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- [00:00]
Intuit/IBM/Cigna Advertiser
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- [00:49]
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- [01:24]
Ann Liguori
Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News this is the Business of Sports.
- [01:32]
Vanessa Perdomo
Our aim is always to leverage the
- [01:34]
Randall Williams
global appeal of football.
- [01:36]
Brad Sims
Having representation in college sports is even more important than pro. 10% of Americans now claim soccer to
- [01:43]
Vanessa Perdomo
be their favorite sport.
- [01:44]
Ann Liguori
We estimate the youth sports audience has $3 trillion in spending power.
- [01:49]
Brad Sims
The nature of baseball is it is worldwide and it is global. I'm very happy for the WNBA and how the NBA has embraced. Books are not going anywhere and sports betting is only growing.
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Vanessa Perdomo
We have a super team running this league and this league is here and it's here to stay.
- [02:04]
Adobe/Cincinnati Insurance Advertiser
Bloomberg Business of Sports From Bloomberg Radio,
- [02:08]
Vanessa Perdomo
this is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Vanessa Perdomo. Michael Barr is out this week. Coming up for today, we'll be speaking about two of my favorite things, the World cup and women's hoops. I'll be joined in studio by New York City FC San CEO Brad Sims to talk about the World cup coming to New York and how the club is planning on capitalizing on that. And we'll be checking in on women's basketball ahead of the WNBA draft. That's straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. But we start with everyone's favorite time of year for golf, the Masters. I am joined now by award winning sports broadcaster and host of Talking Golf, Ann Liguori Anne is down in Augusta giving us a take of the action on the ground and who she thinks is going to win the tournament this year. Ann, welcome to the Bloomberg business of sports. Ann, you're down in Augusta. Tell us what the chatter is. Tell us the vibe heading into the tournament.
- [03:00]
Ann Liguori
Everybody's so excited to be here. The forecast looks amazing. The course is as manicured and beautiful as ever. It's like, you know, heaven on earth. We can only imagine. So everybody's very excited to be here. Stay. Scotty Scheffler arrived on Sunday to participate, handing out a trophy in the Drive Tip and Putt National Finals. His wife just had a baby boy March 27th. So Scotty hasn't, you know, played the last couple weeks. He was with his. His wife, obviously. So now he has two sons. And everybody's kind of wondering, okay, who's going to win this Masters? I mean, for the first time in a long time, the Masters feels as wide open as we've seen in recent memory. No one player has an edge, but of course, Scotty is a favorite. And last year he had an incredible year. He won six tournaments, including the PGA Championship and the Open Championship. The year before, he won seven, including his second Masters title. And this year he comes in. He's won the American Express earlier in the year and has three top tens. But his last couple starts, he's had some slow starts and where he scored unscotty like. And he has said that that's more of a sample size. He's not concerned about it, but he's certainly not the dominant force coming into this Masters as he has been the last couple of years. So it's pretty wide open. And of course, Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, captured the career Grand Slam, becoming only the sixth player to do that with Gene Sears and Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. So Rory, he's been on the premises for the Augusta National Women's Am and for the Drive Chip and Putt National Finals wearing his green jacket in pride. He played a practice round on Monday with his father, Jerry, and with Augusta National Golf Club member Jimmy Dunn. So obviously, Rory is a huge story, is he freed up after capturing that career Grand Slam and finally winning the Masters last year after trying for 10 years to get that career Grand Slam. So all eyes are on Rory McIlroy, of course, as well.
- [05:29]
Vanessa Perdomo
Yeah, it's really interesting, obviously, the back and forth there between the Can Rory go back to back, or can Scotty, as the world number one, come in and. And win his Third, do you think it's one of their two? One of the two of them, their tournament to lose? I mean, you did say it was wide open, but what do you think about that?
