Previously mentioned here as being a finalist, St. Louis CITY SC announced today—

CITYPARK, home of Major League Soccer’s St. Louis CITY SC, has won the prestigious 2024 Prix Versailles World Title in the sports category.

Kudos to all involved.

Designed by HOK and Snow Kreilich Architects, CITYPARK supports the CITY SC ownership group’s strategic pillars of connection, mobility, sport, training and experience. The 22,500-seat stadium (soon to be called Energizer Park under a new naming rights deal) anchors the largest urban professional sports campus in the U.S. and serves as a new model for Major League Soccer project development. The stadium’s inclusive, transparent design invites all of St. Louis to share in the soccer experience and offers a best-in-class fan experience. A flat portico, elegant canopy and slender columns maximize engagement with the city.

The true impact, and why it won, has more to do than just the play on the field.

The stadium has served as a catalyst for broader community development, reenergizing downtown and inspiring growth. In the stadium’s inaugural year, it generated more than $168 million in economic impact, with more than 18% of CITYPARK guests coming from outside the region. The pedestrian-centric design has no back door. All four corners of the building are active and accessible, integrating seamlessly with the neighborhood. Every seat is within 120 feet of the pitch, which sits 40 feet below street level to maintain an appropriate scale for the district. The stadium’s design mirrors the reflective nature of St. Louis’s iconic Gateway Arch (which anchors the other end of downtown’s Gateway Mall) and incorporates impactful public art, including Pillars of the Valley.

Nothing to say but positives about the stadium, the project as a whole and the impact it is having on its neighborhood.

Jayson Stark reporting for The Athletic —

So we were listening a few weeks ago when Rob Manfred stopped by the podcast of Puck’s John Ourand and dropped this giant breadcrumb about a rule change that seems like it might be coming someday to a ballpark near you — and a mobile device even closer to you:

“There are a variety of (rule change ideas) that are being talked about out there,” Manfred said. “One of them — there was a little buzz around it at an owners’ meeting — was the idea of a Golden At-Bat.”

What.

What if a team could choose one at-bat in every game to send its best hitter to the plate even if it wasn’t that guy’s turn to hit? That’s the Golden At-Bat concept in a nutshell.

No.

Say there are two outs in the 10th inning in October. The Yankees and Guardians are tied. Does this ring a bell at all? But in this alternate October universe, it’s not Juan Soto who is due up. It’s, say, Oswaldo Cabrera. Except the Yankees say: No, no, no. We’re going to use our Golden AB here … and send up Soto. Then home run magic happens.

Who is running this league, Barry Goldberg?

“Wouldn’t that have been the (ultimate) Golden At-Bat homer?” one front-office executive mused, as we were talking about this concept. “Can we send Juan Soto up there to do that? He actually did hit that homer in that moment.”

He did. And that’s the goal. So should baseball change the rules to attempt to create more of those moments? That’s the question.

I’m out, guys. If we’re contemplating adding rules like this then the game has truly passed me by. The only thing it accomplishes is it frees up six months of my time from trying to watch a semblance of the game I grew up with.

Whiplash moment in court today, as Anthony Crupi reports —

Speaking at a virtual hearing in front of Judge Christopher Lopez, Diamond counsel Andrew Goldman revealed that the owner of the Bally Sports-branded RSNs expects to cut ties with what amounts to eight MLB clubs, should it successfully emerge from bankruptcy.

“The debtors are assuming a single telecast agreement, that of the Atlanta Braves,” Goldman said, in a nod to an amended re-organization plan that had landed on the docket shortly before Wednesday’s hearing got underway. “All of Major League Baseball’s other agreements will be rejected under the plan.”

The following 8 teams would now be free to make their own broadcasting rights deals:

• St. Louis Cardinals
• Cincinnati Reds
• Detroit Tigers
• Kansas City Royals
• Los Angeles Angels
• Miami Marlins
• Milwaukee Brewers
• Tampa Bay Rays 

This should now set into motion MLB’s long-sought after goal to stream all games whether viewers are in-market or not, thus eliminating the scourge that is the local blackout.

What remains to be seen is how this shakes up their existing MLB.tv streaming package.

From Prix Versailles’ website —

Architecture and intelligent sustainability

Announced each year at UNESCO since 2015, the Prix Versailles is a series of architectural competitions that shine a light on the finest contemporary projects worldwide.

At the intersection between multiple disciplines, the members of the Prix Versailles World Jury are tasked with awarding twenty-four World Titles from among the Selected Sites – in the categories of Airports, Campuses, Passenger Stations, Sports, Museums, Emporiums, Hotels and Restaurants.

The Official List – which pays tribute to innovation, creativity, reflections of local heritage, ecological efficiency and the values of social interaction and participation, which the United Nations holds in high regard – is in line with the principles of intelligent sustainability, taking the projects’ ecological, social and cultural impacts into consideration.

Fantastic recognition for a fantastic venue.

Comcast had dropped Diamond Sports Group’s regional sports networks (aka Bally’s) in fifteen (15!) markets nearly three months ago amidst a contract dispute. What does their settlement mean for customers who have gone without baseball all summer?

