Chiefs

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and team President Mark Donovan "laid out the organization’s renovation plans" for Arrowhead Stadium today, and those "include the fan zone (a covered entertainment space where Kauffman currently stands); new suites in the end zone; new, larger video boards; completion of the upper concourse with a connecting bridge; and other enhancements." The price tag will come in at $800M, with $300M to be paid by the Chiefs -- who "also would pay for cost overruns." The remainder "will be largely up to Jackson County taxpayers," who will decide whether to fund the project with an April 2 ballot measure to secure a 40-year 3/8th cent sales tax that would send equal dollars to the Chiefs and Royals (K.C. STAR, 2/28).

Donovan added that the "earliest start to the project" would be 2027 "with the hopes of completion by 2030." He noted that completion could potentially run into 2031 "if we need to." The seating capacity, according to Hunt, "will remain above 70,000" (KCTV5.com, 2/28).

Arrowhead Stadium renovation renderings

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Max Homa, Rose Zhang, Lexi Thompson and Rory McIlroy were featured in the first mixed PGA Tour/LPGA competition for the eventJohn Nowak/TNT Sports

The ninth iteration of “The Match” was also easily the least-watched version of the Excel Sports-produced golf event, as TNT/truTV/HLN averaged 511,000 viewers. Monday night’s telecast from The Park in West Palm Beach (the first time The Match was at a municipal course) featured Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Rose Zhang and Lexi Thompson in the first mixed PGA Tour/LPGA competition for the event. The previous low came last June, when those networks averaged 782,000 viewers when the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes took on the Warriors’ Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The event’s all-time high was the second event, which had 5.7 million when Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning took on Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady.

The inclusion of LPGA players on Monday helped deliver 160,000 female viewers for the event, which is well above what a typical LPGA event has drawn this season on Golf Channel in that demo. The overall audience for Monday also is up 23% over what Golf Channel has been drawing for its PGA Tour coverage this year to date. Audiences came in for the ending, when McIlroy won in a sudden death. That final quarter hour was 18% higher than the start of the match. Golf Digest (under the TNT Sports umbrella) saw its best Instagram performance of any “The Match” events to date, with engagement up over 150% compared to June 2023, which was the previous high. “The Match” after nine iterations has raised $41M for various charities and philanthropies.

The WNBA Draft for the first time in eight years will be "open to fans looking to get a glimpse of the league’s newest crop of superstars." The league’s 28th annual draft is set to take place on April 15 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, "just minutes away from Barclays Center." About 1,000 tickets "will be sold for this year’s draft," the first time the draft will have fans in attendance since the 2014-16 drafts were held at Mohegan Sun Arena (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/28). Recent drafts, which were held in Manhattan, were in "smaller, more intimate venues that didn’t have room for fans" (AP, 2/28)

The Triple-A Int'l League Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are planning a "major upgrade" to 121 Financial Ballpark as part of a $31.8M "publicly funded renovation" called Project NEXT. The project is part of the team "aiming to meet" MLB requirements. Starting this season, fans will get to "experience the beginning phases of Project NEXT: a new video board that is nearly 20% larger, new ribbon boards and new concourse fans." The long-term vision includes the "creation of an enhanced club space behind home plate, a new front porch and center field plaza to welcome fans." In right field, there are plans for a "multi-level building, which would make the Jumbo Shrimp VyStar Credit Union Souvenir Store accessible on the street level and on the concourse level." The Jumbo Shrimp are working on the project with the Canopy Team (JACKSONVILLE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/28).

Project NEXT ballpark renovation

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Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner is now set to remain in his positionGetty Images

Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner has been "cleared of misconduct by an independent Red Bull investigation after allegations that he acted inappropriately towards a female employee." An independent barrister has "dismissed the grievance against him," with Horner now set to "remain as team principal." Horner "consistently denied the allegations of inappropriate behaviour" and "continued to operate in his role despite the intense scrutiny." Pressure from sponsors "escalated the situation," as team partner Ford on Sunday called for a "swift resolution to the crisis" (London TIMES, 2/28).

The Professional Women’s Hockey League named Airsupra Inhalation Aerosol is the league’s first U.S. Founding Partner and will be the Official Pharmaceutical Brand of the PWHL in 2024. Airsupra's partnership includes shoulder patches on jerseys of the league’s three U.S. teams in Boston, Minnesota, and New York. Airsupra will have multiple game activations and giveaways in U.S. markets throughout the season, along with in-arena signage, broadcast components, digital integration, and unique social media content across league and team platforms (PWHL).