- [05:46]
Ann Liguori
There are so many different players who can come out here and make a lot of noise. I mean, Bryson DeChambeau, he has played really well on live. He's won back to back live titles, obviously two time U.S. open champion. If he can kind of hone in his power, control his power game. Bryson DeChambeau is certainly somebody to watch. This is his 10th master, so he has a lot of experience navigating Augusta National. Tommy Fleetwood, he's played so well. He won the Tour Championship last year and he had such a strong Ryder cup at Bethpage Black. And this year he has a couple top tens already. So Tommy Fleetwood is somebody to watch. Chris Gutterup, this is his master's debut, but what a story for Chris Gutterup because he's already won two PGA Tour titles this season and last year he won the Scottish Open and then finished third at the Open Championship at Royal Port Rush. So Chris Gutterup is somebody that I'm looking to do really well here. And sometimes if you've not played here competitively, sometimes that can be to your advantage because you don't have that any kind of negative muscle memory. So I think he would be a great story. He's going to be coming into the interview room so we can kind of get a sense of where he's at. Coming to Augusta national for the first time and you know you have Brooks Koepka who defected from live and was welcomed back to the PGA Tour, five time major champion. He has two runners up here at the Masters. He was runner up to Tiger in 2019, runner up to Jon Rahm in 2023. So Brooks can always make noise. I mean, so many players. Ludwig Ober, somebody to watch. He was runner up here a couple years ago and so it's really exciting because it's wide open. Xander Schoffley in his ninth Masters. He's finished in the top 10 here in five of the past seven years and he's had great results this year. So really going to be fun to to watch who prevails.
- [08:00]
Vanessa Perdomo
It really sounds like it really could go any way, which is one of the things obviously about golf and about the Masters that people love. But it's something that betters love and hate, right, because it means the odds are really really tough. But also it can pay out really, really well. So in your opinion, do you see it More as someone's going to come in and win their first title. Or, or would you put a bet on that someone's going to get a repeat title?
- [08:26]
Ann Liguori
Good question. At this point would say it's going to be somebody coming in to win their first title. I just love those stories. Actually, I picked Chris Gutter up, which is a daring pick because it's his Masters debut. And the last time a Masters rookie won was Fuzzy Zeller, ironically, the late Fuzzy Zeller, who we just lost this past year. So it will be interesting. I, you know, I obviously, Scotty Shuffler can win any given week, right? And so can Rory McIlroy, but it just, something just tells me that it's going to be, you know, somebody a little different this year. And the Masters always has compelling storylines, but can you imagine if a rookie were to win it? So somebody like Chris Gottara or somebody like Ludwig Ober, who I mentioned earlier, has done so well here, he's been a runner up here and he, he took a big lead into the Players Championship. Didn't get it there, but he has the game to win here. He has the confidence because he's done here. He's done well here in the past. Somebody I haven't mentioned yet, Cameron Young from Westchester, who grew up playing Sleepy Hollow. He won the Players Championship, beating Matt Fitzpatrick by one shot. And he won his first PGA Tour event last August. Cameron Young could very well come out here and kind of make some noise. So, again, I think it's going to be somebody different than Scotty scheffler and Roy McElroy.
- [09:55]
Vanessa Perdomo
We're speaking with Ann Liguori, host of Talking Golf. And you know, what you're saying there, obviously, if it's someone who comes in and wins their first, what can a performance like that do? Or if Chris comes in and he, you know, does really well, even if he doesn't win, what can a performance like that do for someone's career in when it comes to, you know, endorsement deals, things like that. But also in terms of performance moving forward, do you think it puts a lot of pressure on, on them, or does it actually really propel people to go further in their career after performing well?
- [10:25]
Ann Liguori
Oh, absolutely, they will. If you win a Masters title, it, it's a game changer, right? It's a, it's a career changer, a life changer. It's the most prestigious title you can win. Obviously, if you win other majors and can somehow win all four and be one of the elite to accomplish the career Grand Slam, that's probably the most prestigious accomplishment any of these golfers can have. But sure, if, if somebody, anybody wins this title, you gain so much confidence, it frees you up. That's why when you look at somebody like Rory McIlroy, you have to wonder, will the fact that he finally won the Masters title free him up? Will he be able to go out here this week and play just completely lights up completely. Rory, like with so much talent and so much power, can he go out here and just have fun and really do well enough to repeat? Or will he be, you know, 10 shots behind and not make the cut? I mean, it could go either way. Which, you know, again, makes it very exciting.
- [11:39]
Vanessa Perdomo
You had mentioned a couple golfers earlier, Bryson DeChambeau being one of them.
- [11:44]
Ann Liguori
Right.
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Vanessa Perdomo
That live golfers and they can come in and perform really well and win the tournament. Do you think that it's still somewhat of a storyline if a live golfer comes in and wins?