Anthony Crupi with Sportico — 

Per terms of the agreement, the RSNs will be bumped up to Comcast’s Xfinity Ultimate TV package, with a monthly subscriber fee about $20 higher than the basic tier that once housed Diamond’s local sports channels.

Let me get this straight: in the age of cord-cutting, the response to people dropping cable altogether is to ask the remaining few to pay more to watch their teams.

Among the dozen MLB clubs that had been sidelined in their hometown markets during the standoff include the Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers. On the whole, local baseball ratings took a 6% haircut during the impasse.

And in those markets, that means you’re asking people who have already gone without watching their teams all summer to care to pay for the final two months of the season. Good luck with that strategy.

But wait! There’s still the whole bankruptcy proceeding for Diamond Sports. What is going on there?

The successful negotiation is expected to put Diamond’s bankruptcy case back on the fast track toward rescheduling the crucial confirmation hearing that was postponed last week.

On Wednesday, Diamond counsel Brian Hermann informed the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas that the company would need a few additional days to finish cutting a deal with Comcast; originally set to take place on June 18, the twice-delayed confirmation session was supposed to have taken place earlier today.

And so, we wait.

David Satin with The Streamable —

But the league has also been crystal clear about its desire to end its relationship with its largest current RSN partner, so what comes next? Manfred gave a hint this week, saying that the league had discussed a package that nationalizes all RSN content for about half of its teams. The main reason for insisting on a nationally available product is to attract streaming providers, who want to ensure they can put as many games in front of their entire subscriber base before shelling out big money for MLB rights.

But for half of the teams? Imagine the MLS deal with Apple, but minus Seattle, LA Galaxy and Inter Miami. Why would Amazon or any streamer pick up this MLB package if it only consists of half of the teams in the league? What if one of the teams in the package is playing one of the teams outside of the package?

Earlier this year, Manfred spoke about his desire to create an in-market streaming platform which carried around half the teams in the league. This would differ somewhat from the national RSN package discussed above, as it would not be a linear TV product, and would be sold directly to consumers, rather than to a streaming provider who would then turn around and market it to the public.

This sounds more like their current product, MLB.tv, which streams every single game, every single night. The broadcasts are from each team’s respective RSN — so if the Mets and Cardinals are playing you can choose which broadcast you want to watch. Furthermore, the Padres and Diamondbacks broadcasts are currently produced by MLB after those two teams were dropped by Diamond Sports last year.

This, to me, is still the way to go. Baseball broadcasts have always been local or regional. Nationalizing every single broadcast ruins that. You would lose the depth of knowledge local broadcasters have with their respective teams. You would also lose the voice of the team — the current and future Jack Bucks, Harry Carays, Vin Scullys and Bob Ueckers of the game. The problem with the current state of MLB.tv is that local games are blacked out. This is all that needs to be fixed. But if MLB does intend on nationalizing its games, that might just spell the end for its signature streaming platform.

F-Zero is a futuristic racing game which launched with the SNES. It featured hover cars that could, among other things, recharge their energy via electrified pit lanes. If you need to recharge your vehicle, you simply pull into one of these pit lanes and keep driving.

Now this. Carolyn Fortuna at CleanTechnica—

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to charge your electric vehicle (EV) as your drive down the highway? Well, folks in Central Florida will get the chance in a couple of years on a new highway in Lake County and Orange County. In-road charging will replenish batteries of EVs as they travel along SR 516.

The first installation ever of wireless charging in concrete lanes, it will offer variable power for small electric sedans all the way to long-haul electric trucks. The system will encompass a footprint of about three-quarters of a mile.

The system will be set up to replenish the amount of energy used to drive its length. That means when you exit the charging stretch of road, you should have the same amount of battery as when you entered.

This, to me, is the true promise of EVs. Don’t let the short-sighted naysayers concern you with range anxiety or the build-out speed of charging networks. EVs can already fuel-up overnight while sitting in your garage at home. Introducing induction charging into roadways and other infrastructure will flip the naysaying on a dime to questioning why people still drive gas-powered cars.

One day we will be able charge our vehicles on the way to work; or while we sit at a stop light; or while we wait for food in a drive-thru. Which interstate will be the first to feature enough charging stretches that you could conceivably drive from NYC to LA without stopping? This is the promise that we need to stay focused on with EVs. This is the reality that is coming to fruition.

Phil Hecken with Uni-Watch—

With MLB’s annual All-Star Game taking place tonight, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred held a question and answer session with writers and said that “there will be conversations” about the potential return of individual team jerseys at the All-Star Game.

That’s about the best news we’ve heard from MLB since the Nike uniform fiasco began back early in 2024.

Indeed. Yet Manfred has been a horrible caretaker of the sport. Maybe the worst ever? Phil, again—

It would also mark a change in thinking from Manfred, the worst commissioner since segregationist/racist Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. As recently as 2022, Manfred is on record as saying, “I never thought that a baseball team wearing different jerseys in a game was a particularly appealing look for us.”

