Closing Bell

Levy Restaurants has won the concessions business at M&T Bank Stadium following an RFP process that began last fall on the heels of the Ravens signing a 15-year extension to their stadium lease, multiple sources have confirmed to SBJ. Levy replaces Aramark Sports + Entertainment, which handled concessions at the stadium since 2003, and whose deal with the Ravens was cut short four years early, according to a statement the company provided the Baltimore Sun. It’s unclear how that situation will be resolved, and the Ravens wouldn't comment when approached by SBJ. It’s also unclear when Levy’s contract will begin, though presumably the 2024 season would be the target.

Sources confirmed that Aramark, Levy, and Delaware North responded to the Ravens’ concessions RFP. Levy declined to comment other than confirming it competed in the RFP process for the M&T Bank Stadium account. The Chicago-based concessions giant took over F&B service at Camden Yards last year-- replacing Delaware North after 13 years ahead of the Orioles also extending their lease at Camden Yards for 30 years. M&T Bank Stadium’s $430M renovation, designed by Gensler and built by Gilbane, will create a handful of new fan-facing spaces, including a multi-level beer hall and the BlackWing, a collection of 10 ultra-exclusive suites with all-inclusive F&B and a members-only club and speakeasy bar.

Ally Financial is the new jersey patch sponsor of the two-time defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces in a multiyear, multimillion dollar partnership that will simultaneously see Ally purchase spot advertising during 2024 national WNBA broadcasts.

Ally is in the midst of a five-year commitment to split its media spending 50-50 across men’s and women’s sports, and Chief Marketing and PR Officer Andrea Brimmer said its commercials during 2024 WNBA telecasts -- fostered by Playfly -- will boost its female sports investment to roughly 48%. The separate in-house arrangement with the Aces will not only include the jersey patch, but permanent and LED signage at Michelob Ultra Arena, media backdrop inclusion, regional TV ads, a digital presence on the Aces website, a role as presenting sponsor of the Aces Community Corner and brand ambassador agreements with Aces players Alysha Clark and Sydney Colson. Ally will also become the official retail banking partner of the team.

"We figured if you're going to go into the WNBA, you might as well pick the absolute best," said Brimmer, who personally negotiated the Aces deal with team President Nikki Fargas. “Back-to-back champs -- where else would you want to put your sponsorship dollars? So, for us, it was an incredible opportunity to put something together and to be able to get into arguably the hottest women's league in the country right now."

Read More >>>

The A's today released new stadium renderings of their planned Las Vegas ballpark. The $1.5B, 33,000-fan capacity ballpark is set to feature a fixed-roof and tiered seating to "allow for uninterrupted sight lines from every seat." The roof’s design features five overlapping layers, "inspired by the traditional baseball pennants," with the wall behind the outfield to feature the "world’s largest cable-net glass window ... to allow for the Strip to serve as the backdrop for the stadium." The window allows for "natural lighting inside the stadium, while also limiting heat created during times there is direct sunlight to the south of the stadium." Plans also call for the A’s ballpark to feature an 18,000-square-foot jumbotron, which would be the largest stadium screen in MLB. Bjarke Ingels Group is the design lead, with HNTB serving as the sports/hospitality designer and architect of record on the project (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/5).

The Dartmouth men’s basketball team today voted to unionize in an "unprecedented step toward forming the first labor union for college athletes" and "another attack on the NCAA’s deteriorating amateur business model." The players voted 13-2 to join Service Employees International Union Local 560, which already represents some Dartmouth workers. The school quickly appealed to the full National Labor Relations Board, seeking to "overturn last month’s decision by the board’s regional official that the Dartmouth players are employees and thus entitled to unionize." The case could also wind up in federal court, which would "likely delay negotiations over a collective bargaining agreement until long after the current members of the basketball team have graduated" (AP, 3/5).

The vote "enables the players to collectively bargain with Dartmouth over pay, practice hours and other working conditions." All players are in the unit, "even the two who voted against unionizing." The school now has five business days to file an objection to the election results. If an objection is filed, NLRB Regional Dir Laura Sacks "will decide whether to hold a hearing or dismiss it and certify the results." If no objections are filed, the union "will be certified as the players' bargaining representative" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/5).

The Bears have promoted veteran C-suite exec Karen Murphy to EVP/Stadium Development & COO, making her the second woman to hold that title in the NFL. In her new role, she will work with President & CEO Kevin Warren on the team’s vision of building a new stadium in the Chicago region.

“From the moment I met Karen, it was clear that she was an individual who would focus on being excellent every day and operate with a championship mindset,” Warren said in a statement. “Karen will do an exceptional job as we work collaboratively on building a stadium for the Chicago Bears.”

