Friday Dump 🥟 - DC's stadium quandary, ATP+PIF=<3, F1's gold mine

Oh hello there, Friday Dump 🥟

Each Friday, we’ll breakdown 3 sports business stories that have caught our eye throughout the week. They will be assembled in the following format:

🔴 - Stories that make us stop, think, and question.

🟡 - Stories with a hint of risk and unpredictability.

🟢 - Stories that make us feel good to go and empowered.

We’re excited to have you dine with us.

🔴 Washington, DC: the land where stadiums don’t last. Alright everyone, take your seats. Welcome to today’s first class of Geography 101, where we compare the land size of Washington, DC to other cities around the US (hint: it’s small af). DC’s land area is around 61 mi² . Compared to…

• Baltimore (81 mi² )

• Boston (90 mi² )

• Chicago (232 mi² )

• NYC (303 mi² )

• Dallas (386 mi² )

• Los Angeles (469 mi² )

…you can imagine how small our nation’s capital really is. Why is that important? Well, DC is the home of the Commanders (NFL), Wizards (NBA), Capitals (NHL), Nationals (MLB), DC United (MLS), and Mystics (WNBA), which means they have a team for all major sports in the US…but they don’t have the benefit of space to keep these teams within the confines of the District. It’s exactly why the Commanders play in Landover, MD 😖. It’s why Ted Leonsis, owner of the Wizards and Capitals, is in discussions to move their home right across the Potomac River to Virginia. So why bring this up now?

• The House of Representatives just passed a bill, by a margin of 348-55, that allows DC to potentially repurpose the old site of RFK Stadium.

  • RFK used to be the home of the, then, Redskins from 1961-1996; it was the home of the Nationals from 2005-2007; and let’s not forget DC United from 1996-2017 👵🏻.

    • To answer your question, yes, that old piece of concrete has just been sitting there collecting dust since DC United’s last game in 2017.

  • This bill now moves to the Senate where RFK could be used for various purposes, including a new home for the Commanders, commercial and residential development, and parks.

• Until this dream can become reality, the Commanders organization must deal with the cards they’ve been dealt? (Hmm maybe cards they dealt themselves?) They also must wait until 2027 when they’re lease is up. 

  • On Tuesday, they announced $75M worth of upgrades to their current stadium, FedEx Field.

  • …And then on Wednesday, FedEx ended its stadium naming rights deal two years early. The franchise is set to lose ~$15M of remaining revenue, unless they can find a new naming rights partner 🤕.

🟡 Tennis has a new sugar daddy. On Tuesday, the Association of Tennis Players (ATP) and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) unveiled a new multi-year strategic partnership as PIF will become the official naming partner of ATP Rankings. They will also sponsor other top ATP tour events at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing, the ATP Finals, and the Next Gen ATP Finals as part of the partnership. The money continues to flow to sports as Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund diversifies their portfolio even more when it comes to the game of tennis.

• Tennis has been considerably growing in Saudi Arabia. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of registered players increased by 46%.

  • And there have been rumors that PIF is in talks on a partnership with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). This wouldn’t be too much of a shock, as the 2024 WTA Tour Finals is on the verge of being held in Saudi Arabia.

• PIF has estimated assets worth ~$700 billion and has committed nearly $10 billion in multiple sports, music, and entertainment ventures.

  • Right now, tennis will be added to their sports portfolio which includes: soccer, golf (LIV Tour), Formula 1, WWE, boxing, esports, motorsports, and more.

• There continues to be plenty of critics of PIF’s sports investments. Some have even claimed it is a way for the country and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to gain influence in the U.S…which might be the reason why they haven’t dipped their toes in the top US major sports leagues.

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🟢 Formula 1 proving they’re in pole position with investors. In 2017, Liberty Media (owners of SiriusXM and Live Nation Entertainment) bought the Formula 1 Group from private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners for $4.4 billion. Yesterday, financials were announced from Q4 2023…and let’s just say F1 is clearly the golden goose of the Liberty Media bunch 🏁.

• According to The Hollywood Reporter…

  • Quarterly revenue at the Formula 1 Group jumped from ~$750 million to ~$1.2 billion.

  • SiriusXM Group posted a decline from ~$530 million to ~$455 million in profit…Formula 1’s operating result jumped from a profit of ~$40 million to a profit of ~$120 million.

  • F1 saw double-digit growth across all revenue streams. And by implementing new races, such as the Las Vegas Grand Prix, it created even more buzz — generating over 16 billion global social media impressions during race week.

• This comes in as great news for the sport as F1 recently signed a 10-year rights deal with Qatar’s beIN Sports in the Middle East, plus a US deal with ABC/ESPN to air races through the 2025 season. The US deal is coming up for renewal prior to the 2026 season.