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SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead -- Tennis Calendar Taking Shape


On a positive note for sports today, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the green light for the U.S. Open tennis to be held on time in Queens later this summer. The LPGA announced it’s returning to play in late July for two Ohio tournaments, while NASCAR is aiming for 30,000 fans at next month’s All-Star race at Bristol Motor Speedway. I’m cautiously optimistic about how the latter plays out.

Meanwhile, MLB is no closer to beginning the 2020 season following last evening’s ESPN “The Return of Sports” special, after Commissioner Rob Manfred’s comments only exacerbated fan sentiment toward a league that could’ve been the first of the Big Five to play. Manfred stated that the current situation between the league and union is a “disaster.”

Stay safe and be kind to one another.

-- Mark J. Burns

 

 

QUEENS SET FOR FALL TENNIS DOUBLEHEADER

  • New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo broke the news today that tennis' U.S. Open will go forward -- without fans. That was followed by a statement from USTA CEO Mike Dowse, confirming that the Western & Southern Open will also shift east from Cincinnati to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, creating a doubleheader in Queens. The W&S Open has been played in Ohio since 1899. That news today also gives the first hint at a fall schedule that is supposed to be announced more fully on Wednesday by the ATP and WTA, writes SBJ's Bret McCormick.
  • “We recognize the tremendous responsibility of hosting one of the first global sporting events in these challenging times, and we will do so in the safest manner possible, mitigating all potential risks,” Dowse wrote in the USTA statement. “We now can give fans around the world the chance to watch tennis' top athletes compete for a U.S. Open title, and we can showcase tennis as the ideal social distancing sport. Being able to hold these events in 2020 is a boost for the City of New York and the entire tennis landscape.”
  • The W&S Open’s move will allow players to set up camp in the New York area for close to a month, reducing cross-country travel, COVID-19 exposure and making any quarantine efforts more worth their while. The week-long W&S Open will likely start Aug. 24, followed by the start of the U.S. Open on Aug. 31. Not all players appear interested in doing that, with WTA No. 2 Simona Halep already professing doubt that she’ll feel comfortable traveling. Other top players, like Novak Djokovic, have also voiced concerns about the restrictive conditions under which both tournaments will be held.

 

MLB STILL HAS TIME FOR SHORTENED SEASON

  • The number to watch in MLB in the coming days is eight, writes SBJ's Eric Prisbell. If 75% of owners (at least 23 of 30) do not approve of a return-to-play schedule plan, that could nix a truncated season. SNY's Andy Martino cited sources as saying that that there are currently six owners who don't want to play this year. As the window continues to narrow for the staging of any season to occur beyond 65-some games, gauging the will of the owners -- especially if such a season would require total player salaries beyond $1.5 billion -- will be critical in determining what type of season, if any, will occur.
  • After the union on Saturday dared MLB to mandate a 50-game season, Commissioner Rob Manfred could have moved forward with that unilateral plan, but has not. Instead, MLB Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem essentially told the union in a letter that no season would start unless the MLBPA waived its right to file a grievance, a source familiar with the letter told SBJ. So the only practical next step, in addition to reaching an agreement on all health and safety protocols, is to go back to the negotiating table to try to find common ground on a salary structure.
  • Now, any proposal MLB presents that does not entail a fully prorated salary structure would prove futile. The union says its players are unified, unwilling on principle to accept any other deal. What the league insists on is an expanded lucrative postseason that would include as many as 16 teams and a regular season that concludes no later than Sept. 27. There should be a middle ground both can find that involves somewhere between 57 and 67 games. But they need to find that spot soon because the calendar is not in their favor.

 

 

LPGA RESTARTING SEASON NEXT MONTH IN OHIO

  • The LPGA today announced that it will resume its season next month with back-to-back tournaments in Northwest Ohio, one of them a new event. The Drive On Championship will be played at Inverness July 31-Aug. 2, the tour's first event since February. It will be televised on Golf Channel, and fans "will not be permitted to attend."
  • The Marathon LPGA Classic will take place Aug. 6-9 at Highland Meadows Golf Club. At that event, moved from its original July 23-26 dates, there will be fans but "no grandstands," with thermal scanning and social distancing "in effect."

