Morning Buzz

The Stars have “chosen Plano for their future home,” signing a nonbinding letter of intent to “build an arena and entertainment district at The Shops at Willow Bend site.” The letter was submitted to the Plano City Council and “placed on the agenda for a vote during Monday’s meeting.” The decision comes a day after the Mavericks moved to secure the former Valley View Mall site for their potential arena and entertainment district. The two exits would leave American Airlines Center “without its two biggest draws” after both leases expire in 2031. The Stars’ move has been “telegraphed for months,” driven by the “pursuit of a more sustainable business model and unfolding at the same time as the Mavericks pursued both a new arena and legal action against the Stars.” The Stars spoke to “at least eight other cities about relocating, including Frisco, The Colony, Arlington and Forth Worth” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/2).

Plano “intends to contribute” up to $700M toward the arena through bonds backed by a 30-year Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, provided total development costs equal or exceed $1B. Dallas Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the team, would be “responsible for all costs above that city contribution.” The city would “own both the arena and the site, then enter into a 30-year lease” with the Stars. Stars’ ownership would “retain all revenues generated from arena operations, including sponsorship and naming rights” (PLANO STAR COURIER, 6/2).

The Big Ten and SEC released a joint statement on Tuesday, saying they do “not support the Protect College Sports Act as drafted.” The conferences said that the bill proposed by U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) “leaves critical issues unresolved.”

They noted it does “not meaningfully preempt the patchwork of state laws or provide the protections needed to make and enforce consistent rules.” It also “shifts ongoing rulemaking to Congress, limiting the ability to adapt quickly as the landscape evolves.” It also “alters the House settlement revenue sharing framework in a way that may result in fewer student-athletes receiving direct revenue share payments.” The conferences said that they are “committed to working with Senators Cruz and Cantwell and other members of Congress to improve this legislation” (SBJ).

The statement comes ahead of a Wednesday hearing on the bill. After its introduction last week, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey both said that they “wanted to review the legislation before expressing support.” However, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said that they “supported the bill” (ON3, 6/2).

The Senate commerce committee majority spokesperson released a statement in response to the SEC and Big Ten’s stance on the Protect College Sports Act, saying they “look forward to receiving constructive feedback from both conferences” (X, 6/2).

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RALEIGH, N.C. -- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who turned 74 on Tuesday as the Stanley Cup Final began, addressed a Sportsnet report citing sources as saying he has begun “laying the groundwork for his eventual exit” in conversations with members of the NHL’s Executive Committee.

“Any major organization, it’s incumbent upon its CEO -- which a commissioner is -- and its board to have a succession plan,” Bettman said. “I am 74 and I do acknowledge the fact that I can’t do this forever. We have been in discussions over the last couple of years at least as to what a succession plan might look like. It hasn’t been fully implemented. The executive committee is fully on board. The board has been briefed in terms of the direction that we may go, but beyond that, there’s nothing happening imminently.”

The speculation about succession at the NHL follows the league’s rollout of a broad reorganization last week that reduced the number of direct reports to Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly from 14 to eight. The restructuring consolidates responsibility for revenue-generating functions under President of NHL Business Keith Wachtel and operational functions under COO Steve McArdle.

The NHL has “changed the format for next year’s All-Star Game” at UBS Arena. After not holding an All-Star Game in each of the past two seasons due to the Olympics and the 4 Nations Face-Off, the league will “keep the international theme going for the event” that will take place Feb. 5-6, 2027.

Five teams -- the U.S., Canada, Finland, Sweden and a World squad -- will compete in a three-on-three round-robin tournament on Friday, Feb. 5. Each of the five teams will play four 5-minute games with no overtime or shootout in the event of a tie. Teams will receive 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss. The top two teams will advance to a 10-minute final with the winning side claiming $2M.

The night before the All-Star tournament will see the NHL Skills competition, with 10 NHL players ages 25 and younger competing in eight events and the winner taking home $1M (YAHOO SPORTS, 6/2).

