Closing Bell

The NWSL has secured yet another record expansion fee, with a consortium led by Haslam Sports Group paying $205M to bring a team to Columbus. The fee is part of the more than $300M that the ownership group expects to invest in launching the team, which also includes physical infrastructure and staffing.

HSG is joined by locally based insurance giant Nationwide and Drs. Christine and Pete Edwards. Nationwide, a longtime sponsor of both the NWSL and sports in Columbus -- including HSG’s MLS franchise, the Crew -- is taking an equity stake in a franchise for the first time. The Edwards family are co-owners of the Crew, for whom Pete previously served as team physician.

The league’s 18th franchise will debut in 2028 alongside an Atlanta team owned by Arthur Blank, who last November agreed to pay a then-record $165M expansion fee. The Columbus franchise is the second team awarded since the league and its investment bank, Inner Circle Sports, shifted to a rolling process.

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said the rapidly increasing expansion fees reflect investor belief in the league’s continued growth potential, as well as perceived franchise scarcity and a packed slate of upcoming global soccer events.

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A new NBA-ready arena project has been “proposed for the south Strip.” The Las Vegas Diamond Arena is “planned as a 21,212-seat arena, featuring a 100,000-square-foot ground-level plaza and 140,000 square feet of team and broadcast facilities.” The project, the latest proposed as an NBA venue, would be built on 11 acres. Diamond Arena spokesperson Tom Letizia said that the project would “feature several stakeholders from the land owners,” which include Chetak Development Inc., an NBA ownership group and other partners. Letizia said that there is “no projected timeline when the arena could be built or the price tag on the project, as it is contingent on the NBA awarding Las Vegas an expansion franchise.” He added that there “have been conversations with the NBA, potential team ownership groups and Clark County officials about the project.” One area that has not been discussed around the project is “obtaining public funding to construct the arena” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/21).

FIFA announced that a “new ticket inventory for all 104 matches will be available for purchase” starting Wednesday at 11am ET on its website. Tickets will be “available across categories one through three in addition to the front-row seat categories, depending on the match.” These tickets will be on sale “through the end of the tournament.” Further tickets will be “released to the public on an ongoing basis through the World Cup final.” FIFA’s release warned buyers that a match ticket does not guarantee admission to the three host countries and “urged fans to consult government websites” (L.A. TIMES, 4/21).

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said he has had “some difficult conversations” over the past two weeks after Page Six published photographs of him hugging and holding hands with NFL reporter Dianna Russini. Vrabel: “We believe in order to be successful on and off the field, you have to make good decisions. That includes me. That starts with me. We never want our actions to negatively affect the team. We never want to be the cause of a distraction.” Vrabel acknowledged that he “could have spoken to the media sooner,” but he “wanted to first speak to the players.” The Patriots opened their voluntary offseason program Monday, which is “when Vrabel addressed the team.” Vrabel was “initially scheduled to talk Thursday” but “requested the change because he didn’t want players to have to speak before him.” Vrabel “issued a three-minute statement, before fielding a handful of additional questions about the matter away from the podium.” He “elected to keep the contents of his conversations with his family, players, staff, and ownership private.” Vrabel “chose not to comment on Russini,” who last week resigned from her job at The Athletic (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/21).

Syracuse Athletics has partnered with third-party NIL collective One Orange Alliance in a deal that “allows individuals and businesses to make contributions to support SU’s teams and athletes’ NIL opportunities.” The collective will “expand on Syracuse’s previous sole NIL collective, SU Football NIL, and serve all of the university’s sports rather than just football.” Syracuse’s previous NIL collective, Orange United, shut down in October 2025 after two years. All contributions to the collective “can’t go to a specific team” -- they will instead be “pooled together for all teams.” One Orange Alliance is “one of the first major initiatives taken” by incoming AD Bryan Blair, who will officially replace outgoing AD John Wildhack on July 1 (DAILY ORANGE, 4/21).

The Chevron Championship -- the first LPGA major of the year -- “will now feature” a $9M purse, an increase of $1M from 2025 and an increase of $5.9M since Chevron took over title sponsorship in 2022. This year’s winner will receive $1.35M, while players “who miss the cut this week in Houston will receive $10,000 to help cover expenses.” Additional tournament perks this week include “a Cadillac courtesy car for every member of the field,” while “all past champions have the option to drive a Bentley this week as well as a complimentary stay at the Post Oak Hotel.” The Chevron purse increase comes just a few days after JM Eagle CEO Walter Wang‘s surprise announcement in the booth over the weekend that the LA Championship purse was going up $1M on the spot (GOLFWEEK, 4/21).

Panini America has signed Basketball HOFer Sue Bird to an exclusive, multiyear agreement for autographed trading cards. Bird will be featured across Panini’s WNBA cards, including Prizm and Origins, as well as in select Panini marketing initiatives. Panini will also be a sponsor for the “Bird’s Eye View” podcast (Panini America).

SBJ’s Bret McCormick recently toured Northwestern’s New Ryan Field, a 35,000-seat stadium whose design flies in the face of the traditional college football stadium template.

Mari, the holding company founded by TKO Exec Chair & CEO Ari Emanuel and TKO President & COO Mark Shapiro, has acquired trading card, anime and pop culture event Collect-A-Con. The event was founded in 2021 and has 24 shows planned for 2026, making it the largest touring event of its kind in the U.S. The shows draw an average of 25,000 attendees, with over 500,000 participants annually. Collect-A-Con will operate under its existing brand and leadership team. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed (Mari).

Navy Federal Credit Union and the NHL selected the United Heroes League (UHL) as this season’s NHL Stick Tap for Service honoree. The credit union will donate $100 for every goal scored during the Stanley Cup Playoffs first round (up to $50,000) to support the UHL, which will also be spotlighted across Navy Federal and NHL social media channels. UHL was founded to support children of military service members (NHL).