Both houses of the Virginia General Assembly have cleared the path for the Washington Commanders to continue with their plans to build a $3 billion domed stadium complex in Northern Virginia.

The House of Delegates passed a bill on Monday that would create a football stadium authority overseeing the financing and construction of the venue and massive retail and entertainment complex in the area. 

On Tuesday, the Senate passed a separate but similar bill, calling it a “huge economic development project.” It says it wouldn’t require any financial assistance from the state of Virginia.

If both bills are passed by the opposite chambers, the General Assembly would create a conference committee to negotiate.

• If it becomes law, the authority would be authorized to sell bonds for a stadium around $1 billion. The team would need to pay an additional $2 billion to complete a bigger project.
• The Senate proposed the bonds to be paid over 30 years, with the House’s proposal recommending 20.

The team’s contract at FedEx Field ends in 2027. 

Investigation Implications

The move to Virginia has received some criticism after an investigation into the team’s owner, Dan Snyder, over allegations of inappropriate behavior. Following a 10-month workplace misconduct investigation, the team was fined $10 million. 

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk recently reported that “there is a sense among ownership that the time has come for Dan Snyder to move on.”

Formula 1 raced to a strong finish in 2021, gaining the attention of a cumulative TV audience of 1.5 billion, a 4% increase compared to the 2020 World Championship season. 

Globally, F1’s average total audience per race in 2021 reached 70.3 million viewers, and the motorsport championship reported growth in several key markets across the globe. 

• The Netherlands saw viewership increase 81% year-over-year.
• There was a 58% uptick in U.S. viewership compared to the 2020 season.
• France reported a 48% increase year-over-year in viewership.
• Italy saw a 40% increase in year-over-year viewership.

F1’s season finale in Abu Dhabi drew an audience of 108.7 million viewers, a 28% uptick compared to 2020’s race, marking the most-watched race of the 2021 season, as 24-year-old Max Verstappen claimed his first world championship in a win over Lewis Hamilton.

Looking Ahead 

Last October, F1 saw its drivers compete in the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, ending a two-year absence for the motorsport championship in North America. 

The sold-out race at Circuit of Americas track recorded a 42% increase in viewership over the same race two years before and had nearly 400,000 fans in attendance.

Viewership in North America is projected to continue growing, as the U.S. will get another coveted F1 race when the Miami Grand Prix begins in May — part of a 10-year contract.

Energy drink maker Monster Beverage is close to a merger with Constellation Brands that would create a company worth roughly $85 billion.

Monster, which has long allied itself with extreme sports and gaming communities, owns a suite of brands including Nos and the athlete-focused Reign. 

Constellation produces beer brands Corona and Modelo, which both have sponsorships in college sports. Constellation also has partnerships with the New York Giants, Jets, and Buffalo Bills. Modelo signed a deal with UFC in September for three years in the “low-eight figures.”

• Monster sponsors NFL star Rob Gronkowski, Mercedes’ Formula 1 duo Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, and athletes in UFC, bull riding, surfing, skateboarding, and other racing and watersports. 
• Reign’s athlete ambassadors include the New England Patriots’ Ronnie Perkins, as well as athletes in fitness and fighting sports. 

The companies are of approximately equal size, with Monster holding a market capitalization of $43.7 billion and Constellation $41 billion, as of Thursday.

Coca-Cola is a major investor in Monster, holding a nearly 20% stake.

Unique Mixture

While a combined company might have limited potential for new efficiencies — given that Monster and Constellation operate mostly in separate spaces — it would establish a conglomerate without an obvious comparison in the American market. 

In January, Monster bought Canarchy Craft Brewery for $330 million. Constellation has a 40% stake in Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth Corp., which sells THC-infused beverages.

Yet another report estimating the true cost of the Beijing Winter Olympics has surfaced — this time from a Financial Times analysis that says the nation spent about $8.8 billion.

That’s more than twice China’s original projected number of about $3.9 billion.

• Construction projects related to the Games, including venues and the Olympic Village, were originally planned to cost about $1.5 billion. China ended up spending twice that.
• Transportation ended up costing about $4 billion, though the IOC claimed those costs weren’t necessarily counted as specific Olympics projects, but rather as general infrastructure.
• Additional costs included making artificial snow and preparing COVID-19 preventions.

The FT’s number vastly differs from a Business Insider investigation, which estimated a whopping $38.5 billion. 

Despite the disparities, one thing is clear: The true cost of the Beijing Winter Olympics far outpaced China’s stated budget. 

As for whether the gargantuan price tag was worth it? Ratings and social media discourse in China have been positive, Bloomberg reported. “The Chinese people as well as the government are reveling in their athletes and their achievements, as well as in the successful pandemic-era staging of the world’s biggest athletic event.”

Growing Pattern

For previous Winter Olympics dating back to at least 2006, spending has gone above the projected budget, per the FT.

Russia, for example, spent about $40 billion more than it planned to for the 2014 Games in Sochi. True costs also eclipsed budgets by the billions in Pyeongchang, Vancouver, and Turin.