A source said that Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff's Oak View Group is "interested in developing KeyArena into a multi-purpose facility that could handle NBA or NHL teams." About 15 months ago, a top exec with architectural firm AECOM "met in Chicago" with an MSG Co. rep to "discuss ongoing developments at KeyArena." A source said that Seattle Mayor Ed Murray's office is expected to issue an RFP to "renovate the facility by December." Besides Oak View, AEG also "has expressed interest in renovating" the venue (SEATTLETIMES.com, 10/27).

Other sources indicated that the NBA "appears more determined than ever to return a franchise to Seattle." One team owner said, "It's a big priority" (AMICOHOOPS.net, 10/27).

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and former Commissioner David Stern are expected to attend tonight’s Spurs-Kings game, the first regular-season contest at Golden 1 Center. A sellout crowd of 17,500 will be on hand at the new $557M arena. Kings officials said a rainy forecast will most likely prevent the NBA’s first “indoor-outdoor arena” from opening five giant glass doors during the game. The doors, the arena’s signature design feature, stand 60 feet tall by 150 feet wide at the main entrance on the arena’s northwest side. To date, the team has kept the doors open for the first half of two preseason games and closed them for the second half. The club is working with the NBA to form guidelines for open-air games tied to court temperature and humidity.

    

Twitter kicked off its Q3 earnings call today with CFO Anthony Noto talking up the "early response to its live Thursday Night Football video streams." He said, "We’re at the beginning of the beginning of our product enhancements." Twitter "reached more than 2 million people over the first two games it offered, and 3 million for the last three." Since only two of the NFL games took place in Q3, the financial contribution was “small relative to total revenue" (DEADLINE.com, 10/27).

Noto said that "up to 15% of those who viewed its NFL streams do not have active Twitter accounts." At the same time, Noto "admitted that Twitter’s NFL streams had a minor impact on the company’s ad revenue." Morgan Stanley analysts "project NFL-related ad revenue will total" just $13M for the company in '16, "hardly enough to improve its standing with investors" (FOXBUSINESS.com, 10/27).

Meanwhile, Twitter "plans to lay off a few hundred employees, mostly in sales and marketing, and shut down its Vine video app as the social media service strives to produce an annual profit for the first time next year" (LATIMES.com, 10/27).

Oldsmar (Fla.) Mayor Doug Bevis today is presenting "new photos and video renderings" of a potential Rays ballpark near Tampa Bay Downs, and the proposed location is both the "biggest selling point and drawback." The site "straddles the Pinellas/Hillsborough County line," so there is a "potential for both counties to pitch in to jointly fund" the project. But some observers "argue Oldsmar is just too far away" from the St. Petersburg and Tampa downtowns (WTSP.com, 10/27).

During a Q3 earnings call, WWE CEO Vince McMahon "indicated that he would be interested in a deal" to sell the company "so long as the offer was right." One investor "inquired about a potential sale of the company, citing the hefty price tags of big media transactions" such as the $4B acquisition of UFC as well as the $85B merger of Time Warner and AT&T. McMahon said that WWE is "open to anything, but controlling their destiny is very important" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/27). 

The NBA today confirmed an "exact list of matchups and dates" for its upcoming slate of games produced in virtual reality through a partnership with NextVR. The VR games will take place every Tuesday night, with the "exception of one game later in the season." The Warriors will be featured four times. The league also announced that "highlights, condensed games and full game recaps will be available in VR on NextVR after the game" (TECHCRUNCH.com, 10/27).

Fans will need a Samsung Gear VR headset for the "first wave," but NextVR "expects its app to support other headsets soon." Also, Voke VR will stream tonight's Spurs-Kings pregame show on Facebook Live (CNET.com, 10/27).

"Ice Guardians," a documentary about "hockey’s violent enforcers," hits theaters today. The film, directed by Brett Harvey and written by Harvey and Scott Dodds, "includes interviews with such NHL greats as Dave 'The Hammer' Schultz, Clark Gillies and Dave Semenko." The movie was acquired by Upstream Flix and is "one of the first theatrical distribution plays" for the new hybrid distributor/sales outfit (DEADLINE.com, 10/21).

Sixteen years ago this week, the Metropolitan Football Stadium District pondered whether or not to keep "Mile High" as the sole name of the Broncos' new $364M football stadium set to open in '01. A poll showed that public opinion was in favor of keeping the Mile High name. Colorado state law required the body to "consider public sentiment as well as weigh the relative costs and benefits" of selling naming rights. Ultimately, Invesco paid $120M for the naming rights, before Sports Authority secured the rights in '11.

 Other stories from this week in '00:

• Pac-10 approves reinstatement of postseason tournament.
• Ilitch Holdings clarifies reports about refinancing package.
• Philly stadium debate heats up as deadline for action nears.

Hornets Sports & Entertainment and Charter Communications today announced that Spectrum Center has officially replaced Time Warner Cable Arena as the name of the team's arena (Hornets).

Phil Mickelson's Mickelson Design Group has "commenced on its renovation and restoration work of the flood-ravaged Greenbrier Course" in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. The renovation and restoration project "will start in January and is expected to be completed" by November of '17 and re-opened in the spring of '18 (GOLFDIGEST.com, 10/27).

PNC Bank and Butler Univ. announced a five-year partnership agreement for naming rights of the school's radio network. The PNC Butler Radio Network will launch immediately (Learfield).

First Data today announced that it will partner with Credit One Bank and be featured on the No. 1 Credit One Bank Chevrolet SS driven by Jamie McMurray at this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway (First Data).

Wilson Sporting Goods has acquired protective gear brand EvoShield (Wilson).

"When we play them, I’d like to bury them each and every day. Outside of that, (if the Cubs win the World Series) it will force us to make some hard decisions – and to have to do better" – White Sox play-by-play announcer Hawk Harrelson, on pulling for the Cubs in the World Series (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 10/27).

"All of our producers in original programming, the one who does the Hawks and the one who does the features are all female. They’re (Fox) actually doing it and not just making a slogan" – FS Southeast Hawks Game Producer Jil Gossard-Cook, on working in what is perceived as a male-dominated sports media industry (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/27).

Do I think the #DCU stadium disagreement, now a year old, was resolved in the past week? No, no I do not.

— Jonathan O'Connell (@OConnellPostbiz) October 27, 2016

So when is the pizza party celebrating the "tremendous progress" Goodell's NFL has made on domestic violence? We know who gets 1st slice...

— Matt Chatham (@chatham58) October 27, 2016

I was never sure about the Raiders' hopes for Las Vegas, as I've been uncertain--and rightly so--about the entire stadium search. https://t.co/uGUSpuUGeH

— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) October 27, 2016

MLB/Indians need to stop selling merch with it, but still should work to prevent pirate Wahoo merch from filling the void.

— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) October 27, 2016

Proof that Augusta National has way too much money. . . They are spending a ton of it building a new media center pic.twitter.com/0tmNzzA51j

— Bob Harig (@BobHarig) October 27, 2016

With the Indians' World Series run bringing attention to their moniker and Chief Wahoo logo, Cleveland.com offers a quick primer on how the team ended up with the name.

Actor Kevin Connolly during tonight's episode of Fox' "Pitch" makes his debut as Charlie Graham, the interim Padres President of Operations, in the wake of his predecessor's ouster.

$19,000 – Price paid on StubHub for a World Series Game 3 ticket near the Cubs' bullpen, the "most expensive ticket purchased" for the three World Series games at Wrigley Field. The fan bought two tickets, each at that price (ESPN.com, 10/27).