A record 3 million people tried golf for the first time in 2020, and the game shows no signs of slowing down.

Leisure-related takeovers, including golfing and boating, have already topped $11 billion this year, the highest such figure since 2006.

Roughly 500 million rounds of golf were played last year, with overall play in the U.S. increasing 14% year-over-year. 

In recent months, golf’s largest mergers and acquisitions ever have taken place.

• In March, Callaway merged with Topgolf. Callaway already owned a 14% stake in Topgolf and will pay $2.66 billion to acquire the rest of the company.
• Platinum Equity, run by Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores, announced in April its plan to acquire Ingersoll Rand’s golf cart business for $1.7 billion.
• Private equity firm Centroid Investment Partners acquired TaylorMade Golf in May for $1.7 billion, the largest acquisition ever in the golf goods industry.
• In July, private equity firm Bruin Capital purchased a controlling stake in swing simulator company Full Swing for $160 million.

However, supply chain issues caused by the pandemic are starting to affect the industry. 

American Golf locations in the United Kingdom have told clients that their custom-fit clubs won’t arrive until December. 

Acushnet, Titleist’s parent company, now turns customer orders around in an average of seven weeks, compared to the two business days it took prior to shortages.

DAZN has its eye on Premier League rights — and could make a major acquisition to get them.

“I would love to see the Premier League on DAZN,” executive chairman Kevin Mayer said at Wednesday’s Royal Television Society convention. “It’s a huge market, incredibly popular sport, high-quality experience, of course we’d want that.”

DAZN missed out on the latest bidding round for the United Kingdom’s top soccer league, which opted to renew existing deals with Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC Sport, and Amazon. Those agreements are collectively worth $7 billion and run to 2025. 

Soccer has been core to DAZN’s strategy.

• In July, DAZN announced a five-year deal to broadcast the UEFA Women’s Champions League in partnership with YouTube.
• It holds rights to Serie A in Italy and rejected a $1.83 billion offer from Sky to share those rights in June.
• It broadcasts Bundesliga through a sub-licensing deal with Discovery from August 2020.

One path to the Premier League would be to acquire BT Sport. BT was exploring a sale of its sports broadcasting arm in April, with DAZN, Disney, and Amazon all interested. Mayer acknowledged that buying BT Sport is still a possibility.

However, he does not anticipate heavy investments in U.S. businesses.

“I don’t think it would be smart for DAZN to have a real focus on the U.S.,” said Mayer. “It’s an ultra-competitive market.”

Fantasy sports startup Sleeper received a $400 million valuation following a $40 million funding round.

Andreesen Horowitz led the round that included investments from Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson’s Thompson Family Foundation, General Catalyst, Birchmere Ventures, Miami Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones, and former NBA player Shane Battier. 

Previous rounds included Kevin Durant, Rich Kleinman, and Baron Davis.

With more than 3 million users and a “wallet” feature underway, the funds will be used for product development and hiring, according to CEO Nan Wang.

• The company originally focused on the NFL and NBA.
• Sleeper branched into esports during the pandemic through “League of Legends” and added college basketball earlier this year.
• The platform is exploring developing new fantasy games for the English Premier League, MLB, and UFC.

Sleeper’s leagues are formed in groups of 12-14 players, with the average user spending 20-35 minutes on the platform per gameday. 

The company wants to help “sports fans connect with their friends,” according to Andrew Chen, a general partner at Andreesen Horowitz. He says the company’s growth, retention, and engagement are similar to that of a social app.

The fantasy sports market is estimated to reach $32 billion by 2025.

The Kansas City Royals could be moving downtown in the next decade.

The team’s current lease at Kauffman Stadium ends in 2031 — the same time the Chiefs’ lease ends at Arrowhead Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex.

Owner John Sherman — who bought the Royals for $1 billion in Nov. 2019 — said this week that the franchise will “need to start thinking about our future plans for a stadium over the next five-to-10 years,” and said “one of those options is to play downtown baseball.”

Voters in Jackson County, where Kauffman is located, approved a 0.375% tax roughly 15 years ago for improvements to both stadiums in the Truman Complex, where $250 million in renovations were made.

Sherman said a new ballpark would likely entail a public-private partnership.

It’s not clear how much a downtown stadium would cost, but a few other teams have built stadiums in recent years. 

• In a 50-50 split between the Texas Rangers and City of Arlington, Globe Life Field had a project cost of roughly $1.2 billion. It opened last year.
• SunTrust Park, now called Truist Park, was built for the Atlanta Braves in 2017 and has seen massive economic growth around the park with an entire entertainment district. The stadium cost $672 million.

Sherman emphasized that the decision needs to “have a positive impact on the quality of life for our citizens.”