Tonight in Unpacks: As the Chiefs open the NFL season hosting the Lions tonight, some fans will be watching from the team’s latest premium seating area. SBJ’s Bret McCormick reports on this art deco-inspired space, The Huddle, and the perks that members get inside the Levy-operated speakeasy.
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Other headlines:
- Forum: Season-opening takes on the NFL
- Madden NFL 24’s launch sets franchise's digital sales mark
- OVG, MSG form Crown Properties Collection
- Horizon Sports & Experiences lands Proximo Spirits business
- Flowcode finds simplicity leads to engagement for sports fans, teams
- Op-ed: Leagues must collaborate to halt bettors’ unruly behavior at live events
- USL announces expansion to Portland, Maine
In this morning's Buzzcast, SBJ’s Abe Madkour searches for refuge from Spectrum's loss of ESPN:
- NFL season kicks off amid frustrating Charter-Disney dispute
- Mets owner Steve Cohen is latest heavy hitter to own TGL team
- Liberty Media’s buy of QuintEvents positions it as rising hospitality player
- IOC gives no reason for delaying decisions on LA28 sports
- It’s the dawn of the Pat McAfee era for ESPN
- ‘Real Sports’ could be the end of an era of sports reporting on TV
- Tom Braun taking business reins for Galaxy
- Ed Hartman’s role at Fanatics will be about finding content
The Huddle offers Chiefs fans a premium experience for game days
The Chiefs will debut a new premium speakeasy inside GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium tonight called The Huddle. Levy, which provides premium concessions at the stadium, will operate the new area.
Access to the club comes with season tickets to seats near midfield on the CommunityAmerica Club level, reserved parking spots, a private stadium entrance and a personalized gameday experience with high-end food and beverage.
Inspired by art deco design, The Huddle comes with white-glove amenities, such as full-time service representatives for members, personalized gifting and reserved parking spaces with umbrella service during inclement weather. The F&B program includes a mixologist and high-end local restaurants and chefs. While Levy handles premium services at Arrowhead, Aramark Sports + Entertainment handles F&B everywhere else in the building.
The Huddle, with its art deco-inspired design, gives Arrowhead a new premium experience for fans
Forum: Season-opening takes on the NFL
In this week’s Forum, Executive Editor and Publisher Abe Madkour writes about his thoughts heading into the 2023 NFL season, such as the state of the Bills.
"There are a lot of changes, and the organization has had a steady drip of executive turnover over the past five years, from Russ Brandon in 2018 to [COO Ron] Raccuia departing in July. But those executives all had ties to the leagues and experience in sports business. Not that it’s always a bad thing, but many of the new executives lack such institutional experience. I believe the organization really misses Kim Pegula, who brought a reassuring face of leadership in the community and at the league offices, where she is very well liked. Her vision of Pegula Sports & Entertainment, which started before the family purchased the Bills as a way to fold various sports assets and key leadership teams under one roof, started out with good intentions but has been disbanded under new leadership, and the Bills and Sabres will be run separately."
For Madkour's takes on Roger Goodell's tenure as NFL commissioner and the upcoming Super Bowl in Las Vegas, click here.
Madden NFL 24’s launch sets franchise's digital sales mark
Madden NFL 24 set a franchise record for digital sales during its release week, and EA also said that the long-lived series also saw a 36 percent increase in games played and more players during the first week compared to Madden NFL 23’s launch. We’ll get more sales data on Madden NFL 24’s launch in next week’s August video game sales report from tracking firm Circana.
EA doesn't share specific sales numbers, but it makes sense that Madden is setting a record pace for digital sales, as consumers and hardware makers move away from physical discs (the Xbox Series S doesn't have a disc drive).
And as part of the kickoff of the new NFL season, EA is also offering an NFL+ Edition of Madden through Oct. 10 that includes three months of the league’s direct-to-consumer option, NFL+ Premium.
EA also noted some player stats from the launch:
- Bills QB Josh Allen, Madden NFL 24’s cover star, is the most-played QB since launch for the second-straight year.
- The Ravens are the most-played team since launch, a 180% increase in year-over-year use.
OVG, MSG form Crown Properties Collection
Oak View Group formed a new entity called Crown Properties Collection (CPC) with Madison Square Garden Entertainment and Sphere Entertainment, reports SBJ's Bret McCormick. The new company will manage Sphere Entertainment and the MSG family of companies’ global partnership portfolio, including MSG Entertainment’s venues, productions and live entertainment properties. Former PGA Tour exec Jay Voelker has been hired as president to lead the new OVG-managed entity.
In addition to being a founding partner, MSG Entertainment, MSG Sports and Sphere Entertainment will be CPC’s first clients. OVG is majority owner and managing partner of the new entity (MSG has an ownership stake in CPC, too) that will oversee the global partnership and sponsorship representation of all Sphere and MSG brands and properties. Global partnership sales and strategy will be managed by CPC, while the MSG family of companies will provide expertise and advisory services to CPC and handle its own partnership activations and fulfillment.