Murphy, who spent the last eight years as SVP/Business Strategy & CFO, will also oversee finance, accounting, stadium/event operations, building operations, IT, purchasing and innovation. She joined the Bears in 1999. Until now, the Chargers’ Jeanne Bonk was the only women to hold the COO title for an NFL team, though the Raiders and Panthers both have women holding the title of president.

The Hornets have brought on Jeff Peterson as EVP/Basketball Operations, filling the role previously held by Mitch Kupchak -- who last month announced he would move into an advisory role with the club. Peterson had been the Nets' assistant GM since May 2019. Before that, Peterson "worked his way up through the ranks" over seven years with the Hawks, whose minority investors at the time included current Hornets co-owner Rick Schnall. The Hornets will introduce Peterson at a press conference tomorrow morning at Spectrum Center (CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/5).

MLB Advance Media and PlayStation Studios developed by San Diego Studio have unveiled a new feature in the MLB The Show '24 video game that allows players to "create and play as women ballplayers." The "Road to the Show: Women Pave Their Way" feature "enables players to develop and witness the progress of their women ballplayer career while utilizing all the existing Road to the Show features." If a female athlete is chosen, "a distinct storyline will be triggered, accompanied by the addition of a friend and teammate." MLB The Show '24 will be released on March 19 (USA TODAY, 3/5).

The U.K. wants to host the Women’s World Cup and the Ryder Cup "within the next 15 years" but "has no plans to bid for the men’s World Cup or the Olympics for the next two decades." England has not held the men’s World Cup since 1966, having lost bids to host the 2006 and 2018 tournaments. Simon Morton, the Deputy CEO of UK Sport -- the government agency that oversees major sporting events in the country -- said that the Women’s World Cup is "the biggest sporting event this country has never hosted," and that the U.K. "hopes to host the competition at some point in the 2030s." Among the targeted events are: the Women’s World Cup in either 2031 or 2035; the Rugby World Cup in 2035 or 2039; the World Athletics Championships in 2029; Tour de France in 2027; and both the Ryder Cup (2031 or 2035) and Solheim Cup (2030). Morton added that any potential bid for the Olympics "would have to also wait until the 2040s" (London TIMES, 3/5).

Vivid Seats’ full-year marketplace gross order volume (GOV) of $3.9B was 23% higher than the 2022 fiscal year, while total marketplace orders rose from 9.2 million to 10.9 million, according to the secondary ticketing marketplace’s full-year SEC filing released Tuesday. Vivid’s revenue ($712.9M) was 19% higher and net income ($107M) saw a 51% jump from the preceding fiscal year. 

Vivid Seats also announced the hire of Stefano Langenbacher as the company’s new Chief Technology Officer, replacing Jon Wagner, who retired. Langenbacher has led the technology teams for high-performing, consumer facing e-commerce brands, most recently as CTO for Suitsupply.

TIAA was named the Official Financial Planning Education Partner of the USWNTPA. TIAA will offer player members access to educational seminars and financial planning support (TIAA).

Facility services company ABM has entered into a multiyear agreement to deliver housekeeping solutions and event staffing for the D-backs and Chase Field. ABM will deploy a workforce to deliver janitorial services to the ballpark (ABM).

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company and the PGA Tour have agreed to continue the Puerto Rico Open through 2026 (PGA Tour).

Fifth Third Bank has signed a new sponsorship of the WTA 500 Credit One Charleston Open and title sponsorship of two WTA 125 tennis tournaments at LTP Mount Pleasant (Fifth Third Bank).

Read More >>>

McDonald’s is getting into F1 with a new Latin America regional sponsorship set up by the world’s largest independent franchisee of the QSR giant. The agreement was announced today and it was set up by Arcos Dorados Holdings. The sides said the deal was for multiple years but released no other terms. F1 has races in Mexico City and Sao Paulo, Brazil, and F1 says that Latin America has over 150 million fans of its property (Adam Stern, SBJ).

Tourists "won’t be allowed to watch the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics for free as initially promised," as the French government "grapples with security concerns about the unprecedented open-air event along the Seine River" (AP, 3/5).

The English Football League has "secured record deals" of at least $188M for its international TV rights across a four-season period. The new deals "ensure record guaranteed international rights fees for EFL clubs," with two agencies, Pitch International and Relevent Sports, representing the organization across global TV markets "until the conclusion of the 2027-28 campaign" (THE ATHLETIC, 3/5).

New rules published in the Premier League's handbook revealed that clubs "will face sanctions" if they "try to secure inflated sponsorship or transfer deals with companies, organisations or other teams connected to their owners" (London TIMES, 3/5).

Read More >>>

Premier League club Manchester City has announced that the club’s latest six-part docuseries, "Together: Treble Winners" will be exclusively released on Netflix on April 2.

$12.5M  --The "estimated the average annual value of the active naming-rights agreements in the NFL," according to a person with knowledge of the market for naming-rights deals (WASHINGTON POST, 3/5).