With St. Louis City SC excelling both on and off the field, CEO Carolyn Kindle said the owners of the first-year MLS club are mulling the possibility of bringing a women’s team to the region. Asked at SBJ’s AXS Drive conference about adding other sports franchises to the group’s portfolio, Kindle said her family, which owns the team along with World Wide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh, is keeping an eye on the NWSL. 

“That’s definitely on the radar of something to invest in because, quite frankly, the caliber of female players we have in this region, if there's an opportunity to provide them opportunities and pathways as well, I think the family and the ownership group would be excited about that,” Kindle said. 

Based on St. Louis City’s early success, there’s every reason to believe St. Louis would support a team in the country’s top women’s soccer league. Kindle said the club has now received more than 100,000 deposits for season tickets at the 22,423-seat CityPark. “People knew they weren't going to get a ticket, but they just wanted to show support any way they could,” Kindle said. Meanwhile, the club’s development team, St. Louis City 2, drew more than 9,626 for a recent match, the largest crowd to attend an MLS Next Pro match. 

After selling its 15th franchise to an ownership group in Boston for $53M, the NWSL plans to award one additional expansion franchise to begin play in the 2026 season. That process will begin after the current NWSL season. Kindle has been pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming support the first-year MLS club has received from its local community since the announcement of the franchise in 2019. 

“I had no idea the region would be this supportive of us,” Kindle said. “Every time we have asked, ‘please go to social media,’ or ‘buy a t-shirt,’ they've exceeded our expectations." Kindle believes one of the most important elements of garnering fan support is ensuring players are out in the community supporting the club’s CSR initiatives, such as building mini pitches throughout the city. 

"Commissioner Garber told me almost five years ago to this month that as an ownership group, you’ve done a good job when your community feels like it owns your team, that you don’t own the team,” Kindle said. “I always took that to heart.” 

The Royals said that they "won’t meet that deadline" of the end of September they had targeted for putting an April 2024 funding measure for a "proposed new major-league ballpark and surrounding entertainment district" on local ballots. The Royals are deliberating between an East Village site near downtown and a North Kansas City site in Clay County. The team said "discussions are ongoing" with leaders from both Jackson and Clay counties. The team in a statement said, "Our site evaluation process is moving thoughtfully and directly. ... Leaders in both Jackson County and Clay County know that we and the Chiefs need clarity on our stadium plans in time for the public to be fully informed for a vote in April 2024" (K.C. STAR, 9/20).

A bill aimed at "revitalizing the site" of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in D.C. today cleared the House Committee on Oversight "on an overwhelming 31-9 vote." The bipartisan legislation, introduced in July by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), would "allow the city government to develop federal land on which the shuttered" stadium currently stands. The measure would alter D.C.'s existing lease on the land to "permit commercial or residential development," and retain the city’s "freedom to use the land for a sports venue, such as a stadium." This comes as D.C. is "weighing whether to use the land formerly occupied by RFK stadium for a brand-new sports arena that would eventually be used by" the Commanders (COURTHOUSE NEWS SERVICE, 9/20).

Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin has apologized after disgruntled Eagles fans who ordered kelly green Eagles gear from Fanatics the day it dropped "shared photos of their lopsided Jalen Hurts tees and jerseys on the platform." Rubin: "Anytime we let any fan down, it’s a failure on our part and that’s on me. I let some of you down and I apologize." A Fanatics spokesperson said that the company "temporarily paused shipments" of kelly green apparel to "conduct a quality control assessment" and had been contacting customers to resolve the issue. Rubin encouraged fans to email CustomerExperience@fanatics.com if they received a slanted product (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 9/20).

Dallas, Florida and New York will "host matches at next year’s men’s T20 World Cup" as the U.S. is set to co-host the June 4-30 tournament with the West Indies. The International Cricket Council said that an "agreement has been reached for the construction of a 34,000-seat stadium in Eisenhower Park, a purpose-built sports and events park in Nassau County, New York, pending the awarding of a required permit next month." Venues in Grand Prairie outside Dallas and Broward County in Florida will be "increased in size to expand seating, media and premium hospitality areas to enable them to host matches in the 20-team tournament" (AP, 9/20).

The Angels-Rays game tonight will feature MLB's "next digital game-viewing experience, a virtual ballpark." It is the "first time the technology will be used in an MLB game" -- a "digital, 3D landscape of a ballpark, synced with MLB’s Gameday 3D." Users "log in for free online" and will be able to "navigate and interact with others who are logged in, similar to walking around an actual ballpark -- though in a video-game-looking space -- and has no local blackout restrictions." For now, the virtual ballpark is "just an experiment" and "not meant to alter the underlying media model as it relates to watching an MLB game and will not affect TV ratings" (L.A. TIMES, 9/19).

