A major potential merger in sports gambling and gaming has been called off: DraftKings announced on Tuesday “that it will not make a firm offer for Entain at this time.”

The sports betting giant made a $22.4 billion bid for Entain on Sept. 19, representing a 43% premium on the British gambling company’s stock price. That opened a negotiating period of 28 days for DraftKings to finalize the offer, which Entain extended to Nov. 16 with permission from regulators.

Entain would have given Boston-based DraftKings license to operate in 27 countries, a suite of retail gambling outlets in the U.K., and a gambling operations technology platform.

“We are highly confident in our ability to maintain a leadership position and achieve our long-term growth plans in the rapidly growing North America market,” said DraftKings CEO Jason Robins.

• MGM Resorts, which co-owns BetMGM with Entain, complicated the negotiations. The resorts and gambling company said that any deal between DraftKings and Entain would require its approval.
• MGM bid $11 billion for Entain in January, which Entain rejected as being too low.

Traders liked DraftKings’ decision: Its stock price jumped 6.9% from close of market Monday to mid-morning Tuesday, before partially giving back those gains. Entain dropped around 6.4%.

Kansas City will be home to the first stadium built specifically for an NWSL team.

Days after the city hosted representatives from FIFA and U.S. Soccer for its 2026 World Cup bid, and a few weeks after Kansas City NWSL announced construction of a $15 million training facility, the team unveiled plans to build a $70 million stadium minutes from downtown.

Built on public land, the stadium is slated to open in 2024 and will seat at least 11,000 fans. Team officials signed a 50-year lease for seven acres on the Missouri riverfront.

• The facility will be funded by the team’s ownership group, which includes Chris and Angie Long and Brittany Matthews, the fiancée of Patrick Mahomes.
• Chris Long is the founder and CEO of Palmer Square Capital Management, a Kansas City-based firm that oversees $20 billion in assets.

Angie Long, the firm’s chief investment officer, estimates the team will turn a profit within the next 10 years. 

Kansas City NWSL moved from Utah last year. The team will share a home with MLS’ Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park until the new stadium opens.

AS Roma, the Italian soccer team owned by American business mogul Dan Friedkin, reported a team record loss of $216 million for the 2020-21 fiscal year on Tuesday.  

Roma is one of six Serie A clubs under American ownership, along with Genoa, AC Milan, Fiorentina, Spezia, and Venezia. 

Italy’s top-flight league suffered significant losses during the global pandemic. 

• Genoa, Italy’s oldest soccer team, saw a $38 million loss in 2020.
• Juventus reported a $246.6 million loss during the 2020-21 financial year.
• Inter Milan won a 19th Serie A title in May but took a $284.6 million hit in FY2021. 
• For the financial year ending June 30, AC Milan suffered a $111.8 million loss, down from a record $225.6 million loss last year. 

AS Roma still generated $220.2 million in revenue in FY2021, a 25% increase year-over-year. The results were driven by television and image rights, which accounted for $143.7 million of the club’s total revenue. 

AS Roma is preparing for a capital increase of up to $533 million by the end of 2022. The club’s board originally planned for a $243.4 million capital increase at the end of 2021 but quickly raised that amount and extended the deadline.