The NBA’s creative promo for Game 1 of the Finals drops on Wednesday with what the league is calling its new “signature audio identity” -- original scores from Emmy Award winning composer Nicholas Britell and narration from Grammy Award winning rapper Nas.

The spot -- entitled “History is Calling” -- will appear across broadcast, social, digital and myriad fan-facing platforms, stretching to audiences in 214 countries and territories in over 50 languages. According to the league, “the audio identity is meant to signal a distinct NBA experience, the same way courts, uniforms or logos do from a visual perspective.’’

The voice-over from Nas before Game 1 is as follows:

30 TEAMS START THIS JOURNEY…

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The Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness said that the NFF has “formally backed an official complaint” against FIFA President Gianni Infantino over a “breach of political neutrality rules.” She said that the letter of support has been “officially submitted,” while noting that the move has “triggered political friction within football’s world governing body.” Klaveness earlier called on FIFA to scrap the FIFA Peace Prize. The complaint was originally lodged by FairSquare with FIFA’s ethics committee and “objects to Infantino presenting a ‘peace prize’” to President Trump (REUTERS, 6/2).

TelevisaUnivision and MLB are expanding a relationship around the Spanish-language TUDN Radio network, adding more than 30 live audio games to its schedule from June 14 through July 19. That includes on-site coverage at MLB All-Star Week in Philadelphia. TUDN Radio will also carry the Futures Game for the first time. The expanded deal also includes “Desde el Diamante,” TUDN Radio’s daily MLB program with live game narrations, statistical analysis, player projections and commentary. TelevisaUnivision Sports Radio VP Carlos Azcarate spearheaded the deal for the network.

The radio deal is the latest expansion of the relationship between the two sides. Earlier this year, Televisa aired the World Baseball Classic in Mexico. MLB and TelevisaUnivision are also in the final year of a deal in the U.S. that includes some regular-season and postseason games, including Game 1 of the World Series.

Louisville Sports Commission President and CEO Greg Fante was named Executive of the Year by Sports ETA, the trade association for the sports events and tourism industry Tuesday during the Sports ETA Chief Executive Summit in Columbus.

Fante has been immersed in the city’s tourism business for nearly four decades, including 11 in the hotel industry and eight with the local convention and visitors bureau prior to joining the Louisville Sports Commission in 2007.

SBJ last month named Louisville one of the best cities in the U.S. for sports business.

D.C. United has canceled its friendly match against the Ethiopian national team due to complications with securing visas and the heightened measures surrounding the recent global Ebola outbreak, the team said. The match was scheduled for July 11 at Audi Field and was slated to be the third annual Ethiopia Soccer Legacy Match. Fans who purchased tickets will receive refunds (D.C. United).

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s pre-World Cup friendly against Chile that was set to be played in Spain has “been canceled because of health concerns regarding the Ebola outbreak in the African country.” La Línea de la Concepción, Spain, was set to host the match on June 9. However, Mayor Juan Franco said that he has been “forced to postpone the fixture as a precaution following recommendations from the regional government’s health service” (ESPN.com, 6/2).

AC Grand Rapids are looking for a CRO. The Grand Rapids-based position is responsible for architecting the commercial vision by leading revenue strategy, forecasting and performance across partnerships, ticketing and emerging revenue streams (AC Grand Rapids).

The Athletics are looking for a Dir/Ticket Operations. The Las Vegas-based position is responsible for end-to-end inventory management on the ProVenue platform, financial reconciliation of all ballpark events and the professional development of the box office and game day service teams (Athletics).

The Athletics are looking for a Dir/Creative. The Las Vegas-based position is responsible for designing all visual communication from concept through completion to support marketing and brand objectives for the team (Athletics).

NWSL Atlanta is looking for a Dir/Brand and Integrated Marketing. The Atlanta-based position is responsible for leading the formulation and orchestration of fan engagement to support brand, fan and revenue growth while overseeing all match day marketing activities, through integrated and layered approaches (NWSL Atlanta).

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“An introductory note to this novel offered gratitude to ‘the great profession of architecture and its heroes.’”