Morning Buzz

College sports leaders are again heading inside the Beltway — this time for an audience inside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

President Trump is slated to host a number of college sports dignitaries and others with varying ties to the space at the White House for what’s been dubbed the “Saving College Sports“ roundtable on Friday.

Exact details of the meeting have been scant, even for those set to be part of the proceedings, while the exact subject matter had been kept vague as recently as the middle of this week.

Those reportedly expected to be at Friday’s meeting include the Power Four commissioners; ADs from Wake Forest, Iowa State and Indiana, Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua; Nick Saban; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver; Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment co-founder David Blitzer; consultant Marc Ganis; and RedBird Capital founder Gerry Cardinale.

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Kraft Sports & Entertainment (KSE), the owner of Gillette Stadium, has agreed to loan the Boston World Cup host committee up to $1.5M to help cover Foxborough’s public safety costs associated with hosting seven matches during this summer’s tournament. Town officials have threatened to withhold the entertainment license required for the games unless they receive assurances that roughly $7.8M in security costs will be covered.

Like other World Cup host cities, the Boston host committee has been hamstrung by delays in the disbursement of federal funding allocated for public safety around the event. Though Congress committed $625M for that purpose in the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed last summer, FEMA has yet to approve cities’ grant applications. As a result, host cities have been unable to begin procuring necessary equipment or lining up law enforcement personnel.

Foxborough, where Gillette Stadium is located, has forcefully refused to be left on the hook for security-related expenses around the venue. The town is not a party to the host city agreement under which the Boston host committee promised FIFA it would cover all public safety costs associated with hosting World Cup matches. Local officials have said they will not issue the necessary entertainment license until they receive assurances those costs, which are estimated at $7.8M, will be covered.

With a March 17 deadline looming, the Boston host committee secured a loan from KSE. The stadium owner has agreed to provide up to $1.5M in stopgap funding that the committee can access to begin procuring equipment identified by Foxborough’s police and fire departments.

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The NBA has informed teams that it may launch a streaming hub for local broadcasts as soon as next season -- a year earlier than expected -- as a result of Main Street Sports Group’s impending demise in April, multiple sources told SBJ.

While the exact format is still being ideated, those sources said the league is in talks with YouTube TV, DAZN, Amazon and ESPN and potentially others about housing local games for an aggregate of teams -- perhaps similar to an NFL Sunday Ticket -- depending on how many franchises opt in. Sources believe those streaming platforms would need the NBA to guarantee a certain threshold of teams before agreeing to any substantive deal, which industry insiders believe could be worth billions.

As of now, indications are the NBA’s 13 Main Street teams -- the Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, Timberwolves, Thunder, Magic and Spurs -- are likely candidates for the streaming hub. Sources also are convinced that NBC Sports still wants out of the RSN business and that its four teams -- the Celtics, Warriors, 76ers and Kings -- could become available, as well. Add in the five teams that have already abandoned RSNs (Suns, Jazz, Blazers, Mavericks and Pelicans), and as many 22 teams could join what would essentially be a national streaming RSN.

The NBA could also entice teams with their own networks -- such as the Wizards with Monumental+, the Nuggets with Altitude+ the Bulls with Chicago Sports Network and the Rockets with Space City Home Network -- to join them, as well, although those deals could be more complex because all those networks stream teams from other leagues.

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Former Packers President Bob Harlan died Thursday at age 89 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Green Bay. Harlan, as the organization’s leader for over 18 years, “remade the franchise on and off the field.” He came across as an “avuncular friend to everyone,” but behind the “genial facade was a leader who did not hesitate to make hard decisions.” His most controversial move was to seek a 0.5% Brown County-only sales tax to renovate Lambeau Field. During his tenure, the Packers won a Super Bowl in 1997 and lost another in 1998. Packers HOF Vice President and former archivist Tom Murphy said that Harlan would be “near the top of his list for most influential Packers executives” (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 3/5).

Harlan is “one of the most influential figures” in Packers’ history. He spent 1971 to 2008 with the team in “various roles.” His hiring of future Pro Football HOF exec Ron Wolf in 1991 “helped” the club win its first Super Bowl title in 29 years. Harlan also hired the late Ted Thompson as GM in 2005 (THE ATHLETIC, 3/5).

The A’s are putting the first premium spaces in their under-construction $1.75B Las Vegas ballpark, the Athletic Club and the Diamond Club, on sale later this month.

The two spaces resulted from the MLB team’s collaboration with food and beverage provider Aramark Sports + Entertainment, and hospitality industry leader Will Guidara.

The Athletic Club resides within the larger Diamond Club. Total capacity for the two spaces is no more than a thousand fans. Season memberships to both clubs include all food and beverage, though the A’s didn’t share any ticketing pricing.

The Athletic Club will end up as the stadium’s most exclusive space, featuring a multi-course, table-service menu and an upscale lounge serving small plates and a full bar with craft beer, curated wines, and premium cocktails. Its members sit in the first six rows behind home plate.

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The MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, co-founded by Kraft Analytics Group CEO Jessica Gelman and 76ers President/Basketball Operations Daryl Morey in 2006, will be holding its 20th edition starting Friday. The gathering has gone from a “small seminar for a few hundred” to an “annual conference that this year will take over the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and bring together 2,500 people from 42 states, 31 countries, 130 academic institutions and 80 teams and sports leagues.” The conference has attracted “ardent number crunchers as well as voices across technology, sports business and entertainment” because Gelman said that it has “strived to put together a roster of speakers and panel discussions centered around current topics and issues facing the industry.” Speakers this year include Basketball HOFer Sue Bird‘s conversation with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and a panel “centered around the rise of prediction markets,” which will feature Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins will take part in a “separate session.” The conference has become a place where companies across the sports industry have “found future employees among the MIT Sloan School of Management students that help plan and run it” (AP, 2/26).