Never has one point of view explained so much. If you don’t understand why every team wearing their regular uniforms at the All-Star game is special—and appealing—then you shouldn’t be making decisions for the well-being of the sport. It explains the 2024 uniform debacle; it explains the ghost runner in extra innings; it explains the absolute dregs the sport has become.

John Shea at the San Francisco Chronicle with the revelation that the A’s will have to schedule their games around their Minor League primary tenants —

Because the A’s will be co-tenants at Sutter Health Park, they not only will use the same field as the River Cats — the top farm team of the San Francisco Giants — but will need to adhere to Pacific Coast League scheduling to fit in their 81 home games.

And why is that challenging?

Generally, the River Cats play one team per week in a six-game series with Monday set aside as a travel day. One week at home, the next on the road. The A’s need to mirror that and play in Sacramento when the River Cats are on the road and vice versa.

It’s not uncommon for the A’s to open a homestand or trip on a Friday. But now, pretty much every homestand or trip would need to begin on a Monday or Tuesday.

In other words, the 29 other teams are catering to the A’s because of owner John Fisher’s preference to leave the Coliseum, where scheduling would have been routine, for a temporary home in Sacramento, where the scheduling is complex, the heat is overwhelming and the facilities in need of major upgrades.

Wait, what was that about the heat?

Complaints aplenty are expected, including from players, because of the brutal heat. Wednesday, temperatures topped 100 degrees in Sacramento, and playing on artificial turf tends to elevate on-field temperatures. It’ll be the sixth MLB stadium with artificial turf and the only one without a roof.

The decision to play on artificial turf instead of grass was made to make the field easier to maintain with a game played virtually every day. At least 156 games will be played on the field, 81 for the A’s and 75 for the River Cats.

Remember, the move to Vegas is not guaranteed. There is no ballpark there. Considerable hurdles still need to be cleared before they can even break ground. The A’s seem like the loser gambler, pushing their luck at the roulette table. It wasn’t enough to rip the team out of Oakland, they had to double-down and burn their bridges with the city before they even got out of town. Now, to spite their face, they cut off their nose by booking a half-baked tenancy in a Minor League town.

Vegas, for their part, are the sad sacks looking the other way enabling all of this. Why should anyone there be excited that this shit show wants to come to town?

The only one coming out of this with a win is the owner of the minor league team in Sacramento, Vivek Ranadivé, who also owns the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, and would love to have a proper MLB team as well.

Ranadivé could get his wish either if the Las Vegas stadium deal falls apart or if MLB grants Sacramento an expansion team. Until further notice, this is a tryout for Ranadivé and his city to showcase to MLB that Sacramento is worthy of permanently joining the league.

Sacramento has major league ambitions. They have been on the brink of MLS expansion talk for years, actually being granted the 29th expansion team in 2019 alongside St. Louis. However, that deal fell through in 2021. This A’s situation gives the city a legitimate shot at landing an MLB team — either the A’s themselves should they decide to never leave, or a proper expansion team. They have a leg up on any other expansion city candidate, in that they will be hosting Major League Baseball for at least the next three years. Whether or not that’s fair is up for debate, but you cannot deny that Ranadivé is playing with house money for now.

Tim Reynolds at the AP —

The Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are moving their local broadcasts to Scripps Sports, leaving financially troubled Bally Sports and bringing the club’s games into more homes on a regular basis than ever before.

Interest for the team in Miami is higher than ever and the response is not to try and funnel those eyeballs into a blackout/monetization scheme, but rather to make their games more accessible to the public. Someone in Miami gets it.

There will be over-the-air channels in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers markets, where viewers can watch the Panthers for most of their regular-season games and their first-round games in the NHL playoffs. Also part of the deal: games on basic cable and satellite, as well as offerings on a new team-branded, direct-to-consumer streaming app. The app will be ready in October for the start of the 2024-25 season, the Panthers said.

“We want to ensure that we’re addressing the heightened demand for our team and our sport, and we want to accelerate that growth,” Mark Zarthar, the Panthers’ chief strategy officer, said Tuesday. “And so, what is the next big step for us is making the viewership of our games much more accessible? With Scripps as an over-the-air provider, they will help us reach over 2.6 million households.”

With over-the-air channels being accessible by anyone, and now having the ability to transmit 4K content, this is the correct move. Providing an app for fans who are traveling or live out of town is a fair compliment to the free offering in-region. The question is, will it work?

Florida will become the third NHL team to partner with Scripps, joining Vegas and Utah.

“We found a partner that not only can provide us with a tremendous amount of reach and accessibility, but they’ve proven that they can do it because it works in Vegas,” Zarthar said.

With Vegas being a new-ish market, and Utah being completely new, we can’t yet say this will prove to be a winning strategy. The novelty of hockey in Utah is going to inflate their numbers for a couple of years. But getting data from more than just one team will go a long way towards helping other sports teams determine if they can follow a similar course.

Along with the Dallas Stars efforts to move away from Diamond Sports, it will be interesting to watch these marketing experiments play out in real time. But so far, the underlying foundation to these new strategies involves being able to maximize reach and eliminate blackouts. Better late than never.