On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the debacle at the Champions League final in Paris over the weekend. With the biggest prize in club soccer on the line, the match between Real Madrid and Liverpool was delayed more than 30 minutes because of difficulties in getting thousands of fans into the stadium on time.
UEFA, which organizes the Champions League, has provided conflicting explanations for the problems, first citing late-arriving fans and later an avalanche of counterfeit tickets. While it’s unclear exactly what caused the delays, the fact remains that on the sport’s biggest annual stage, the governing body couldn’t safely and expediently get ticketed fans into the building. Tear gas was reportedly used by police in an effort to settle the process.
The hosts also discuss the upcoming NBA finals, which will feature the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors. The Celtics are long-time NBA royalty, and the Warriors are new money. The team, which was purchased in 2010 for $450 million, is now worth more than $6 billion, according to Sportico‘s valuations. It has a new privately-funded $1.4 billion arena that has also turned it into a financial juggernaut.
Lastly, the pair talk about Big League Advance, the company that gives cash to baseball prospects in exchange for a cut of their MLB earnings, should they get that far. BLA made a big score with Fernando Tatis Jr., who recently signed a $340 million extension with the San Diego Padres, and is now looking to raise $250 million for its third fund.
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