Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb wants any new or renovated Browns stadium to be a community asset.

“It’s going to be important that we, as a community, find a way to not just think about the stadium, but the lakefront as an asset for the entire region,” Bibb told a Cleveland TV station on Monday.

• The Browns’ lease at FirstEnergy Stadium expires in 2028.
• The team hasn’t committed to building a new stadium or renovating their existing one, but seems to be exploring both options.
• Bibb noted that “prior deals haven’t had the right ROI for the residents of Cleveland.”

Bibb didn’t explicitly state that the city would put up public funds, but added, “We need to look at all options.”

As for adding a dome, the mayor said, “We shall see. It’s a big price tag.”

Stay or Go?

A report from June said that the Browns wanted a new, publicly funded $1 billion domed stadium and had two sites picked out. Owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam reportedly feel like FirstEnergy stadium is aging poorly.

The Browns denied the report, saying their focus is on renovating their current home.

That same month, the Cleveland city council passed a nonbinding resolution stating that the team should remove the FirstEnergy name following a bribery scandal. The energy company’s $107 million naming rights deal runs through 2030.

Manchester City finished first in the 2021-22 season in more ways than one.

The Premier League champions generated the most revenue of the season’s eight European domestic soccer champions with $785 million, according to a Football Benchmark study.

City’s revenue increased 13% year-over-year, topping UEFA Champions League winner Real Madrid’s $767 million — a 12% year-over-year increase. 

France’s Paris Saint-Germain generated the third-highest revenue at $720 million and the highest matchday revenue at $141 million — but also had a record net loss of $396 million. 

• PSG earned the highest commercial income among European teams at $429 million.
• It also had the highest staff costs ever reported by a club at $782 million.

After Germany’s Bayern Munich, which brought in $674 million in revenue, figures take a dip. 

Serie A winner AC Milan generated $289 million in revenue, a 16% year-over-year increase. Despite a 51% year-over-year increase, Dutch club Ajax brought in just $203 million. Revenue for Portugal’s Porto dropped 6% year-over-year to $155 million, while Turkey’s Trabzonspor finished with $63.4 million in revenue.

City’s Second Place

Based on the estimated combined net worth of its owners ($22 billion), City is the second-richest club in the English Premier League.

Newcastle United, which was taken over in 2021 by a consortium comprising Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners, and the Reuben Brothers, came in first with an estimated combined net worth of $620 billion.

The person with the most Grand Slam titles in men’s tennis history is seeking new challenges.

Rafael Nadal will be the owner of Team Spain in a new electric boat racing series called E1, which will launch later this year.

• E1 was created by Formula E and Extreme E founder Alejandro Agag with former McLaren director of motorsport Rodi Basso.
• Nadal, who is from the island of Mallorca, is investing in the league and its Blue Action Programme, which supports marine ecosystems.
• He joins Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez, who owns a Mexican team, as an E1 team owner. The only other team announced to date is an Italian one based in Venice.

“I’m really excited to be getting involved with a project like E1 that values sustainability and will make a positive impact on society as a whole, especially in coastal communities,” said the 22-time Grand Slam winner.

Racing Toward Clean Mobility

Like Formula E and Extreme E, E1 is focused on promoting clean power through racing. E1 aims to speed the development of clean marine transportation technologies and restoration programs.

The series will hold events around the world, with races taking place over two days, and is expected to include a race in the U.S. Teams will use a uniform boat, the RaceBird, which uses hydrofoil technology similar to that used by SailGP, a racing series that launched in 2019.

FC Barcelona will continue its spending spree with the redevelopment of its historic stadium. 

The La Liga giants have announced plans to upgrade Spotify Camp Nou within a budget of $966 million, as outlined by team president Joan Laporta. 

In March 2022, Barcelona secured a long-term sponsorship deal with audio streaming platform Spotify reportedly worth $306 million, which made the latter the club’s main sponsor and rebranded Camp Nou. 

• The venue has been Barcelona’s home field since 1957. 
• It has a seating capacity of 99,354 — Europe’s largest. 
• Renovations will begin in June 2023 and are expected to be completed by June 2026. 

Barcelona is redeveloping Spotify Camp Nou after using “economic levers” to alleviate debt and register players during last year’s transfer market. 

The club landed a deal with private equity firm Sixth Street to sell a 10% stake in its TV rights worth up to $278 million. Barcelona sold an additional 15% stake to Sixth Street for $326.5 million. 

Last August, the club agreed to sell a 24.5% stake in Barca Studios — Barcelona’s media production arm — to audiovisual production company Orpheus Media for $102 million. It sold another 24.5% stake in Barca Studios to fan engagement app Socios.com for $102 million.

Very Valuable 

Barcelona reported a profit of $111 million behind $1.15 billion in revenue for the year ending June 2022.

The club is the second-most-valuable soccer team at $5 billion, per Forbes.