SBJ Unpacks: Coronavirus -- The Iceman Cometh?

Today, the NHL became the first of the major pro sports leagues to formally unveil its return to play plan, although it’s just that at this point. A plan. There’s no guarantee the league will resume play based on local government guidelines and safety protocols amid COVID-19. However, there’s now more optimism and positive news than ever.

Commissioner Gary Bettman said on a media Zoom call this evening that it’s conceivable to believe the NHL could resume play in late July or early August. But, yes, even that isn’t engraved in stone.

Be well. 

--- Mark J. Burns 

BETTMAN OUTLINES NHL'S RETURN

• NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman today announced the league’s return to play plan, while also confirming the regular season is over, writes SBJ’s Mark J. Burns.
  
  
• Assuming local government health guidelines and safety protocols allow, 24 teams will resume play in a playoff tournament hosted between two hub cities that haven’t yet been determined. The 10 cities under consideration include Toronto, Las Vegas, Chicago, Columbus, Edmonton, Dallas, L.A., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Vancouver and Pittsburgh. Bettman said that the top four teams in each conference will play a three-game round robin to determine playoff seeding. The bottom eight teams in each conference will play a best-of-five play-in series.
  
  
• Each club will be allowed up to 50 people in their hub city. Bettman said that comprehensive testing “will be in place” in both cities. He also said that the NHL will likely have to make a decision on the two hub cities in about three weeks. The league is still targeting early June for voluntary individual workouts for players at teams' training facilities. Formal training camp won’t begin until at July 1 at the very earliest, according to the plan.

DOLPHINS GET CREATIVE WITH HARD ROCK SPACE

• The Dolphins unveiled two new concepts today for social distancing-compliant event spaces at Hard Rock Stadium, including a drive-in movie theater for 230 cars inside the seating bowl, reports SBJ’s Ben Fischer. Also, the stadium’s south plaza will be redesigned to accommodate small groups for “intimate viewing experiences.” 
  
  
• The drive-in will show classic films and historical Dolphins content, and also be available for graduation ceremonies and the like. Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel said the team has been working for weeks to find ways to use the space to provide safe options for gathering. Food and beverage will be available at events with an online ordering system and delivery. 
  
  
• Garfinkel: “It’s a fundamental human need to physically experience and celebrate events and experiences together, and we’re trying to provide options for everyone where they can be safely socially distant and socially present at the same time.”
  
  

The Dolphins' drive-in movie theater at Hard Rock can fit up to 230 cars inside the seating bowl

MLBPA "EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED" IN COMPENSATION PLAN

• MLB presented the MLBPA with a new player compensation plan this afternoon that entails a sliding scale of compensation instead of a revenue-sharing structure, a source told SBJ's Eric Prisbell. The plan was not well-received, as the union said it was "extremely disappointed" in the proposal that involves massive additional pay cuts. The union also says the two sides remain far apart on health and safety protocols.
  
  
• The presentation signals the start of formal negotiations between the two sides that hope to strike a deal in the next week in order to start spring training 2.0 around June 10. The plan details that players who earn the most would take the largest cuts in salary while those earning the least would receive most of their guaranteed salaries.
  
  
• At the heart of what the two sides dispute: How much money will owners lose during an 82-game season played in empty ballparks, and therefore how much can owners afford to pay players? MLB believes it will generate some $3 billion in revenue during an 82-game season in empty ballparks. It believes paying players prorated salaries, as the union says was the agreement in March, based on an 82-game season would eat up some $2.4 billion of that. But the union is skeptical of MLB's revenue projections. 
  
  
• Shapiro Negotiations Institute CEO Andres Lares, who has advised pro sports teams for more than a decade on player contracts, trades and sponsorships, said owners have long separated other revenues from those that are included in game-day revenues shared by MLB. Lares: "This is not necessarily a malicious practice by owners, nor is it only to protect it from sharing it with players. There are many other reasons to do so -- however, it does often feel, to the players, that they are getting a cut of a smaller pie. I don’t see these changing and as a result there will always be some level of mistrust about the numbers between the league and the players, but not one that is insurmountable based on the dollars at stake."
  
  
  

BANC OF CALIFORNIA EXITS NAMING-RIGHTS DEAL WITH LAFC

• LAFC is back in the market for a venue naming-rights partner, as Banc of California has announced it will restructure a 15-year, $100 million deal for the downtown L.A. venue -- a pact that was the richest among MLS-specific stadiums, writes SBJ's Karn Dhingra. Banc of California, which signed the deal in 2016, will remain the team’s primary banking partner and collaborate with LAFC on other projects.
  
  
• The venue was set to host this year’s MLS All-Star Game before the pandemic forced the cancellation of the tentpole event. But MLS has already said LAFC will host the 2021 game. When Banc of California reported quarterly earnings a month ago, a report from Zacks Equity Research noted the bank’s shares have lost about 37% of their value since the beginning of the year and the company has “not been able to beat consensus revenue estimates over the last four quarters.”