Shopify

Shopify is making a big investment in franchised esports, buying the slot in League of Legends’ North American circuit currently held by TSM. Canada-based Shopify launched an in-house competitive gaming team, Shopify Rebellion, in 2021, as company co-founder and CEO Tobias "Tobi" Lütke has long been an esports fan. Sources tell SBJ that TSM has been looking to offload its franchise slot in Riot Games’ LCS circuit since June. Terms of the deal were not available at press time. Shopify Rebellion also plays competitively in Starcraft II, Rocket League, Valorant, and others.

However, this may not be the end of League of Legends for North American Esports organization TSM as sources tell SBJ they may be looking to acquire another League of Legends team based in Asia to participate in League of Legends Champions Korea or League of Legends Pro League (China).

Shopify also made another move, piggybacking off their LCS announcment, revealing that they have partnered with Moist Esports to run a Valorant team as part of a joint effort.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Two of the more controversial figures in sports -- TKO Group Holdings Exec Chair Vince McMahon and Knicks and Rangers owner James Dolan -- were profiled today by the L.A. Times and N.Y. Times respectively.

McMahon agreeing in April to merge the WWE with the UFC to form a new publicly traded company worth a staggering $21.4B was "not merely a triumph" for him, but a "stunning turn of events in the worlds of sports, media and entertainment, potentially creating a game-changing colossus." But "casting a pall over the merger are ongoing investigations" by the SEC and the Department of Justice into McMahon’s conduct. The government investigations into his conduct come as the WWE is "confronting challenges on multiple fronts," all of which places the multibillion-dollar merger with UFC, intended to "secure McMahon’s legacy and the company’s future, under a cloud" (L.A. TIMES, 9/20).

Dolan is one of the "most powerful forces" in N.Y., but he also is one of the city's "most vilified public figures, a punching bag and a punchline." Dolan generally does "not enjoy himself at his own venues." He has considered "expanding his sports portfolio, perhaps by buying a baseball or soccer team." But he said, “I don’t really like owning teams." He also has thought about buying more venues, and said that the way to "improve the economics of the venue business is to own the content." That is why "foremost on his mind" is his new arena in Las Vegas, the Sphere, an "audacious project that he believes could revolutionize the live entertainment industry" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/20).

This week’s slate of “Podcast Picks” includes Clippers owner Steve Ballmer bringing his frenetic energy to Clippers F Paul George’s podcast where he talked all things Microsoft and basketball, followed by the Rays actually seeing the light of finally having an agreement to build a new ballpark in St. Petersburg and finally, the man leading Mercedes driver development program downshifts to speak about bringing in new talent to the sport amidst a season of dominance from one team and their star driver.

Ballmer took his low-key energy to the “Podcast P with Paul George” where he discussed his early days at Microsoft, meeting George for the first time and how he originally tried to purchase the Kings back in 2013. Ballmer said he wanted to relocate the team to Seattle but the “problem is the league doesn’t want to move them to Seattle.” But the league “accepts our bid ... and the commissioner basically says, ‘Hey, you can buy the team if you want to, but you’re keeping it in Sacramento.’” Ballmer: “I say something I probably shouldn’t say: ‘You think I’m going to fly to Sacramento, California for a game? I’m not doing it!’ He said, ‘Then you shouldn’t buy the Kings.’”

HAPPY ENDING: The “Locked On Rays” co-hosts discussed the Rays often painful saga of securing a new stadium in Tampa Bay is seemingly coming to an end as the team is unveiling a new agreement to build a downtown ballpark in St. Petersburg. Co-host Kevin Weiss: “We have been talking about a new stadium for the Rays since we were together as freshman at USF a long, long time ago.” Co-host Ulises Sambrano said the “first goal was obtained by staying in the Tampa Bay region” which is a “huge, huge positive.” Weiss: “There were a myriad sites to pick and choose from, the issue is private land and red tape associated with that.”

TRACKING TALENT: With growing talk about the lack of competitiveness on the track in F1 as Red Bull Racing and driver Max Verstappen have dominated this season, Mercedes Benz Driver Development Advisor Gwen Lagrue took the pole position on “F1: Beyond The Grid” to discuss how to bring new talented drivers into the sport. Lagrue said he sees a driver that could “become a world champion” come along once “every 10, 12 years” but every driver “I sign in go-cart I believe will” eventually compete in F1. Lagrue: “You need to believe about what you are doing and the target is to bring them into Formula One.”

Know of a podcast we should keep tabs on? Send an email to mboylan@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Also, check out SBJ's podcast home.

USA Lacrosse has entered into a multiyear agreement with New Balance to serve as the “Official On-Field Apparel Sponsor for the National Team Development Program. The agreement runs through the end of 2024 and all NTDP athletes will be outfitted with New Balance apparel for training and competitions (USA Lacrosse).

