CREW

The group looking to keep the Crew in Columbus "intends to break ground" on a new $230M downtown Columbus soccer stadium, with the venue also serving as the "centerpiece of a new 'Confluence Village' neighborhood of residential and office buildings." The stadium plan, unveiled this afternoon, is the "linchpin of a proposal being made" to MLS by Browns Owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam and the Edwards family. The new Crew owners would invest a total of $645M to buy the team for an estimated $150M, "build the new stadium and remodel the team’s current home at Mapfre Stadium" as a practice facility "amid a planned Community Sports Park." The multilevel 20,000-seat stadium would "include 30 suites and loge boxes and 1,900 'club seats'” (DISPATCH.com, 12/6).

NASCAR and the Race Team Alliance announced the creation of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League, marking the first time that participants will officially represent NASCAR’s actual teams in esports competition. The league will be played on 704Games’ “NASCAR Heat 3” video game starting with the ’19 season and feature up to 16 actual race teams fielding spots for 32 drivers. Each team will field two drivers, with one competing on PlayStation 4 and the other on Xbox One. Participants will include all of NASCAR’s most well-known teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series -- like Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske -- plus Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Xfinity Series team, JR Motorsports. 

The league will hold a draft in early '19 -- potentially during Daytona’s Speedweeks -- and will start a 16-race season in the spring that will wrap up during the '19 NASCAR Playoffs. All races will be live-streamed on NASCAR.com and Motorsport.com, the latter of which became a major investor in 704Games earlier this year. Sports Business Journal first reported in January that the league was in the works.

For more coverage of the business of esports, visit our partners, esportsobserver.com.

Former NFLer Ricky Williams today announced the creation of the Freedom Football League during an appearance on ESPN’s “OTL.” Williams is among 50 former players out of 100 stakeholders involved in starting the league, which is “for the fans" and "by the players.” Other former players involved include Terrell Owens and Simeon Rice, and Williams said it started with a "bunch of guys sitting around the table talking about the good old days and realizing, ‘You know, we have a lot of experience. We’ve been there before, we know how to do it.'" Williams: “We talked about the disparity in income and that in the NFL, for example and most professional leagues, the owners are making all the money. Yes, the players have an ability to make money but when their career is over, then what?"

The league initially will consist of 10 teams, with games taking place during the spring and summer. Teams will be “partly owned by the players, partly owned by the fans and partly owned by the operators,” Williams said. As for a player draft, Williams said the league will "want to draft players that come from the region" in an effort to build a "community around football" (“OTL,” ESPN, 12/6).

There has been "little movement to indicate" whether the Rays plan to leave St. Petersburg, "less than a day after Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill put forth a funding framework that could bring" the team to Ybor City. There has also "been no word on whether the Rays will agree to foot half the cost" of the $892M ballpark. The Rays "have until Dec. 31 to notify the city of St. Petersburg that they plan to leave Tropicana Field." Mayor Rick Kriseman said that he "hasn’t spoken with the Rays about extending their agreement." Rays Senior Dir of PR Rafaela Amador Fink said that the team "isn’t commenting at this time on the financial framework" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/6).

Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta., will host the '21 world junior hockey championship, the tournament's "return to Alberta for the first time since Calgary and Edmonton co-hosted" the '12 event, "drawing a record 455,342 fans." Red Deer was the primary host of the '95 championship, with some games "played in other cities and towns in central Alberta." Canada will "host the world junior championship for the 13th time" when the '19 tournament kicks off on Boxing Day in Victoria and Vancouver (CP, 12/6).

The Atlanta Basketball Host Committee and the NCAA unveiled the logo for the '20 Final Four (Atlanta Basketball Host Committee).

ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" will be filmed in Las Vegas early next week to coincide with the MLB's Winter Meetings. Multiple editions of the show will air daily on ESPN Dec. 10-12 from the Mandalay Bay Resort (ESPN).

United Rentals has been named the presenting sponsor of the third annual NCAA Never Forget Tribute Classic doubleheader. This year's edition, set to be played on Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, will feature Clemson-Mississippi State followed by Florida State-UConn (Prudential Center).

"This is the future. The other big four sports leagues are all tip-toeing around it and it’s just silly" -- Las Vegas Lights FC Owner Brett Lashbrook, on the USL club's "incorporation of gambling into their game-day experience" (AP, 12/6).

"Once you total up all of it, the loss of guaranteed income, legal fees and settlements, it came to 111 million bucks. So I didn't feel like I got off easy" -- Lance Armstrong, on settling the $100M lawsuit brought by the U.S. government for only $5M back in April ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 12/6).

New #Maryland HC Mike Locksley thanks Marty McNair, the father of the late Terp OL Jordan McNair, who is in attendance. “We go way back as friends. We both lost our sons in tragedies.” Says they leaned on each other for support as they worked thru those emotions.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 6, 2018

Some news: The Winter Meetings will be my last days on the Nationals beat. Starting soon, I’ll be joining the Post’s coverage of the 2020 presidential campaign, and I’m so honored to have that opportunity.

— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) December 6, 2018

Longtime Hornets team physician Dr. Glenn Perry retiring. He’s been a huge asset to that team (and he also did a heck of a job once fixing my meniscus).

— Rick Bonnell (@rick_bonnell) December 6, 2018

Saw a Q to Tiger Woods in the Presidents Cup transcript about his tournament clashing with 2019 Australian Open. Lets be clear here, the only time he’s going to favour the Aus Open over the Hero, is if he’s being paid a huge sum of money. It’s not rocket science it’s Capitalism.

— Luke Elvy (@Luke_Elvy) December 6, 2018

Informational picket at Triple A ballpark construction site. Union tradesmen like electricians etc accuse sub contractors of not hiring union workers and some subs accused of not having biz licenses. pic.twitter.com/mnR9RQWriQ

— LVSportsBiz.com (@LVSportsBiz) December 6, 2018

FC Dallas will unveil its USL League One team name, logo and GM at British Beverage Company in Dallas.

You've seen what @KyleRudolph82 can do on the field.

But off the field?

He's touched more lives than you could ever imagine.#WPMOYChallenge Rudolph pic.twitter.com/iTqfY4TIas

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 6, 2018

$94,261 -- Amount the Atlanta chapter of Speedway Children's Charities donated in grants to 35 metro non-profits in a ceremony today at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway).