SOCCER: The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Langdon Brockinton
reports that TWI and the USSF "have teamed to create" the
Glory Tour, a series of three post-Olympic soccer matches on
ESPN and ESPN2 that "will feature" the U.S. women's soccer
team against "top" int'l teams. The tour will take place in
November and December in outdoor stadiums in the U.S.
Brockinton writes that TWI "is looking to sign" a title
sponsor and seven additional sponsors. TWI Senior VP Bob
Horowitz said that the asking price for a title sponsor is
"more than" $300,000 (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/17 issue).
MLB: MLB drew 8,336,370 fans for 251 interleague games
this year, an average of 33,213 fans per game. Interleague
average attendance was 14.4% higher than the intraleague
average of 29,036 (MLB)....Smith College economics professor
Andrew Zimbalist noted the economic figures presented in
MLB's Blue Ribbon Panel on Baseball Economics report. All
financial data was presented by the teams. Zimbalist:
"There are so many ways to legally 'jockey' the book. I'm
even surprised that those individuals [on the panel] quoted
those numbers as relevant." More Zimbalist, on the panel's
recommendation of sharing local revenue: "If they do vote on
this, [Yankees Owner George] Steinbrenner and a couple
others will bring an antitrust suit against baseball.
Steinbrenner will claim that they are expropriating his
asset by diminishing it in half" (ESPN.com, 7/19).
NOTES: In Houston, John McClain reports that Saints
Owner Tom Benson "is going to petition" the NFL to include
Houston's expansion team in a proposed NFC southern division
with the Saints, Falcons and Bucs. But league sources say
that AFC carrier CBS "would frown on Houston moving into the
NFC." Sources say that CBS "wants to establish a presence
in Texas and would balk at both Texas teams being televised
by Fox" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/20)....Nike Global Basketball
Dir Ralph Green, on the WNBA: "The league's done a
remarkable job marketing-wise. Having said that, I think
[it] is still challenged to find the best ways to deliver a
return to sponsors" (BUSINESS JOURNAL OF PORTLAND, 7/17).
