA, will make promotional appearances for Topps and assist in social media campaigns. The announcement comes ahead of the June 17 launch of the Topps Series Two Baseball cards. Highlights of the set include the rookie card of Cubs 3B Kris Bryant and the latest iteration of the First Pitch series, featuring celebrities such as Jon Hamm, Stan Lee, Chris Pratt and the Grateful Dead's Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart (Topps).

Speaking of the Grateful Dead, THE DAILY wants to hear from our readers who plan on attending the upcoming concerts at either Levi’s Stadium (June 27-28) or Soldier Field (July 3-5). Let us know if you plan on attending, and we’ll follow up with you directly on what we’ll need from your "long strange trips." If interested, shoot an e-mail to adamharris@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

Buzzer Beaters....

Hartford city officials today announced that the Double-A Eastern League Hartford Yard Goats' ballpark will be called Dunkin' Donuts Park. Financial details of the naming-rights deal were not disclosed (COURANT.com, 6/10).

Secret Golf has added PGA Tour players Jason Dufner and Pat Perez as contributors of behind-the-scenes content for its website and app (Secret Golf).

The Saints and Pelicans in collaboration with SMG today announced the debut of a redesigned Champions Square. The venue features a new gold look (Saints).

Showtime has acquired the rights to "Play It Forward," a documentary about former NFLer Tony Gonzalez and his older brother Chris that debuted at the '15 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival (Showtime).

The cover of SI this week features American Pharoah crossing the finish line at the Belmont Stakes: "The Triple Crown ... All American Pharoah" (THE DAILY).

Quick Hits....

"We were introduced recently to members of the Boston 2024 Committee and had a very preliminary conversation about collaborating on a special beer in the future. There's nothing set in stone. It's just a fun idea we talked about" – The Boston Beer Co. Dir of PR Jessica Paar, whose brewery makes Sam Adams, on applying for a "Boston 2024" beer trademark (REUTERS, 6/10).

“I have always had a dream to be an owner of a sports team, and hopefully an MLS team. If that opportunity presents itself, or (something) as a high-level executive, that’s something I would certainly look at seriously” – Landon Donovan (MLSSOCCER.com, 6/9).

Twitter Me This....

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

The Starting Five....

The most-read stories today on SportsBusinessDaily.com:

1) Boras Claims MLB Network Prohibited Analysts From Mentioning His Company During Draft
2) Three's Company: ABC/ESPN Set Another Ratings Record With Warriors-Cavs Game 3
3) Glendale Set To Cancel Coyotes' Lease After IceArizona's Refusal To Renegotiate
4) NFL Responds To Romo Voicing His Opinion On League's Involvement In Vegas Convention
5) Attendance Struggles Continue For Women's World Cup Early-Round Matches In Canada

Daily Download....

At the risk of causing a "cute overload," we offer up this video of a puppy basketball game, complete with dog-sized Warriors and Cavaliers jerseys, cardboard cutouts of players and even a press-conference backdrop. Your move, Animal Planet.

Channel Surf....

U.S. beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh-Jennings will participate in ABC's "Celebrity Wife Swap" at 10:00pm ET.

Headliners....

Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
“Tonight Show” Whoopi Goldberg
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” Kit Harington
“Late Late Show” Chris Pratt
“Late Night”  Hugh Dancy
“Conan” Zella Day

Daily Digit....

35 – Approximate hours of live hole-by-hole coverage that SiriusXM will provide from next week's U.S. Open from Chambers Bay. SiriusXM is the exclusive national radio broadcaster of the USGA event (SiriusXM).