Gelman said she is “most excited” to highlight the work of Liberty co-owner Clara Wu Tsai is leading with the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, which will “help shape the future of college, youth and women’s sports.” Gelman also highlighted Silver’s panel with Bird, noting the NBA commissioner “always has fascinating insights where I learn something.” She added both panelists have been “such ardent supporters of the conference” (THE ATHLETIC, 3/4).

As the Live Nation-Ticketmaster antitrust trial wraps up its first week in a Manhattan courtroom, SeatGeek CEO and co-founder Jack Groetzinger, AEG Presents CEO J.J. Marciano and Tixr CEO and founder Robert Davari are expected to testify (INNER CITY PRESS, 3/5).

Groetzinger and Marciano appear on the witness list for both sides. Groetzinger is expected to testify about “his experience as a Live Nation competitor, a topic on which he has been outspoken.” In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he said “independent ticketers have been hurt by Live Nation’s dominance.” Marciano will address “the impact of defendants’ conduct,” the plaintiffs wrote in court documents. Davari is expected to address barriers to expansion for his ticketing business and technology (BUSINESS INSIDER, 3/1).

Sports and entertainment strategy firm Elevate is set to acquire Intersect Partners, stakeholders in the deal told Sports Business Journal.

The acquisition, which is slated to be announced on Friday, centers on Elevate’s desire to further cement itself in the college space, particularly around naming rights and premium sponsorships.

Exact details of the merger were not disclosed at press time, though the two sides are in the formal closing process.

“If you think about our evolution in the college space and focus on maximizing revenue and optimizing revenue streams across the board for our college partners, this was just a natural evolution,” Elevate College Chief Business Officer Jonathan Marks told Sports Business Journal.

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Cadillac F1 Team completed its first day of competition overnight in the beginning two practices of the Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix, with General Motors CEO Mary Barra and President Mark Reuss watching on from the back of the garage. While this weekend is GM’s first race in F1, it is also the first in over two decades for Ford, whose Executive Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Farley were on site in Melbourne to mark the start of its partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing. Cadillac is a completely new startup coming in as F1’s 11th team, so the reliability and pace of its two cars will be closely watched. Its two drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, completed the first session successfully -- a feat in and of itself, but as expected they were toward the back of the grid in 17th and 20th, respectively. In the second session, Perez did not turn a lap due to car issues. Bottas finished the second practice 3.9 seconds behind the leader.

Meanwhile, the race weekend takes place amid great disruption for the global auto racing series from the war in the Middle East, with the Australian Financial Review reporting that race title sponsor Qatar Airways “cancelled hospitality events at this weekend’s Formula 1 race, calling guests it had invited to a corporate suite at the track to say hosting celebrations in Melbourne would be inappropriate while some of its passengers were stranded in the Middle East because of the war in Iran.” The news outlet also cited hotel operators in Melbourne as saying that that the rash of cancelled flights in the Middle East has also “prompted a surge of no-shows” in Australia. The series is considering whether it needs to cancel upcoming rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia scheduled for mid April.

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast, CAA’s Tom Young reveals how a Hollywood writer’s strike unexpectedly launched an entirely new era in sports broadcasting representation.

President Trump welcomed Inter Miami and star F Lionel Messi to the White House on Thursday “to celebrate the team’s 2025 MLS Cup title.” The players entered the East Room first. Trump then arrived “flanked by Messi” and team co-owner Jorge Mas. Trump began the event “with an update on the war in Iran.” Mas presented Trump with a pink No. 47 jersey to commemorate his presidency, then Messi gave Trump a “signed ball” and coach Javier Mascherano and the team presented Trump “with an engraved watch.” Mas’ entire family “was in attendance.” Also attending the ceremony were MLS Commissioner Don Garber, White House World Cup Task Force Exec Dir Andrew Giuliani and former MLBer and T’Wolves co-owner Alex Rodriguez (MIAMI HERALD, 3/5).

Messi has “famously avoided moments that collide with politics and could be perceived as endorsements.” That Messi did not opt out -- and that he “took center stage” -- was “notable because, whether he intended it or not, his presence could be perceived as an endorsement of the president.” Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham was not in attendance (THE ATHLETIC, 3/6).

REV Entertainment is looking for a Dir/Sales-College Properties. The Arlington-based position is responsible for maximizing revenue opportunities for an NCAA property by overseeing sales efforts, advancing sponsorship contracts, and managing long-term relationships with corporate partners/prospects specifically in the college space (REV Entertainment).

The Las Vegas Deseret Dogs are looking for a Dir/Corporate Partnership Sales. The Las Vegas-based position is responsible for generating revenue through the development, sale, and management of corporate partnerships for the club (Deseret Dogs).

LOVB Nebraska is looking for a Dir/Communications & Digital Media. The Omaha-based position is responsible for leading all public relations, media strategy, and digital communications efforts for our professional volleyball team (LOVB Nebraska).

The Nuggets are looking for a Creative Dir. The Denver-based position is responsible for providing overarching creative vision for all team-related content, branding, marketing campaigns, in-arena experiences, and digital media (Nuggets).

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“In his memoir, he referenced Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ while writing about a near disaster.”