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Thursday 4:00pm ET....Latest News....Beach Ball

  • Beckham Group Releases Re-Boot Of MLS Stadium Plans In Miami
  • Fox Sports Adds Adrian Wojnarowski To FS1's On-Air Talent Roster
  • Univ. Of Kentucky President Criticizes Rupp Arena Project Leader
  • CFL Roughriders Reveal Detailed Plans For Stadium In Regina

Publishing Notice: Closing Bell will not publish Friday or Monday due to the Memorial Day holiday. It will return on Tuesday.

Beckham Group Releases Re-Boot Of MLS Stadium Plans In Miami

Miami Beckham United today released preliminary designs of its latest MLS stadium plan, scrapping a "portion of a long-planned waterfront park in exchange for filling what is now a deep-water boat slip and turning that land – and a neighboring parcel – into new green space." The port renderings and slip designs were done by Miami-based Arquitectonica, countering "amateur drawings put out earlier in the week." David Beckham did not attend today's press conference, but investor Marcelo Claure was on hand (MIAMIHERALD.com, 5/22).

Fox Sports Adds Adrian Wojnarowski To FS1's On-Air Talent Roster

Fox Sports today formally announced that it has added Yahoo Sports NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski to the FS1 on-air lineup. Wojnarowski will immediately begin contributing to the "Fox Sports Live" flagship nightly news program, starting with tonight's 11:00pm ET edition. He also will make regular appearances on "America's Pregame" (Fox Sports).

The N.Y. Daily News' Bob Raissman wrote on his Twitter feed: "Fox Sports 1 inks Adrian Wojnarowski. Will NBA TV rights be next?" Broadcaster Tim Brando: "There's a Substance over style hire. Good for them. Congrats to Adrian. He is hardwired for success in our business." ESPN's Dick Vitale: "Adrian has been so informative on the NBA - gr8 contacts & info."

Univ. Of Kentucky President Criticizes Rupp Arena Project Leader

The city of Lexington's Rupp Arena renovation "took a serious blow this week" when Univ. of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto "sent a scalding, three-page letter to the head of the project," Lexington Center Corp. Chair Brent Rice. Rice had "all but demanded" public support from UK, but Capilouto "fired back with exactly the opposite" (COURIER-JOURNAL.com, 5/22). Capilouto wrote, "At this time, there is not sufficient public support for committing over $350 million in state, city and other funds to a basketball arena and convention center" (KENTUCKY.com, 5/22).

CFL Roughriders Reveal Detailed Plans For Stadium In Regina

By Don Muret, Staff Writer

The CFL Saskatchewan Roughriders today officially released design details and renderings for Mosaic Stadium, their new facility opening in '17. The project architects include HKS, the same company designing the Vikings’ new stadium. Located in Regina, the stadium’s cost is US$255M. The facility will have a standard capacity of 33,000 and can be expanded to 40,000 for Grey Cup and other special events. The open-air stadium has a translucent roof canopy covering most seats. The south end zone is open, providing a connection between the building and the city. Other features include a general admission lounge accessible to all ticketholders. Almost 70% of the total seats are in the lower bowl.

Construction starts next month and the first Roughriders game is expected to be played in June '17. It is the first CFL project for HKS. The firm’s Greg Whittemore is project manager, Brad Baker senior designer and Mark Williams is principal-in-charge. PCL Construction Management is the general contractor. The Mosaic Company, which has had entitlement to the Roughriders’ venue since '06, also announced an extension of the naming-rights deal for another 20 years.

Tigers Now Staging Mascot Races Featuring Classic Chevrolet Brands

The Tigers during today's home game against the Rangers were scheduled to stage mascot races at Comerica Park "featuring classic Chevrolet brand cars" as part of a deal with the 39-dealer Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Local Marketing Association. The first Motor City Wheels mascot race was to feature "Bella Air" ('57 Bel Air), "Corey Vette" ('58 Corvette) and "Petey Pickup" ('54 Chevy pickup). The mascots are "stylized cartoon outfit versions of the vehicles, not unlike the characters from the animated movie 'Cars'" (CRAINSDETROIT.com, 5/20).

IOC Announces Members Of Olympic Agenda 2020 Working Groups

IOC President Thomas Bach today announced the membership of the 14 Working Groups that will help frame some of the key recommendations for Olympic Agenda 2020. Each group will be composed of Olympic stakeholders including IOC members, athletes and representatives of int'l sports federations and NGBs. The groups also include outside experts from various int'l organizations, NGOs and business organizations (IOC).

