The discussion of charter travel for WNBA teams is heating up.

Private air travel is a focus of free-agent conversations in the league, according to ESPN, as Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner — who was detained in Russia last year — will likely need to fly private for safety concerns.

If she does, the WNBA would need to decide how to go forward with charter travel — the league currently doesn’t allow charter flights.

• Cost estimates for all teams traveling charter are close to $30 million — an amount the WNBA can’t afford. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert previously said that she wouldn’t “jeopardize the health of the league” with charter flights.
• Even if an individual team has enough money to fly charter, it isn’t allowed to unless all 12 teams can afford it — the New York Liberty were fined $500,000 for secretly chartering flights during the 2022 season. 

Griner reportedly hasn’t asked for special travel accommodations yet.

Private Proposals

Players including Breanna Stewart, who has reportedly made charter travel a factor in her free agency, are proposing ideas.

“I would love to be part of a deal that helps subsidize charter travel for the entire WNBA,” Stewart tweeted. “I would contribute my NIL, posts + production [hours] to ensure we all travel in a way that prioritizes player health + safety, which ultimately results in a better product. Who’s with me?”

The tweet had replies from other big names including Sue Bird, Paige Bueckers, and Ja Morant.

Formula 1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix will have more than double the economic impact of the Super Bowl, according to a recent analysis.

The F1 race weekend, slated for Nov. 16-18, is estimated to bring $1.3 billion in spending to the city, according to Applied Analysis.

• That sum includes a projected $966 million in visitor spending and $316 million in event operations and support.
• F1 is constructing a permanent four-story, 300,000-square-foot paddock building off the Vegas Strip.
• Organizers are expecting around 100,000 attendees each day of the event, which culminates in a rare Saturday Grand Prix on Nov. 18.

Applied Analysis conducted a similar projection for the 2024 Super Bowl, which will also be held in Las Vegas, and found that the game and associated events would bring a $600 million economic impact to the city.

More for Miami

Meanwhile, organizers of the Miami Grand Prix announced that they had increased the event’s grandstand capacity by 3,000 to meet demand, bringing it to 56,000. Team paddock areas will be located on the Miami Dolphins field, with the track circling Hard Rock Stadium. 

The race will be offering “campus pass” general admission tickets that will allow broad access around race areas.

The first Miami Grand Prix in May 2022 drew over 240,000 people to the city.

Investments in European soccer by consortiums from the Middle East have forced owners of Manchester United and Liverpool to consider complete and partial sales, according to a Reuters report.

Middle Eastern investment groups have solidified their reach in soccer with high-priced deals, compelling two club owners to seek new investments to compete and drive profits — without having what seems to be unlimited access to funding from the oil industry.

• In 2011, Qatar Sports Investments acquired a 70% stake in Paris Saint-Germain for roughly $67.9 million. 
• As of May 2022, the Ligue 1 club was valued at $3.2 billion, the seventh-most-valuable soccer team, per Forbes. 
• In 2021, a consortium led by the Public Investment Fund — Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund — purchased Newcastle United for $409 million.
• As of Jan. 23, Newcastle — currently ranked third in the Premier League standings — is valued at $440 million, per Sportico. 

The soaring valuations have caught the attention of Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group and Manchester United owners, the Glazer family. In addition, the $5.2 billion sale of Chelsea in May 2022 to a consortium of investors led by Los Angeles Dodgers, Lakers, and Sparks co-owner Todd Boehly solidified the potential returns of a European soccer club.

Lost Earnings 

The failure of the European Super League — and its accompanying revenue streams — has also forced soccer team owners to consider new investors. In April 2021, a group of major European clubs announced plans to create the Super League, which was met with public outcry.

The league initially offered $3.4 billion in entry bonuses and a winner’s prize of $392 million.

A California-based software development company is looking to the NBA for help. 

Niantic, the creator of augmented reality gaming hit “Pokémon Go,” is expanding its reach with “NBA All-World” — an interactive gaming experience that launched on Jan. 24. The mobile game allows players to compete against NBA stars and collect new gear using their locations. 

• “NBA All-World” comes after a surge of early success for “Pokémon Go,” which made $5 billion between its July 2016 release and July 2021, per Sensor Tower.
• Since then, Niantic has shuttered its second AR-based gaming title, “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite,” only two years after launch.
• The company laid off 8% of its workforce — roughly 85-90 employees — in June 2022 and canceled four projects. 

A gaming title featuring NBA talent arrives on the heels of record assets for the NBA players association. Earlier this month, the NBAPA reported that assets reached $428.1 million in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2022 — a 9.5% increase from the previous year. However, money owed to players nearly doubled year-over-year to $199.9 million during the same period.

Big Potential 

“NBA All-World” allows Niantic to maintain its position in a mobile gaming market projected to exceed a valuation of $215 billion by 2028, per SkyQuest Technology Consulting.

The title could be a promising venture for Niantic — the world’s five top-grossing mobile games generated $7.2 billion in revenue in 2022, an increase of $400 million from the year prior.