- [11:54]
Ann Liguori
Definitely. I mean, if Bryson DeChambeau were to win a Masters title, that would be huge and it would give LIV a lot of publicity and they really haven't had too much publicity of late. The war between LIV and the PGA Tour has died down a lot. PG Tour players are making so much money now with these signature events and the paychecks are just phenomenal. The players pension fund is huge and so there's really no, no more talk about how PGA Tour players dislike the live golfers and vice versa. Brooks Koepka was allowed back into the PGA Tour after he left live. Patrick Reed, already a Masters champion, he will be playing this week and is a, you know, threat here for sure. So yeah, I mean, liv not as much of a publicity factor as it has been. And you don't hear, you know, a lot about the animosity between the two associations like you have in the past. So it's a kind of a whole different field. PGA Tour players have learned to accept live players and vice versa.
- [13:08]
Vanessa Perdomo
Do you think that it's something that LIV then needs? They need a golfer to come in and win the Masters to kind of bring their name back into the conversation a little bit.
- [13:17]
Ann Liguori
Yeah, they need it because it's, you know, these guys who play on live, a lot of people don't see them play. We haven't heard about Jon Rahm in a long time. We haven't. I haven't seen him play. A lot of people haven't seen him play. He won a tournament on Liv this year. Bryson DeChambeau won back to back tournaments. So we hear that they're coming in to this Masters in good form, but we really haven't heard much from them or have seen them. Now Bryson has his own global social media campaigns going where he has billions of followers. It's incredible how many followers he's he has. And he's popular all over the world now based on his own social media, but it's based on his own social media, not particularly based on the fact that he's a live golfer. So yes, if a live player were to win, and particularly since Brooks Koepka has left live, bolted from LIV and is welcome back now and playing on the PGA Tour, that was a big blow to LIV Golf. So yes, they they could use a win for sure.
- [14:19]
Vanessa Perdomo
That was Anne Liguori, sports broadcaster and host of Talking Golf with Anne Liguori. Up next, I'll be joined by friend of the show, Bloomberg's Randall Williams to cap off March Madness. That's straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. I'm Vanessa Perdomo. You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.
- [14:39]
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- [15:07]
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- [15:35]
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- [16:08]
Ann Liguori
This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
- [16:13]
Vanessa Perdomo
This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Vanessa Perdomo. Michael Barr is off this week. I'm now joined by old Friend of the show, our buddy, Bloomberg's U.S. sports business reporter, Randall Williams. Randall is going to give us all the details of all the things we should be looking out for ahead of the WNBA draft on Monday. Randall, welcome to the Bloomberg business of sports.
- [16:35]
Randall Williams
Thank you for having me.
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Vanessa Perdomo
Okay, Randall, so we are talking women's hoops, and I want to start with college. UCLA just won their first national title in program history. They had the lowest odds out of any team that was in the Final Four. Why do you think people were counting them out and how do you think they came through with it?
- [16:52]
Randall Williams
I think women's basketball, more than some of the other sports, is really built on brands. Like, you think of UConn, you think of South Carolina, you think of Tennessee, and UCLA has been very good. But sometimes, like, when you don't get over that hump, people are just like, ah, they're good. And they got over the hump in dominant fashion. I mean, I was watching the game from pretty much start to finish, and I think at one point it was 13:4. Then South Carolina started chipping away. But, I mean, after the second half opened up, it was over with, and it was a pretty dominant victory. I think it's good for women's basketball for there to be more parity, but I think a championship game in a blowout is obviously not the result that I would say college basketball wants and that ESPN would want for, you know, a showing of the best in the pinnacle game of the season.
- [17:41]
Ann Liguori
Right?
- [17:41]
Vanessa Perdomo
Well, yeah, for. From a ratings perspective, for sure. And they did graduate seven seniors, right? They're going to be graduating seven seniors. And I mean, I was really on them. That's why I was. I picked them to win.
- [17:51]
Randall Williams
Oh, okay.
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Vanessa Perdomo
I actually picked them to win because I was like, these girls are hungry. They really.
- [17:55]
Randall Williams
Brackets for a cause.
- [17:57]
Vanessa Perdomo
I would not. Yeah, I can't afford brackets for a cause, you know, unless we wanted to all blur money together personally. But I picked USCLA to win because I felt like they were really hungry out there. But, I mean, we know what it does to a program when you graduate that many people. What do you think they're gonna be able to do in the next couple of years?