View a full list of the working groups.

Buzzer Beaters....

Louisville-based WAVE-NBC and WHAS-ABC have been granted rights to air ACC football and basketball games regionally "for the next three years" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 5/22).

Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney "balked Thursday at the latest revisions to the Wrigley Field renovation plans submitted by the Cubs." Tunney: "I'm opposed to any further signs at Wrigley Field beyond those agreed to last year" (DNAINFO.com, 5/22).

Orioles VP/Corporate Partnerships Marco Gentile today said that naming rights to Oriole Park at Camden Yards "are not on the table" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 5/22).

FIFA today announced that it would cancel World Cup tickets "discovered as illegally sold or re-sold with the bearers risking not being permitted entry." FIFA said its website is the "only legitimate source" for tickets, including a re-sale section for buyers unable to attend (AP, 5/22).

H&M today launched its David Beckham signature swimwear line for the summer season (Mult., 5/22).

Quick Hits....

"World domination is near. The global market is still mostly untapped, and American sensibilities are becoming increasingly delicate. There's no doubt that America has become soft" – UFC President Dana White, on the MMA promotion's plans for global expansion (WASHINGTON POST, 5/22).

"We haven’t done a great job. The organization of the World Cup is far from being perfect. Brazil is much better than that” – Itau Unibanco Holding CEO Roberto Setubal, whose company is one of the biggest Brazilian financial sponsors of this summer's FIFA World Cup (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/22).

"It’s difficult to adapt to that type of atmosphere. Everybody knows you now. It’s great at times, but at times, it’s uncomfortable" – Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig, on becoming accustomed to his growing fame (N.Y. TIMES, 5/22).

Twitter Me This....

Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban: "Thanks to @espn for playing my entire Inc interview."

ESPN's Bomani Jones: "i felt like cuban was saying what i’ve said: if you wanna take someone’s team for being a bigot, who’s gonna get to keep their team?"

Philadelphia Inquirer's Mike Sielski: "@jasonWSJ No wonder MSG is so quiet during games. Pay enough $, and you can turn any sports arena into an art show."

Blues' official account: "Twitter allows you 2,400 tweets / day before it suspends you. If you're getting suspended, it might as well be for a good cause. #NHL15Oshie"

Golfer Billy Horschel: "Anybody having trouble with there @PGATOUR App??? Mine shows scores from Nelson. Wife's from Players. Trying to check Colonial scores. #joke"

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

Tweet Pic Of The Day....

The official KitchenAid Golf feed posted this image of PGA of America volunteers forming an image of the state of Michigan on the course at Harbor Shores, where the 75th Senior PGA Championship began today. KitchenAid is the presenting sponsor of the tournament.

The Starting Five....

The most-read stories today on SportsBusinessDaily.com:

1) NBC Sports Group, NHL Big Winners At Last Night's Sports Business Awards
2) Back To The Drawing Board? Cubs Revise Proposal For Wrigley Upgrades
3) Source: Former Sabres Owner Thomas Golisano Emerges As Lead Bidder For Bills
4) Media Notes: AT&T Says It Will Not Be Involved In DirecTV-NFL Talks
5) People & Personalities: Fox Sports' Shanks Confident Gus Johnson Will Improve

The Daily's Hot Reads....

The WASHINGTON POST's Mark Giannotto writes four months after becoming Virginia Tech AD, Whit Babcock "has wasted little time putting his stamp on an athletic department not used to internal change." His "aw-shucks persona … disguises the nuanced pedigree of a modern college athletic director with business savvy" (WASHINGTON POST).

Also:

See the Hot Reads section for more sports business-related links.

Daily Download....

ESPN produced this promo for the X Games' inaugural trip to Austin next month. There will be "five others that ESPN will air on all of its television and digital platforms starting Monday" (AUSTIN360.com, 5/21).

Headliners....

Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
“Late Show” Stephen Colbert (r)
“Tonight Show” Amanda Seyfried
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” Magic Johnson
“Late Late Show” Tom Lennon
“Late Night” Hugh Jackman
“Conan” Ellen Page

Daily Digit....

$57,000 – Amount of public funds paid in overtime costs for police in Dayton, Ohio, "tasked with controlling crowds after Dayton's two NCAA men's basketball tournament wins and a loss to Florida" (USA TODAY, 5/22).

Notes & Quotes From This Day In SBD History....

2003
"At this time, there's just no reason to change. We have the greatest product in sports" – NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, on NFL team owners concluding quarterly meetings without making a change to the league's 12-team playoff format.