Alibaba co-Founder Joe Tsai said that there have "only been 'preliminary' conversations with city officials" on building a new arena, but "no 'serious discussions or anything in terms of a concrete plan.'" Tsai, who owns the NLL San Diego Seals, was reported in '17 as having taken a "very preliminary look at the prospects for building a new arena." He said that getting a new building will be a "daunting task without the commitment from the NBA or NHL to put a franchise here." Tsai: "It’s difficult to support an arena without a big-time anchor sport, like the NBA or NHL. And it’s kind of hard to think about those big leagues expanding into San Diego right now" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 1/17).
BEAR WITH ME: PGA Tour Honda Classic Exec Dir Ken Kennerly said that the recent sale of PGA National Resort & Spa will be a "good thing" for the tournament. In West Palm Beach, Jodie Wagner in a front-page piece notes the resort "sold late last year" for $218M to an affiliate of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management. Kennerly said that the resort’s new owners "plan to invest a substantial amount of money into the property," which would "benefit the tournament." The Honda Classic will "return to PGA National" through the '21 tournament (PALM BEACH POST, 1/17).
EAT LOCAL: In Miami, Jordan McPherson noted the Marlins have a "handful of new local food partnerships" for the '19 season. The new concession partners include Miami’s Best Pizza, PINCHO, Novecento, SuViche, Butterfly Tacos y Tortas and La Pepa. The last two of the group are "restaurant concepts from professional chef Jose Andres’ ThinkFoodGroup." The announcement comes a "little less than a month after the Marlins announced their new '3-o-5' concession deal, which features eight core ballpark menu items that will be either $3 or $5 at all home games" (MIAMIHERALD.com, 1/15).