- [18:14]
Randall Williams
Well, it'll be really interesting to see because, of course, we have President Trump's executive order that's supposed to be limiting nil and the transfer portal and all those things. We'll have to see if that's able to get through. I don't know if it's going to. I do think that it is a Very, very strong ruling. But so long as the rules are as wild, wild west as they are right now, then what they can do is continue to recruit. They now have a national championship under their belt. They an A plus coach, they have great players, they have a good history. And of course they have the transfer portal. So every single year we see college athletes enter the transfer portal. And you know, I think when teams do that, like you, we've heard and I've talked to coach prime in Colorado about this, but sometimes teams use the transfer portal more than they use like the typical high school recruiting database because they want experience. And like you said, these are, they're graduating seven seniors. I would be shocked to know, or I would be surprised to know how many are graduate seniors versus like a traditional one in a four year school. So they have a wide variety of ways to retool and be back here next year.
- [19:18]
Vanessa Perdomo
Audi Crooks already said she was going into the transfer portal, so we'll see where she ends up.
- [19:24]
Randall Williams
Absolutely.
- [19:25]
Vanessa Perdomo
Before we move on from college hoops, we got to talk about Gino Auriemma and Dawn Staley. A little mix up that happened. What's your take on that?
- [19:33]
Randall Williams
I think Geno was in his feelings, I think that like from start to finish, nothing he was saying was making sense. Like the whole ripping the jersey thing. He said like I have a kid with the jersey ripped and then ESPN shows the replay of the jersey being ripped. And then I think like when you're getting your team can't buy a shot. And I do think like South Carolina played them very physical, but if that was the game that they were going to play, then I think that UConn should have matched the physicality and they, he just got frustrated. And I think like sometimes when you're in that competitive mindset, like the smallest little thing can just send you over the edge. And he was probably, I imagine he was probably like sitting over there reflecting over the entire game and in his feelings with the refs and in his feelings with like his players not being able to make any shots and then he's like, oh my God, she didn't shake my hand. And I think that just dawned on him and no pun intended, and he just overreacted and I think his apology should have been better. Like it's very easy to type a statement. We have chat, GPT and so many other different devices that can do that. But coming out and saying something publicly the way that you were publicly, you know, you made that situation what it was, I think is more powerful so we'll see.
- [20:48]
Vanessa Perdomo
Do you think it at all impacts his legacy or were people going to chalk it up to sore loser?
- [20:53]
Randall Williams
I think that it doesn't. It does in some aspect. Like, he's still the greatest coach in women's college basketball history. You know, some would say Pat Summitt as well. But I think what people remember from that moment now is that when he was challenged, that he cowered like, there's no reason you should ever be in your feelings over a handshake, especially when they did shake hands. Like, I understand he's talking about the ceremonial handshake before, where you're supposed to chop it up and yada, yada, yada. But like he said after the game that they're not friends, that they don't have a relationship, and that he doesn't know her. And I believe they've coached on the same staff for Team USA before. And so I found that very, very strange and contradictory because it's like, okay, do you respect her or you don't? And it felt like the moment just got too big for him. Like, he's like, oh, you know, we beat them last year. We're supposed to be here, we're UConn, and now we're. That they're being challenged in so many different ways. And don't get me wrong, like, they did win last year in a dominant fashion. However, like, it's a new day in agent in women's college basketball, and I think he's finding that out the hard way.
- [21:55]
Vanessa Perdomo
It's interesting because, like you said, they did win last year, but it was a while from. From that point. So it's not like he's lost. He hasn't lost recently. So it was. It seemed almost out of character, but in character in the way that, I mean, we all know he's really competitive and all of that, but it was. It felt out of character to. Especially as a champion of women's basketball.
- [22:14]
Randall Williams
I think when you talk to people around women's college basketball that know him well, that have been around the space a long time, a good portion of these people are not surprised by his character. But one of the things that is one of my favorite phrases in all of sports is that winning hides everything. Winning can hide so many different things, whether somebody's frustrated or feeling and their feelings. Like, you think about the Eagles and A.J. brown. I mean, Matt Townsend, our editor, will, could tell you time and time over again, like, if they win the super bowl, nobody cares. Which is, like, a fact. And I think he's won so much that here's probably some people that he has upset along the way. And that may have been the price of winning, but now when you're losing and you behave that way, it looks so much different. And you can win and be the most braggadocious winner in the world, but when you lose, if you don't lose in class as a winner, then that's a problem.
