SBJ Unpacks: Belmont Stakes heavy on breeding farms, alcohol in sponsor roster

Should the 155th Belmont Stakes run this weekend -- Gov. Kathy Hochul indicated that it’s possible the Belmont Stakes will not run Saturday if air quality remains poor due to the Canada wildfires -- the New York Racing Assocation will have a 19-brand sponsor roster at the Long Island track, reports SBJ’s David Broughton.

This includes four alcohol partners that have joined in the past year. First-year sponsor Great Jones opened in 2021 as Manhattan's first whiskey distillery since Prohibition and is the presenting partner for Friday's Grade 1 Acorn Stakes. It also has naming rights to the saloon on the second level of the park's clubhouse. Day Chaser (a partner since 2022) is the sponsor of the raceday General Admission+ ticket, a $50 loaded-value ducat that includes two Day Chaser canned cocktails and a logoed koozie.

Mohegan Sun (since 2010) will again sponsor multiple music performances during the weekend.

Longines (a sponsor since 2012), Sentient Jet (2012), Moet & Chandon (2013), White Claw (2018), Caesars Sportsbook (2022) and Celebrity Cruises (2022) are former sponsors who did not return this year.

To find out more on the Belmont Stakes, as well as sponsor rosters for other leagues and events, visit SBJ Atlas .

NOTES : * = A non-profit whose mission is to fund the breeding of thoroughbreds and preserve New York’s farmland.

Game 3 of the NBA Finals was down slightly on Wednesday night, meaning the Nuggets-Heat series on ABC is now off only 2% from Warriors-Celtics last year -- but the NBA Playoffs overall remain up 11%, reports SBJ’s Austin Karp.

The Nuggets cruised to a win in Game 3, with the matchup drawing 11.24 million viewers, down from 11.52 million for the same Warriors-Celtics game last year. And like the first two games of the series, the figure is well above what ABC drew during the COVID-influenced Finals in 2021/2020 but below anything else dating back to Spurs-Cavaliers in 2007 (9.49 million for Game 3 that year). Game 3 on Wednesday easily won the night for ABC across all of TV, peaking with 12.39 million viewers in the 10:45pm ET quarter hour.

The NBA Finals are now averaging 11.58 million, down slightly from 11.78 million last year. A big number for a potential Game 6 or 7 is likely needed to help it catch the six-game Finals last year. Even Raptors-Warriors in 2019, which did not have the benefit of any numbers from the Toronto market, finished with 15 million over six games.

But even with the Finals trailing 2022, the NBA will still finish with a big uptick vs. the complete 2022 postseason. For all telecasts through NBA Finals Game 3, the playoffs are averaging 4.95 million viewers, up 11% from 4.47 million at the same point last postseason.

NBC Sports Chair Pete Bevacqua will take over as Notre Dame’s AD next year, replacing Jack Swarbrick, who will step down in 2024, reports SBJ’s John Ourand and Michael Smith .

In announcing the move to staff, NBCUniversal TV & Streaming Chair Mark Lazarus described Bevacqua’s move as “his dream job.” He credited Bevacqua for acquiring Big Ten rights and extending NBC’s NFL deal. Bevacqua will stay at NBC through the end of June and start at Notre Dame “shortly thereafter,” Lazarus wrote.

The reaction on social media was almost all positive for the succession plan at Notre Dame, particularly among Irish alum. NFL analyst  Brady Quinn : “Sad to see @NotreDameAD stepping down. He’s been a driving force in College Sports in a multitude of ways. Thank you for all you have done Jack! @NotreDame couldn’t have found a better replacement than Pete Bevacqua.”  23XI Racing President  Steve Lauletta  added, “Couldn’t more more excited for this succession plan.” Former CBS Sports PR exec  LeslieAnne Wade : “Bevacqua is a Notre Dame grad and son of a Notre Dame grad. He is impressive and important next leader for  @NotreDame   @NDAlumni . This is truly one of the best recruits ever!!!”

The Athletic’s  Pete Sampson tweeted : “This moment has been coming for quite some time. Very much the Notre Dame way to have Jack Swarbrick's replacement named long before he's needed.” ESPN’s Pete Thamel tweeted , “Swarbrick revived and modernized Notre Dame football, which was wheezing when he revived.” CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd : “If you count ND AD as a P5 commish -- which you should -- that makes 5 of the last 7 P5 commishes from TV or marketing.”

Former NHL and NFL exec John Collins is investing in the Islanders and will serve as the team’s operating partner, overseeing all business operations, reports SBJ’s Alex Silverman . Best known for his role in the creation of the NHL Winter Classic, Collins served as the league's COO from 2008-15.

A native New Yorker, Collins will be responsible for working with stakeholders such as Oak View Group and former Mets co-owner Jeff Wilpon to bring the new UBS Arena at Long Island’s Belmont Park to life, including bringing in new events, such as music and food festivals. He will also likely have opportunities to forge collaborations between the team and the high-end brands expected to fill the 350,000-square-foot retail and entertainment complex and hotel.

The TGL entered its next phase of development, as Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is the first owner in the six-team league, announcing the launch of the Los Angeles Golf Club, reports SBJ’s Josh Carpenter .

Ohanian, also the founder of VC firm 776, is joined in the ownership by his wife, Serena Williams, and her sister, Venus. Ohanian and the Williams sisters were early investors in TMRW Sports, the parent company of TGL that was founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and former Golf Channel President Mike McCarley.

