FIFA announced the third and final leg of its tour for prospective 2026 World Cup host cities in North America.

Vancouver — which expressed late interest — is not on the list, making the U.S. likely to host in 11 cities instead of the expected 10.

A delegation led by CONCACAF president and FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani will visit Edmonton, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Los Angeles, and Toronto between Nov. 17-22, helping decide which 16 North American cities will host the tournament. 

It will be the first World Cup with 48 countries competing — and three co-hosts.

• Toronto and Edmonton are the only potential host cities left in Canada — Montreal dropped out this summer.
• Mexico is slated to host in three cities.
• Atlanta, New York, Miami, Dallas, and Denver, among other cities, have already been toured in the U.S. The Boston Consulting Group says that the projected revenue from five matches is roughly $360 million.

FIFA will assess each city’s facilities, focusing on sustainability and infrastructure. Qatar, which won the 2022 World Cup bid, expects a $20 billion economic boost from the event.

The final city selections are expected to be made in the first half of 2022.

McLaren denied reports that it had been purchased by Audi but acknowledged ongoing partnership talks.

The report from website Autocar stated that the German automaker was buying McLaren to secure a place in the Formula 1 racing series.

McLaren quickly issued a statement calling the report “wholly inaccurate.”

“McLaren’s technology strategy has always involved ongoing discussions and collaboration with relevant partners and suppliers, including other carmakers, however, there has been no change in the ownership structure of the McLaren Group,” the company wrote.

The company previously collaborated with Mercedes to redesign its engine.

• McLaren raised $760 million in July. Ares Management and the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, contributed $550 million of that sum.
• The company raised another $620 million through a bond issue shortly thereafter.

Audi-owner Volkswagen has been in talks with F1 about a potential entry into the racing series, through a partnership between either Audi and McLaren or Porsche and Red Bull.

F1 hopes that its new engine standards — due to rollout in 2025 — will help entice Volkswagen. McLaren plans to enter the off-road electric racing series Extreme E next year.

Nearly a month after going public via SPAC merger, Vivid Seats reported a record $139.5 million in third-quarter revenue on Monday, an increase from negative $7.1 million last year.

The ticket exchange and resale company reported a net loss of $1.8 million, a noteworthy improvement from its $40.2 million net loss a year prior.

• The SPAC merger with Horizon Acquisition Corp. valued the combined company at $1.95 billion. Horizon is led by Todd Boehly, co-owner of a number of teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lakers, and Sparks.
• Sports betting company DraftKings contributed to a significant PIPE investment in Horizon last month. Boehly is also an investor in DraftKings.

Vivid is looking to expand even further. CEO Stan Chia says the company is assessing “what might make sense” for it to pursue, with the aim of becoming as recognizable as Ticketmaster and StubHub.

Vivid Seats expects revenue for the year to land between $420 million and $435 million but emphasized the negative effect the COVID-19 pandemic “is likely to continue to have” on the company’s results.

RumbleOn, a technology-based powersports marketplace, reported an 88.1% year-over-year increase in third-quarter revenue to $221.2 million, reaching $37.4 million in total gross profit.

The powersports division — a subset of motorsports that includes motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, and more — hit $105.5 million in revenue, up from $7.5 million during the same period last year. 

RumbleOn is the first marketplace of its kind and aims to “transform the highly fragmented powersports industry,” says CEO Marshall Chesrown.

The company had $71.3 million in cash plus cash equivalents as of Sept. 30.

• RumbleOn merged with RideNow in August.
• The company entered an agreement to purchase Freedom Powersports last week, adding 13 locations and spreading its reach to Georgia and Alabama.

RumbleOn saw used retail unit sales jump 53% year-over-year for the quarter, with September alone climbing 65% compared to last year. Total powersport unit sales went from 747 during Q3 2020 to 5,490 in Q3 2021.

The company raised its full-year forecast, projecting revenue between $1.55 billion and $1.6 billion. It also opened a 60,000 square-foot fulfillment center last month in Orlando.