- [23:02]
Vanessa Perdomo
Yeah, absolutely. So moving on from college hoops, which right after the national championship, you know, has a very fun. The women's side has a very fun opportunity of going right from the national championship right into the WNBA. The draft is on April 13, on Monday. What are you looking out for when it comes to the draft?
- [23:21]
Randall Williams
So the obvious thing is like, we have the prospects, we have Olivia Miles and Az Fudd and Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice and so many more. But the biggest thing that I'd like to see is how Commissioner Engelbert will field questions for the first time in many, many months. Like, obviously they went through these CBA negotiations and there were a select few reporters shout out to Annie and all the others and Doug and the people who were outside late in the night covering this in those CBA negotiations. But she hasn't had formal public address since the WNBA finals, I believe. And so much has happened since then. I mean, it's been. That was like October, I believe. And so when you think about that, like all of these negotiations and the things that were said before then and after then, I think that it puts her in a very peculiar position because we've reported and so many other outlets have reported that she has talked privately about this being the last year for her. And what was told to me was that like she was going to bring expansion, she was going to get revenue up and then she was going to sign a new CBA and a media deal and then it was gonna be like her swan song. And that was gonna be it because she is a well accomplished executive outside of being the commissioner of the W. And I expect her to be non committal because Adam Silver at the NBA Board of Governors meetings last week was non committal in saying that he hasn't had any conversations with her. But I'd be fascinated to know if she comes to the podium and says, like, I want to be here long term because I still remember what Nafisa was saying. I still remember what the players were saying back then. And I would be shocked in six months if now Commissioner Engelbert understands the culture of the wnba. That doesn't just happen in six months, you have to have a CBA agreement in order for basketball to continue. You don't necessarily have to understand culture to get. Get a CBA agreement done. So I would be interested to know if she's going to stay around and how she's going to address things, because it's a time to celebrate women's basketball, of course, like, it's easy to celebrate now because these salaries are going from 60 and 70 and $80,000 to 400 to 500 to a million dollars for some players as well. And so, like, I'm sure she'll get up there and be like, you know, we just signed a transformational collective bargaining agreement, and they have. However, there are larger questions remain.
- [25:35]
Vanessa Perdomo
Right. And I think that's the interesting thing there. I mean, commissioners are always going to come up and say their league's doing amazing and they've done all the things to make their league great. And obviously, she did get the deal across. But in terms of her personality, what do you expect from that act, from her actually being true, honest with a group of reporters?
- [25:57]
Randall Williams
I would say that. I don't know that I always get the vibe that she is going to. To. I don't. I just don't find her insightful in her. In the responses that she gives me. Like, when you ask her question, when you were asking questions throughout, through. Over the course of a year about collective bargaining. I understand the notion that you don't negotiate in public. However, if there are reports out there, like, you can go back and whether it be my reporting, whether it be Annie's reporting, whether it be the AP's reporting, whether it be the athletics reporting, like, so many different things were reported that were fact. And when she would step to the podium, she would say that that was inaccurate. Well, I guess sort of an insult to the job altogether, which is that, like, oh, you know, that's false, but you're not saying what the truth is either. And like, I have many different conversations on background and off the record with different people around the league. And so I think that if she is to stay around, I would love for her to improve her relationship with both players and with media, because it does not have to be as tense sometimes as it is, because, like, as a reporter, we're just there to do our job and ask questions. But if the questions aren't answered and then you go back to your sources who work within the league, work at the league office and are around the sport, then, like, what are you supposed to do? You go back and you Call and say, like, okay, you know, call for comment. You ask your question, they call it inaccurate. You print your story, and now everybody's upset. It's like sometimes a never ending revolving door. Then I think that when you ask Adam Silver questions, that's not something that, like, I necessarily have to deal with. Like, there are sometimes Adam Silver will shut the door closed, and then when he gets out the podium, he'll explain why. Off the record, when Kathy gets off the stage, she walks directly behind the curtain. And I don't know why that is, but I think it's interesting.
- [27:42]
Vanessa Perdomo
Yeah. Do you get the feel that the players want her to stay at all?