The TGL launches in January and will play mostly on Monday nights, with a network partner or partners expected to be announced in the coming months. Twelve players have been confirmed for the league, led by Woods, McIlroy and Jon Rahm. With the full 18-player lineup not yet set, it was unclear what the makeup of LAGC looks like.

The second phase of Crypto.com Arena’s multiyear, nine-figure renovation project is underway, with Arena President Lee Zeidman pointing out that there are only 122 days remaining in which to finish the work before the NBA and NHL seasons begin in late October, reports SBJ’s Bret McCormick.

The venue will not close, with Sparks games and concerts meaning 54 events will take place while PCL Construction handles the renovation work. Architect firm Gensler and Dan Meis designed the renovations, which began last year. In this phase, the main changes are eight new premium spaces, a new press room and sound system and a completely renovated upper concourse.

“We’re not shutting down -- two shifts [are working] right now. Hopefully we don’t have to get into a third shift,” Zeidman said. "It’s a pretty big undertaking this phase, and next phase is even bigger.”

Fans that purchase one of the four new tunnel suites on the event level can pull right up to the suite entrance under the arena, next to where the players park -- valet parking is included with the suites. which are essentially bunker suites (with no sightlines to the seating bowl) that replaced employee dressing rooms and carpentry and repair shops. Capacity is 12 people, with six guest passes. The four terrace suites are accessible via the main concourse and replaced four seating sections. From those eight new spaces, Crypto.com Arena is already under contract with buyers for around $250 million on long-term leases, Zeidman said.

The renovation is gutting the upper concourse, from wall to concessions stands and everything in between. The flooring is going from vinyl to porcelain, ceilings are being raised and opened to make the concourse feel airier, and the bathrooms are being replaced with new fixtures and paint schemes. Zeidman and his team are working with the venue’s concessionaire, Levy, and doing a top-to-bottom audit of their commissary, catering kitchen and all of their pantries. The arena has added considerable premium inventory in the last two years, but it still has the original back-of-house infrastructure from 1999, so they’re studying possible changes.

For the new sound system, the venue worked with JBL/Harmon (equipment) and 3G Productions (installation), with Anthony James Partners providing overall sound system design consultation. And Chick Hearn Court, the road bisecting L.A. Live, is being paved over to create one continuous Xbox Plaza, next to the arena, which will provide for larger event programming there.

Facial-authorization tech startup Wicket’s recent hires of Alastair Partington and Jeff Boehm are indicative of the company’s desire to scale its business, reports SBJ’s Bret McCormick .

While some tech companies in sports use venue deployments as a showcase and lean on other markets for revenue, the sports industry and its venues are Wicket’s primary focus.

This week’s SBJ Tech newsletter also covers:

• NHL doubles down on Roblox with new 3D goal re-creations

• Ticketing, fan experience solutions offer refuge for "crypto" winter

No women’s sports team has been as successful in courting sponsors as second-year NWSL club Angel City FC, whose success in this area was the topic of a panel on Wednesday at SBJ's Brand Innovation Summit in Chicago, writes SBJ's Alex Silverman . The club has pointed to its purpose-led partnership strategy, under which 10% of every sponsorship dollar goes directly into community programs, as a key to its success.

BMO Director of North American Sponsorships Amy Porter, whose firm serves as naming-rights partner for Angel City’s home venue (also home to LAFC), said that while brands appreciate the opportunity to make a positive social impact, women’s sports properties need to deliver the same or greater value to sponsors as men’s sports. “People need to understand that women's sports shouldn't be bending themselves [away from] what we expect from our men's properties,” Porter said.

This week’s SBJ Marketing also covers:

• Toyota taps Major League Pickleball for first sponsorship in the sport

• Kia, Chase, Capital One, Crypto.com see surge in TV sports exposure

• Nike's league prominence keeps delivering exposure value

Tonight’s op-ed is from TeamSnap CEO Peter Frintzilas on the evolution of the youth sports tech scene.

“The past decade of youth sports tech saw the digital transformation of manual processes propel many of the leaders in the space -- think converting paper-driven registration to digital payment processing, phone chains to real-time mobile communications, and sharing VHS tapes to AI-enabled video analytics. The winning formula in the next evolutionary phase of the youth sports tech market will be driven by scale and maturity.”

Read the full submission here .

• Zoomph extended its partnership with SBJ as a provider of social media and audience data for SBJ Atlas.

• The Pirates partnered with EL1 Sports to open the Pittsburgh region’s first Pirates-branded youth training facility to increase participation in baseball and softball while developing local talent, writes SBJ's Erik Bacharach.

• WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert laid out the genesis for the league’s Changemakers program at the Brand Innovation Summit, reports SBJ’s Trevona Williams.  

• NASCAR gave Kraft Analytics Group a multiyear extension of their consulting relationship that started in 2021, notes SBJ’s Adam Stern.

• Kia overtook Toyota as the No. 1 auto brand in sports over the past year as measured by share of voice (i.e., mix of equivalent media value), reports SBJ’s Derick Moss off an analysis of data from Hive.

• The White Sox will sponsor Ty Dillon’s No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in NASCAR’s first-ever street race in Chicago on July 1-2, writes SBJ’s Erik Bacharach.

• The BetMGM app is the first regulated online sportsbook offering in Puerto Rico, launching in partnership with the La Concha Resort in San Juan, reports SBJ’s Bill King.

• Mubadala extended and increased its sponsorship level of SailGP through 2026, writes SBJ’s Austin Karp.