The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America will honor its longtime tournament ambassador and golf’s winningest player -- Kathy Whitworth -- with several programs and initiatives leading up to and during tournament week (LPGA).

Major League Pickleball franchise D.C. Pickleball Team has "landed the region’s largest association," AARP, as its front-of-jersey sponsor (WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/20).

Sport Fishing Championship (SFC), the governing body of saltwater tournament fishing, has hired Connect Partnership Group to support its commercial partnerships and business development efforts. Connect Partnership Group will work alongside the SFC team to accelerate and scale commercial partnership opportunities (SFC).

Chelsea has raised about $500M in "fresh investment from Ares Management" as the Premier League club’s U.S. owners look for "ways to fund expensive stadium improvements and build stakes" in more soccer clubs. Ares, the U.S. alternative asset manager, has "provided the capital injection." A source described it as a "preferred equity deal" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 9/20).

Potential new Everton owners 777 Partners have "already provided the club with a loan of tens of millions." The financial details have "not been disclosed," but the "sum of the loan is believed to be" around $24.7M. The interim loan to the club to "ease its short-term issues is seen as a sign of confidence on the 777 side that they will be able to get a full deal done" to buy the club (LIVERPOOL ECHO, 9/19).

Vodafone have "signed on for another four-year deal" with the Irish Rugby Football Union. The expanded jersey sponsorship is reportedly worth around $21.3M "over the course of the deal which begins in 2024" (IRISH INDEPENDENT, 9/19).

“There’s lots of appreciation in the restaurant and retail and hotel categories and nobody’s worried about tapering off. We’re clearly in for a great ride this season” -- Boulder, Colo. Mayor Aaron Brockett, on the economic impact on the city of Boulder amid the attention and success of the Colorado football program (“Last Call,” CNBC, 9/20).

“You can land any (of the all-time greatest college football coaches) with Shedeur and Shilo and the transfer portal in Colorado and I can guarantee you nowhere near record-breaking, not even close” – FS1’s Keyshawn Johnson, on Colorado coach Deion Sanders being the reason for Colorado getting record-breaking TV ratings (“Undisputed,” FS1, 9/20).

“One hundred million dollars in seven days is typically the sort of thing that gets the Treasury Department to investigate you. That’s the kind of money we’re talking about” -- ESPN’s Pablo Torre, on SMU announcing it had raised $100M in about seven days to assist in the transition to the ACC (“PTI,” ESPN, 9/19).

“In a lot of ways I think they deserve it because I don’t know that (Angels GM Perry Minasian) or the GMs who have been there in the past have been allowed to do their jobs” -- MLB Network’s Ruben Amaro Jr., on the poor state of the Angels despite having two of the best players in the game, OF Mike Trout and DH/P Shohei Ohtani (“MLB Now,” MLB Network, 9/19).

From the court to the track. 🏀🏁⁰⁰The Luka 2 “Trickshot” is hitting the track with @TylerReddick this weekend at @TXMotorSpeedway. pic.twitter.com/NRIMBacmwS

— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) September 20, 2023

Plus, Troy Murray returns to the WGN radio booth full-time with John Wiedeman. https://t.co/1MUMxwVSIw

— Jeff Agrest (@JeffAgrest) September 20, 2023

Amarillo’s Calf Fries identity features a cowboy delicacy that became a HODGETOWN favorite. 🤠

Vote now: https://t.co/OTCmCNqeIO pic.twitter.com/YBADyJ47UD

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 20, 2023

Superorgulloso de ser nominado para un Emmy de nuevo. Jugar béisbol, ser manager de béisbol es algo que siempre fue natural para mí. Ser analista en televisión es algo que nunca pensé sería posible y menos en inglés 😂 gracias equipo @NBCSChicago gracias @ChuckGarfien https://t.co/jHEPoLLvhx

— Ozzie Guillen (@OzzieGuillen) September 20, 2023

This run by Bijan Robinson is too 🔥

(via @AtlantaFalcons) pic.twitter.com/plyKdjLFDt

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 20, 2023

either sign him immediately to the massive extension he has more than justified and earned or deal with the speculation, billy https://t.co/DU6RnXOzOp

— russ bengtson (@russbengtson) September 20, 2023

No one has to care about TV ratings, ever, but if Colorado-Oregon gets more eyeballs than Ohio State-Notre Dame, that will be among the wilder business things that has ever happened in football

— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) September 20, 2023

USGA President Fred Perpall, the first Black president in the organization's history, joined Golf Channel's "Beyond the Fairway" podcast to discuss inclusivity in the game and a host of other topics. 

$94M -- The price tag for a proposed high school stadium that Prosper (Texas) Independent School District voters will be asked to approve in this year's election as part of a $2.8B bond package (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/20).