- [27:48]
Randall Williams
I have not spoken to many players about that. The vibe that I got beforehand was, no, like, they just did not vibe with her. And I think that, look, a new CBA helps things because players will be making so much more money. However, does money really buy peace? Like, that's the main thing. Like, there are so many issues whether. And like, you know, we're talking about charter flights here, we're talking about, you know, team housing, different things like that that have been sort of solved in this cba. But there's always something that players want more. Like, they got. I believe that the number that's been reported out there is 20%. And they were negotiating for between 30 and 40. 40 came down to 30. 30 came down to 27. They got to 20, and both sides agreed and said that was a win. Look, Kathy's changed. Let's give her the benefit of the doubt. And maybe she has listened to players and grown over the last six months out of the public eye or some of the statements that were made were just negotiating tools to get the deal that they wanted. And, you know, to each their own. You gotta tip your cap to that because both sides are doing it at the end of the day.
- [28:50]
Vanessa Perdomo
That was Bloomberg's U.S. sports business reporter, Randall Williams. Up next, it's my favorite time of day, also known as anytime I can talk about soccer. I'll be joined by NYCFC CEO Brad Sims. That's straight ahead on the Bloomberg business of sports. I'm Vanessa Perdomo. You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything, like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card and the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes subject to credit approval. Apple card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City branch terms and
- [29:39]
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- [30:11]
Intuit/IBM/Cigna Advertiser
For many men, mental health challenges aren't recognized until they've already taken a toll. Work pressure, financial stress, changing relationships and traditional expectations around masculinity can quietly wear men down, often without clear warning signs. In season three of the Visibility Gap, Dr. Guy Winch and his guests explore how these pressures show up, how to spot them earlier, and how men can access meaningful support. Listen to the new season of the Visibility Gap, a podcast presented by Cigna Healthcare.
- [30:42]
Ann Liguori
This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
- [30:47]
Vanessa Perdomo
Thanks for joining the Bloomberg business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Vanessa Perdomo. Michael Barr is off this week. Guys, I'm really excited for this one. I'm joined now in studio by CEO of New York City FC Brad Sims. We're going to be talking today about the new developments for the team's upcoming brand new stadium. And of course we're talking World cup as we are only a few months away. Brad, thanks so much for joining the Bloomberg Business of sports. So you guys just had your topping out ceremony. Tell us what that is, why it's exciting for the club.
- [31:17]
Brad Sims
Sure, yeah. First, thanks for having me. Excited to be here. Yeah. Exciting times for New York City fc. We are pretty much halfway through the construction of Etihad Park, New York City's first ever soccer specific stadium. The topping out ceremony that just happened is when the, the last, you know, the final and highest steel beam goes into place. So it's on any kind of main construction job. It's like a big moment because it's kind of like, all right, we're pretty much the heavy construction is finishing up here and then, and then you really get into the interiors of the building. Like everything kind of gets closed up and then you're able to work on even more fun stuff. But just so much props to all of our workers, our union workforce that's been out there this winter was not great. And they just like amazing the amount of progress that was made all winter long. The dedication of our workers to get to this point. And we're totally right on, right on pace with where we, where we need to be to open next spring of 27.
- [32:23]
Vanessa Perdomo
So what else needs to happen? Obviously like you said, the interior needs to get in and all of the other, you know, things need to get in. But from a perspective of selling the stadium, you know, season tickets, stadium partners, deciding on concessions and all of that, what else needs to get done on that front?
- [32:37]
Brad Sims
Yeah, so there's a lot. A lot.
- [32:40]
Intuit/IBM/Cigna Advertiser
Yeah.
- [32:40]
Brad Sims
Now, now I'm stressed out because we got, we got about a year, a little bit more of a year to, to do all of that. But we have our food and beverage partner announced which is, which is Legends. We're doing a joint venture with them on the food and beverage in the stadium. We have a bunch of exciting announcements in the pipeline. Probably in the next quarter or so we'll announce our retail partner. We've announced one of our founding partnerships which is Paes, the Pace City Square which is amazing 40,000 square foot open space that's going to be open to the neighborhood year round. That, that is also going to be a great option for pre game kind of festivals. There's like a taste of the 5 Boroughs Food hall concept that's in there, live music, all kinds of stuff for, for pre game festivities, halftime and post game. So that, that's all, all wrap up. We've got a bunch of announcements in the pipeline for big founding partnerships which, which we're excited about but still many, many more to come. You know, I think the, you know, when it's all said and done we'll have you know, some somewhere 10 to 12 founding partner, founding level partners and we've only announced one so far, so more to go on that front. From a season ticket standpoint, we have not gone on sale yet with general season tickets only have been doing premium hospitality. We've done four different phases of premium hospitality. Started in the fall of 24 and then we'll be moving into kind of general seating like late, late summer this year. So it's coming, it's coming soon. But yeah, so definitely a lot, a lot still to go from a, especially from a commercial standpoint. But everything is, is pacing really well
- [34:19]
Vanessa Perdomo
when you're one year out. I mean that's still a good amount of time, right? But does it feel like now that the bones are there and now that it's really coming up that it feels very real now.