FOX SPORTS PLEASED WITH NASCAR VIEWERSHIP UPON RETURN

• Fox Sports Exec VP/Research, League Operations & Strategy Mike Mulvihill told SBJ's Adam Stern that the NASCAR Cup Series “has a good chance to finish this season about even with last year’s viewership despite a rained out Daytona 500 and a 10 week interruption,” adding that this “would be a remarkably positive result.” NASCAR got four Cup races in before the season was suspended, and it is now one of the first properties to have returned.
  
  
• After two events at Darlington, Fox is averaging 5.15 million viewers after six events, off 3% from 5.31 million last year. This does not take into account the Coca-Cola 600 viewership from a couple days ago. Mulvihill said he was particularly struck by how 30% of viewers for the first Darlington race had not watched any prior races this year, and that the average viewer tuned in earlier and stayed longer than usual, which “are all signs of a pent-up demand for sports.”
  
  
• “From the beginning NASCAR was clear about their intent to be the first major sport back -- they made it happen and now they’re being rewarded for their effort as they have the stage largely to themselves for the next six weeks,” Mulvihill wrote in an e-mail.
  
  
• Tomorrow night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR will run its second mid-week Cup race after running the first one since 1984 last week. That event -- impacted by rain -- averaged 2.087 million viewers, which was slightly lower than some industry expectations. Mulvihill said Fox is hopeful it can "grow the audience for upcoming Wednesday races with better weather and against softer primetime competition.”

COLLEGE CONFERENCES LOOKING FOR COST SAVINGS IN REGIONAL SCHEDULING

• Several conferences looking to save money have turned to scheduling games closer to home, especially in sports other than football and basketball, writes Michael Smith in tonight's SBJ College newsletter as well as in this week's edition of SBJ. The American Athletic Conference is discussing a plan with its members to schedule the regular season as independents, giving them the freedom to arrange more games closer to home and cutting down on travel costs. Then AAC schools would come together at the end of the season for conference championships in sports like volleyball, soccer, baseball and lacrosse.
  
  
• Cost-cutting ideas like this have been around for years, but with schools looking to cut back on 2021 budgets, they’re becoming more realistic. Louisiana AD Bryan Maggard over the weekend brought back the call for his conference, the Sun Belt, to merge or realign geographically with Conference USA. Both conferences span the Mid-Atlantic through Texas, making travel an expensive proposition at a time when they’re desperate to cut costs. Maggard: “It doesn’t make good economic sense to put teams on airplanes and fly over schools that you can drive to. That’s the ultimate change that needs to happen.”

TRAIL BLAZERS' LILLARD: NOT INTERESTED IN "MEANINGLESS GAMES"

• Trail Blazers G Damian Lillard told Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes that he won't participate in a resumed NBA season this summer if his team doesn't have a "true opportunity to get into the playoffs."
  
  
• Lillard, whose team currently sits 3.5 games out of the eight seed in the Western Conference, said, "If we come back and I don't have an opportunity to make the playoffs, I will show up to work, I'll be at practice and I'll be with my team. I'm going to do all that and then I'm going to be sitting right on that bench during the games. If they come back and say it's something like a tournament, play-in style, between the No. 7 and No. 12 seeds, if we're playing for playoff spots, then I think that's perfect."
  
  
• Meanwhile, NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts said the "overwhelming" sentiment among players during team-by-team virtual calls conducted over the past week has been that "they really want to play" and resume the season, most likely in late July at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando. The NBA board has a meeting on Friday, which is "expected to provide further clarity on plans to return."

WORKING FROM HOME WITH ISE CRO JAKE STONE

• Independent Sports & Entertainment Chief Revenue Officer Jake Stone has enjoyed escaping the L.A. commute during quarantine, which, along with a lack of travel, he says has vastly improved his sleep schedule. “Much to my fiancée’s dismay, I’ve turned our dining room table into my central command center from 7:00am to 7:00pm. We are living together in a 1 bedroom apartment and I’m just happy that she hasn’t kicked me out yet,” he said.
  
  
• Stone feels ISE has done well working remotely, as plenty of virtual communication had been the norm for many of the agency’s employees already. “A laptop and phone are the only true necessities,” he said. “A large part of our business involves spending time in-person with our clients and partners -- this aspect has definitely been affected the most.”
  
  
• The creation of new social experiences and facilitating digital partnerships has been a priority for ISE. Stone pointed to their work during the virtual NFL Draft with new Raiders WR Henry Ruggs III (repped by Roosevelt Barnes and Jovan Barnes) and his viral bathrobe moment with partner Old Spice.
  