The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics "continues to push for a new governance structure for college football, along with changes to the sport's revenue distribution plan," as today the organization said today that if the College Football Playoff's new media rights deal with ESPN goes through, it "must lead to new governance and management of the sport of FBS football and of the biggest pot of money in the history of college sports." The commission also reiterated its previous recommendation that FBS football "should be governed by a new entity, separate from the NCAA and funded by CFP revenue," which includes "a single leadership structure to couple authority of revenue administration with authority over rules administration." The new structure calls for "meaningful football athlete representation," along with "medical experts, former head coaches, former FBS football players and other independent voices" (ESPN.com, 2/28).

MetLife Stadium and the Yankees have partnered with Shift4. Shift4's payment solutions will facilitate a seamless transaction experience for events at MetLife Stadium. Shift4 will also power payments for concessions and retail sales at Yankee Stadium and George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa (Shift4).

TelevisaUnivision and Liga MX named Expedia as the official travel partner of the league in both the U.S. and Mexico. The multiyear partnership will see Expedia have a significant presence across TelevisaUnivision’s multiplatform Liga MX programming in both countries (TelevisaUnivision).

For the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, driven by Felix Rosenqvist, will showcase a special livery displaying the logo of SiriusXM channel Bon Jovi Radio. Jon Bon Jovi will also be appearing at the race in St. Petersburg on March 10 (SiriusXM).

FloSports is set to announce a new media rights agreement with the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletics Conference. The deal will run for five years beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year and make FloSports the exclusive media partner of the D-III conference. Exact financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but 90% of the revenue accrued from the agreement is expected to be distributed to NEWMAC members (Ben Portnoy, SBJ).

The Professional Tennis Players Association named Priority Pass an official partner. Facilitated by the PTPA’s for-profit affiliate Winners Alliance, the partnership grants hundreds of professional tennis players complimentary Priority Pass Prestige memberships (PTPA).

FC Bayern Munich recruited former RB Leipzig Sporting Dir Max Eberl to take over as the board member for sport in a "boardroom shakeup." He is signed on until June 2027 (DW.com, 2/28).

UK Athletics President Dame Denise Lewis has "'temporarily' stepped down" ahead of the Paris Games. Her positions with UK Athletics and with BBC Sport presenter "have been questioned in terms of a possible conflict of interest." The former Olympic heptathlon champion's decision comes two months after her election.

A Paris city hall engineer "misplaced a bag ... containing a USB" that holds "information relating to" the Paris Games. An investigation into a "possible case of theft" was opened by the Paris prosecutor's office today (LE MONDE, 2/28).

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"I can tell you that Fenway Sports Group, John Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, yours truly -- love it or hate it -- we are not going anywhere. We are fully committed to the Boston Red Sox" -- Red Sox President & CEO Sam Kennedy, on Fenway Sports Group not being interested in selling the team ("The Greg Hill Show," WEEI-FM, 2/28).

The NFLPA player survey on working conditions is out ...

Top 5: Dolphins, Vikings, Packers, Eagles, Jaguars.

Bottom 5: Steelers, Patriots, Chargers, Chiefs, Commanders.

NFLPA president JC Tretter said Miami and Minnesota graded in a league of their own. Washington last again.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 28, 2024

From the union survey, Panthers players don’t believe David Tepper is willing to invest $ in facilities. Their top example is the artificial turf. 💯 of their players who responded said they prefer grass surface at BoA Stadium. pic.twitter.com/Po91xCLlpW

— Joe Person (@josephperson) February 28, 2024

Red Sox release a statement on the passing of Tim Wakefield's wife Stacy. What an unimaginable tragedy for their children and family. pic.twitter.com/myTP66qp96

— Jen McCaffrey (@jcmccaffrey) February 28, 2024

This was part of a larger conversation on the show. Don’t read into this as a direction networks may consider in the future. It’s my belief all the network partners align with this opinion. https://t.co/RHnk0ZmAeK

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) February 28, 2024

The league is considering lowering the maximum of 13 pitchers per team to 12 with the goal of placing a greater emphasis on starters.

Read more ⬇️https://t.co/rgdAI7YOPo

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) February 28, 2024

.@CaitlinClark22 and @IowaWBB have participated in the most-watched women's basketball game ever for 6️⃣ different networks 👀 📺 pic.twitter.com/6embe2B3jM

— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) February 28, 2024

Dick’s Sporting Goods today launched a new e-commerce ad campaign titled, "Click On DICKS.com," starring comedians Will Arnett and Kathryn Hahn.

97 -- Number of times the Lakers and Clippers have played since Crypto.com Arena opened in 1999, with tonight's 98th meeting being the last time they play as co-tenants with the Clippers set to move to the Intuit Dome for the 2024-25 season. The Clippers hold the series advantage in that time at 50-47 (L.A. TIMES, 2/28).