- [34:29]
Brad Sims
Oh, definitely. I mean, it looks like a stadium from the, from the outside and the inside I get. But so many people. Anyone, like, who's flown in LaGuardia recently, if you're flying into LaGuardia, get a seat on the right side of the plane because usually you can, you know, right window, you could usually see, get a good shot of the stadium and people are like, videoing it and posting them online, you know. And so there's a lot, A lot of excitement around the fact that it actually, it looks like a stadium. You can tell, like, what you're seeing and then also from the inside, you know, from when I'm. When I'm down there, you know, every, every couple weeks. And just like every time I'm there, there's so much more progress than there was the time before. And you just kind of stand where the, where the pitch is going to be and you can do a 360 kind of look around and, and it's like a wild moment that, that this thing is coming along really quickly and it's going to, it's going to be here before we know it. Welcoming fans into, Into Etihad Park.
- [35:23]
Vanessa Perdomo
Yeah, absolutely. I was there a couple of months ago, right when there was the press store, and it was, it was really incredible just to be able to stand right, like you were saying, right in the middle and you can see everything coming together. I can't wait to actually, actually see it. So when you come in next year for 2027, 2028, that's when the season will start and that's when you guys are going to come into play. There is like a mini 2027 season right before that for people who. The sprint season, where people don't know what the sprint season is. Can you kind of give us a little bit about that?
- [35:54]
Brad Sims
Yeah, I think it's, it's going to be an exciting year in 27 from. Not just from a New York City FC standpoint, but, but from a Major League Soccer standpoint because we're shifting to align ourselves with the Internet, what's known as the international calendar. So the top leagues in the world, you know, widely known, you know, the English Premier League and the German Bundesliga and Spain and Italy and France and all, all the big leagues, their, their schedules have always been on kind of a, you know, summer, you know, summer to summer schedule, almost like, you know, starting in, you know, around August 1st and running through May. And some of those countries have, you know, a winter Break as well, a small winter break too, but that's kind of when globally you're known, the top leagues are playing. And so it's made sense as MLS has continued to grow significantly over the last number of years and kind of where we are from a quality of play standpoint, it made sense to make that move, to be on the same schedule as the other top leagues in the world. And for us, it worked out perfectly because it's right in line with launching the new stadium. So it's kind of like this, what you know, this MLS we're calling, like 3.0 MLS from a league standpoint is launched as 27, 28, new calendar, new competition format. So they're getting rid of the Eastern and Western Conference. There's going to be divisions. You're going to play every team every year. So there's going to be a, you know, a weighted schedule which, which is going to be fantastic. New playoff format that hasn't been announced yet, but it's going to be super exciting. And so like all, it's almost like a new league. And then we're launching the new stadium and kind of the next, the next era of New York City FC as well, simultaneously. So it's all kind of lining up really great. But before that, the only way to kind of switch from a calendar year to the international calendar is you got, you know, you got about five months in between. It's kind of what do you do? And so this idea came to play a sprint season. So it's going to be, whereas our normal season is 34 games, the sprint season is 14 games. And it's the last time we'll have the Eastern and Western conference. So there's 15 teams in the east, 15 in the west. So New York CFC will play the other 14 Eastern Conference teams once each, seven of those games at home, seven away. But there's a lot of meaning for the season. So the qualification for Champions League. So we have many soccer fans are aware of the European Champions League, but we also have the CONCACAF Champions League, which is North America, Central America and the Caribbean. That kind of where you finish in the sprint season would determine if you qualify for champions league in 2028. There's also a major tournament with the teams from Mexico, Liga Mex, called the Leagues Cup. Also where you finish will determine whether or not you qualify for that tournament in 2028. So there's a lot of, you know, importance on a very few number of games. And then there'll be a full MLS cup playoffs in A champion crown, you know, so the 20, the 2027 champion of MLS will be, will be crowned at the end the, of the sprint season as well. So there's a lot on the line and every game is going to be more than twice as important as, as a normal regular season. And so I think it's going to be really exciting.