  
• Stone in his spare time has enjoyed watching “Ozark,” “Billions” and “The Office” reruns (for about the 15th time, he claims) over the past two months. Stone: “I’ve continued my daily workouts (modified with bodyweight exercises and resistance bands) and attempt to spend as much time outside as possible hiking and on the beach, which are thankfully now open again! It’s been a bonus to spend more time with my fiancée (at least for me) and I enjoy attempting to cook dinner with her every night.”

• Want to share what your work-from-home setup is like? Reach out to SBJ's David Rumsey.

Stone has turned he and his fiancee's L.A. apartment into an ISE command center during quarantine

FORCE MAJEURE IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

• After listening to an informative presentation on the force majeure clause during a virtual conference earlier this year, two University of Miami law school administrators knew they needed to get something similar in front of their students. Miami is now offering a nine-week course focused on the clause that’s found in many contracts and has become such a prominent part of the sports business world during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  
  
• "Peter (Carfagna) and I that Friday evening after the conference started texting about the need to take this and create a summer course on these issues, because of how they were moving so quickly, how interesting they were and how complex they were,” said Greg Levy, associate dean of the University of Miami law school, while speaking to SBJ’s Bill King for the latest edition of the SBJ Unpacks podcast.

SPEED READS

• The Wall Street Journal's Ben Cohen & Louise Radnofsky write under the header, "Why The Sports Comeback Has Begun." In the "brave new world of sports, a single positive test might not even stop a game," just a little over two months after Rudy Gobert's test "was enough to wipe out billions of dollars." Now leagues are "proceeding under the assumption that players and coaches testing positive is inevitable." The future of sports is "contingent on baking that risk into their plans."

• Rory McIlroy told the BBC that the majority of players would like to see September's Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits "pushed back until 2021 so that they can play in front of crowds and have the atmosphere that makes the Ryder Cup so special." McIlroy: "My personal hunch is that I don't see how it is going to happen, so I do not think that it will happen. ... The players are the ones that make the Ryder Cup. If they are not on board with it and don't want to play then there is no Ryder Cup. I see it being pushed back until 2021 and, honestly, I think that will be the right call."
  
  
• At deadline: the 2021 Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships, slated for March 1-6 at Vail Mountain Resort in Colorado, has been canceled. Burton CEO John Lacy: "This was a difficult call to make since we’re so many months away from the next Burton U.S. Open, and we’re not sure what will be happening with the pandemic nine months from now. ... There is too much at stake due to the potential public health risk and the financial risk for Burton to invest millions in an event that could end up being cancelled.”
  
  
• With momentum for a Pac-12 football season in front of fans gaining steam, the San Jose Mercury News' Jon Wilner makes the case for the conference to "plan for intra-squad exhibitions, with fans, in the middle of August." Wilner: "If schools expect 15,000 to 20,000 in the stands for the home openers, invite 2,500 to the exhibition. That would allow the operations staff to test procedures and protocols with a multi-week cushion available to make changes and solve problems that arise."

NEWS YOU NEED FROM SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY

• During this crisis impacting the sports business, we want everyone to be up-to-date on the latest news and information. SBD's "Coronavirus & Sports" section is free, outside the paywall, for the foreseeable future. Below are today's headlines:
  
  
  • MLB, Players Union Facing Pivotal Week In Discussions On Return
  • Troy Vincent Says NFL Planning For Full Stadiums When Season Begins
  • NBA Has Friday Deadline To Decide On Return-To-Play Format
  • Still Work To Do For Approval On NHL's 24-Team Playoff Format
  • New York Gov. Cuomo Clears Pro Teams To Begin Training In State
  • Cubs Face Uphill Financial Battle With Or Without MLB Season
  • Angels Cut Back Scouting Department Ahead Of MLB Draft
  • Michigan President Says No Football Without Students On Campus
  • NWSL Planning For June 29 Return, Knockout-Style Tournament

SBJ UNPACKS -- WEATHERING COVID-19

• Check out the most recent editions of our "SBJ Unpacks" podcasts around COVID-19:
  
  
  • Bill King is joined by Greg Levy and Peter Carfagna of the University of Miami to discuss force majeure in the time of COVID-19.
  • The Aspen Institue's Tom Farrey examines what a safe return to sports will look like for kids and whether now is the right time.
  • Bill King and Eric Prisbell talk about how MLB owners and players can find a middle ground to bring America's pastime back between the baselines.
  • Harvey Schiller talks about the future of sports amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Warsaw Sports Marketing Center director Whitney Wagoner on the road the Class of 2020 has traveled at sports management programs across the country.

NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR SBJ GAME CHANGERS!

Online nominations for Game Changers are now open. We’ll be accepting nominations through midnight June 21. The Game Changers event will be Oct. 27-28, and a special section will run in SBJ in the Oct. 19 issue.

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.