 

MIT SLOAN PROFESSOR: "RISKIER TO NOT INNOVATE DURING THIS TIME"

  • The rapid adoption of video conferencing and the popularity of curbside pickup are two examples of necessity driving innovation as businesses have responded to the pandemic. MIT Sloan School of Management Senior Lecturer Ben Shields and SBJ’s Bill King discuss innovations that could reshape the sports industry as it resumes play in the latest episode of the SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead podcast, available now.
  • "Certainly, there are a number of short-term challenges that the industry is facing and working through," said Shields, who hosts the first installment of a three-part webcast series that debuts today on the MIT Sloan web site. "But from where I sit I would suggest that this is also an opportunity to think about the future. No doubt we are in a period of re-invention in the industry. ... In many respects, it is riskier not to innovate during this time."
  • For more of Shields observations, many of which focus on the essential pivot to digital, check out the latest episode of SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead.

 
 
GETTING BACK TO WORK WITH PRO FOOTBALL HOF’S DAVID BAKER
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame President David Baker couldn’t be happier to be back at work, after the museum reopened to fans in Canton last Wednesday at a reduced capacity. “You don't know how much you miss all these kids and families until you've been without them,” Baker said. “The Hall of Fame had never been closed in its history two consecutive days.” A little over 100 people were in the building its first day back, with that number rising to about 300 by Sunday. The max capacity for the time being is 800.
  • Baker made sure the HOF’s time closed to the public was well spent. “We had a whole lot of work that was done during the three months we were closed,” he said. “Everything from cleaning up boilers and shampooing carpets to re-painting everything.” Away from the museum, the HOF worked with several HOFers on social messaging and partnered with nonprofit Project Isaiah to provide over two million meals to families in NFL cities.
  • It is “strongly recommended” that fans visiting the HOF right now wear a mask, Baker said. They will even be provided with one if they don’t bring their own. Other health protocols include touchless hand sanitation stations and deep cleans every night. Most exhibits are still open, with visitors using styluses for interactive/touch stations and theaters reducing capacity from about 50 to 10. Baker said the only things fans won’t be able to do right now are activities like trying on a helmet or shoulder pads.
  • Moving forward, the HOF is following the NFL’s lead and operating as if the HOF Game and enshrinement ceremony will take place as planned. While Baker hasn’t ruled any audible out, including a TV-only event, he feels having friends and family in attendance is what the ceremony is about. “I'm not a big fan,” he said of not having spectators. “We can certainly provide virtual content that we think can be inspirational but I'm not sure of using that method to honor our enshrinees.” Baker: “There's contingencies that go all the way through to next year and really combining the Centennial 2020 class with the class of 2021,” Baker said.

 

Baker (left center) and the Pro Football Hall of Fame welcomed about 100 visitors its first day back open

 

CHECK OUT THIS WEEK'S SBJ

 

SPEED READS

  • NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said the Cowboys and Texans both “followed proper protocol for a player testing positive for the coronavirus." Because of privacy laws “they are unable to provide information regarding the personal health of one of their employees.” NFL Net's Judy Battista said “positive tests are not a surprise to the league” which is “why the testing protocol is going to be so important.” She added the “priority is going to be limiting the spread, that’s why getting the testing protocol nailed down is so important."
  • MLS Commissioner Don Garber said on an ESPN special the league's return tournament in Orlando will have more cameras and audio than there would be normally. "There will be unique virtual insertion technology," he said. "We’re thinking about and talking with our supporters about how to include them in the process and can we do Zoom live interactions in our end zones. We have a unique open palette ... that does give us the opportunity to use technology in ways that we’ve been contemplating."
  • The latest ESPN documentary, “Long Gone Summer,” averaged 775,000 viewers on Sunday night, per SBJ’s Austin Karp. The premiere, which chronicled Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s home-run chase in 1998, was just below the 780,000 viewers that ESPN averaged for “Unmatched” in 2010, which looked at the relationship between Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. “Long Gone Summer” was just above the 771,000 viewers for the premiere of “Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau” in 2013.

 

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LAST WEEK TO NOMINATE FOR SBJ GAME CHANGERS

Now is the time to nominate a change agent within your organization for Game Changers. The deadline of midnight June 21 is fast approaching. The Game Changers event will be Oct. 27-28, and a special section will run in SBJ in the Oct. 19 issue, recognizing women who are pushing forward and changing the industry.

 

 

 

Something related to coronavirus and sports business catch your eye? Tell us about it. Reach out to Austin Karp (akarp@sportsbusinessjournal.com) and we'll share the best of it.