- [38:59]
Vanessa Perdomo
That's really interesting because I think what some people would think initially when they hear sprint season, they hear 14 games instead of 34, is they think, I mean, how could you make that just as important as a full season? Right? So, I mean, you really spelled it out there that it's really, it's really high stakes. But how do you get fans and everyone else to understand exactly what that is and make sure players are ready to play in such a high truncated season?
- [39:20]
Brad Sims
Yeah, great, great question. And we're talking about that from a, from a squad building standpoint too, because typically there are two windows throughout the year where in global soccer, every league has these, you know, a primary transfer window and a secondary transfer window where they can, you know, build, build, add players to their squad. And so historically for mls, that primary window has been in the winter leading into our regular season, which starts in February every year. Which is, has been problematic, by the way, because around the world, most of the leagues that are not on that calendar, they don't want to give up players in their middle of their season, which makes it hard for MLS teams to actually acquire players at that time. So that's going to be another really big advantage to moving on that calendar, is that we'll be shopping for players when, you know, we'll be buying when the rest of the world is selling and vice versa, which will be, which will be great. But for, for this year, that's one of the things we're talking about, is like, you don't want to go into this, the season having needs, you know, like, you know, a lot of times, you know, we might bring players in, you know, even though season starts in February, in March or in April, because our primary transfer window goes all the way until early April. And if you miss five games or seven games out of 34, it's not the end of the world. But next year, if you missed five or seven games out of 14, that's a significant percentage of games that you're going to miss and, and you're just not going to get ramped up. So I think it's going to be interesting to see the strategy of different teams, you know, and especially this summer, you know, this summer of 26, maybe you might see teams adding more resources now in advance of that sprint season because they know how important that the sprint season in 27 is going to be.
- [40:55]
Vanessa Perdomo
So before I let you go, we have to have to talk about the World cup. I mean 2026, the summer of 2026. Tell us about what you're planning on doing. Obviously the MLS does have to do like a break at that point for a little while. But how are you as a club, you know, activating with fans that are coming into the market, soccer fans that are already in the market and you know, obviously the rosters haven't been announced yet, but players that you guys will have.
- [41:19]
Brad Sims
Yeah, I mean World Cup's going to be massive. I mean it's going to be people that were already die hard soccer fans are going to be through the roof about it. People are, you know, like casual fans are going to become die hard fans and people who, you know, we believe people who weren't really soccer fans before will, will become fans through, through this process. So for us, we want to be where soccer fans are going to be in New York City throughout that tournament, which is going to be watch parties at bars, official watch parties that the host committee is going to be involved in, the biggest of which is going to be in our new neighborhood in queens at the U.S. tennis Center. There's a number of other major kind of watch parties within the five boroughs and just in the, on the outskirts that either the city or the state are participating in in addition to the host committee here locally. And also, you know, it's not, not official because I think they announced the rosters at the end of May. But our, our starting goalkeeper, Matt Fries On New York's AFC is with the US Men's National Team. He started I think 14 of the last 15 games in goal for the US Men's National Team. We hope and assume that he's going to a be on the team and hopefully be the starter. We're excited with that. We also have a couple of players that will be on the Australian national team. Aiden o' Neill and Kai Truin will be playing for Australia. Actually US and Australia play each other in the group stage, so that's a big New York City fc, you know, challenge there. But, but yeah, it's going to be an amazing tournament. Any way we can be involved in promoting, promoting the sport, promoting our club and, and, and the league during that, that crucial time period, we'll be doing it.
- [42:58]
Vanessa Perdomo
Thanks so much to NYCFC CEO Brad Sims. For joining us. That's it for today. Thanks for joining us. Tune in again next week for the latest on the stories moving big money in the world of sports. And don't forget to catch our podcast on all your podcast platforms. And go to bloomberg.com to subscribe to the Bloomberg Business of Sports newsletter to stay up to date on all our juicy insights. You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world. Stay with us. Today's top stories and global business headlines are coming up. Right now.
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