Horizon Sports & Experiences lands Proximo Spirits business
Proximo has taken its extensive portfolio of around 20 spirits brands and more than 60 associated sponsorships to Horizon Sports & Experiences, which will be its new sponsorship agency of record, reports SBJ's Terry Lefton. Even with that many sponsorships and brands -- including Jose Cuervo, Maestro Dobel and 1800 (tequilas), Bushmills and Proper No. 12 (whiskey) and Kraken (rum) -- Proximo had been handling those chores in-house.
This week's SBJ Marketing newsletter also covers:
- Eagles sponsors taking full advantage of Kelly green throwbacks
- Mental health proving to be growth category for NFL teams
Flowcode finds simplicity leads to engagement for sports fans, teams
Flowcode specializes in QR codes, using that format as a gateway for brand-to-consumer engagement. Through some earlier experiences working with the likes of ESPN and Turner Sports, Flowcode recognized that the sports viewer is far more interactive than the casual TV watcher.
In this week's SBJ Tech newsletter, Ethan Joyce reports on Flowcode's success in sports, working with such leagues as the NBA, NFL and NHL. “I would say that sports fans are 6-8x more engaged and responsive compared to the average viewer,” said Zach Rogow, Flowcode’s head of sports.
Op-ed: Leagues must collaborate to halt bettors’ unruly behavior at live events
Tonight's op-ed comes from Matthew Wein, a longtime security expert who worked for Congress and the DHS, on the need for leagues and betting companies to address disruptive bettors.
"Leagues, along with the betting apps, should collaborate and establish a cross-sport Trust Council, recognizing that each sport has unique elements that make them vulnerable to interference from fans. Sports like golf and tennis that ask their fans to be quiet at certain points in matches are obviously vulnerable to noisy outbursts. Other sports may be vulnerable to things being thrown on the field of play or perhaps something like a light or laser being shone into a players’ field of vision. The cross-sport council, whether administered by a third-party group or by representatives from the leagues can ensure that fans know their interference is not welcome, that it will affect their ability to enjoy games in the future, and their ability to wager on games via gaming apps."
Read the full submission here.
SBJ Atlas’ latest release adds thousands of new brands, financial data
Earlier this week, SBJ Atlas completed its most extensive round of upgrades to date, implementing new tools to enable more effective sponsorship development and maximize value for Atlas clients.
Users will be able to view firmographic data from new SBJ Atlas partner Owler, which will include financial information for more than 4,000 brands, including thousands that are seen as competitor brands that have not yet entered the sports industry. The update also includes redesigns of the League, Team, Sponsor and Facility pages, making it easier to find critical data and find undiscovered opportunities.
Sign up for a demo here and get access to the insights that take your business to the next level.
Speed reads
- The USL is launching an expansion franchise in Portland, Maine, that will play in its third-division professional men’s league, League 1, reports SBJ's Alex Silverman. The unnamed club will join the league in 2025, pending city council approval of lease terms to play at the 6,000-seat Fitzpatrick Stadium, alongside a recently announced franchise in Brooklyn. The addition of the two clubs will bring League 1 to 16 teams. The ownership group is led by former USL player Gabe Hoffman-Johnson and also includes Red Sox broadcaster Tom Caron and local housing developers Jonathan and Catherine Culley.
- Mets owner Steve Cohen gained the franchise rights to the latest team in the TGL, becoming the fourth owner in the six-team golf league that begins play in January, reports SBJ's Josh Carpenter.
- Aramark Sports + Entertainment will have 70 new Walk Thru Brus locations scattered among its 10 NFL venue clients this fall, as the Philly-based concessionaire expands one of its most successful tech deployments, reports SBJ's Bret McCormick.
- Deion Sanders's debut coaching effort with Colorado drew 7.26 million viewers for CU's upset of TCU in the “Big Noon Saturday” window, notes SBJ's Austin Karp in this week's Audience Analysis.
- In the latest SBJ Spotlight, Michael Smith talks to Toledo AD Bryan Blair and Executive Associate AD and COO Nicole Alderson about the Rockets' new five-year strategic plan, "Rise Together."
- Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr., tennis player Frances Tiafoe and Suns F Kevin Durant were among the investors in a recent $12 million Series A funding round for snack company SkinnyDipped as the company, known for its lightly dipped nuts, looks to "move into new retailers and new categories," notes TechCrunch.
- Rachel Axon joins SBJ as its Olympic reporter, contributing across all SBJ platforms, including digital, newsletters, print and multimedia. Rachel is a veteran sports reporter who has spent more than 15 years in newspapers, focusing on investigations, the Olympics and college sports. Most recently, she reported in a variety of roles over a decade at USA Today, where she covered the past five Olympic Games. She previously covered University of Florida for the Orlando Sentinel and prep sports for the StarNews in Wilmington, N.C. Rachel can be reached at Rachel-Axon@sportsbusinessjournal.com.