June 27, 2025 • 37 mins
Join hosts Michael Barr, Damian Sassower and Vanessa Perdomo for a look at some of the latest headlines and stories in the business of sports.
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 7 win Sunday over the Indiana Pacers delivered the most-watched NBA finals game in six years, Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN said. The Thunder’s 103-91 victory averaged 16.4 million viewers, the network said in a statement Monday, citing Nielsen data. The entire series averaged 10.3 million viewers per game, the least since 2021.
Bloomberg US sports business reporter Randall Williams joins to discuss this year’s finals and some of the other big headlines in the NBA, including Cooper Flagg going first in the NBA Draft. Then, Michael Israel, Chief Information & Technology Officer of the Kraft Group joins to discuss some of the innovations he’s helping to spearhead across the company and including at Gillette Stadium and how Kraft Group is using artificial intelligence.
Then, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt joins to talk about the Thunder bringing an NBA championship to his town, what it took to bring an NBA franchise there to begin with and what the team’s success means going forward.
Plus, we hear a portion of the latest episode of “The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly”, featuring Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio and legendary football coach Bill Belichick.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Business of Sports.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Sports are the greatest unscripted show owner.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
The next generation of players who really grew up with
tech and believe in tech.
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Your face is your ticket, your face is your wallet,
Your face is your access to a club.
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These are such iconic and important buildings for businesses.
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For fans, COVID was one of the best things that
ever happened to go.
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The NFL is a bulletproof business.
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Racing is unique because there is absolutely no reason why
we can't compete with the guys' wall.
Speaker 7 (00:27):
It's pro pickleball real Are people really going to tune
into this? If you're playing moneyball with a huge bag
of money, you're going to be really, really good.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 8 (00:39):
This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore
the big money issues in the world of sports. Michael
Barr along with my colleagues Damien Sassauer and Vanessa Perdomo.
Coming up on the show, we'll celebrate the newest NBA
champions the Oklahoma City Thunder. We'll talk about what the
big win means for the city with Oklahoma City Mayor
David Holt.
Speaker 6 (01:00):
In a championship city is an attainment of sports immortality.
It's just it's such a game changer for our city.
Speaker 8 (01:06):
We've got that and more on the way on the
Bloomberg Business of Sports, and we start with Bloomberg US
sports business reporter Randall Williams, who is here to take
us through those finals and some of the other big
headlines lately in basketball, including that big, big, big, big, big,
big big announcement from last week about the Lakers sale
and more.
Speaker 7 (01:27):
Hi, Randall Williams, it just sounded like a teacher when
you get in trouble or get caught doing something. But
good to see you too, mister b and thank you
for having me.
Speaker 9 (01:39):
Man.
Speaker 8 (01:40):
There's a lot of stuff that is jumping off, especially recently.
There's so many ways to go in the NBA here,
but let's talk about one of the biggest stories in
the NBA that has happened in the past several days.
The Lakers. Now this used to be a bus family
production and now this is about the change. Know us
about it.
Speaker 7 (02:00):
Yeah, Mark Walter has bought a majority stake in the
Lakers to be valued at ten billion dollars. It is
high mode that I don't see anybody passing for a
very long time, very long, being maybe five to ten years.
Speaker 8 (02:14):
Wow.
Speaker 7 (02:15):
Mark Walters is obviously the owner of the Dodgers. If
you are an LA native, if you're a Lakers fan,
this is a great sign.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
So wait a second, I just have to go back.
Speaker 10 (02:23):
You don't think that every team like the Dallas Cowboys
were valued at ten point one billion as of last
year by Sportico, that all those valuations don't explode to
the upside off the back of it.
Speaker 7 (02:31):
So I do think the Day will be valued in more.
But I think as far as a control sale, this
is going to be the high mark for a bit interesting.
I think like if the Seahawks were put up for
sale tomorrow, I don't know that Day would go for ten.
I think they might go for seven or eight. But
ten is high.
Speaker 11 (02:48):
Ten's high, And the question is how do you get
to ten after Mark Walter's invested into the team four
years ago for evaluation of five billion? They have they
didn't they don't own their arena, they didn't win a
new championship. How do you double your valuation four years? Then?
Speaker 7 (03:03):
I think it's all in brand value in media of course,
like they have a new media deal that hasn't kicked
in yet. It'll kick in next year. But the Lakers
are one of the biggest brands in the world period
and in sports, Like they're a top three sports brand,
and there are some people who say they're the number
one sports brand, ahead of both the Yankees and the Cowboys.
Now I don't know about that, but and I'll leave
that up to debate, but the Lakers are top three.
(03:25):
And with that in mind, like you think about how
many sports franchises have been relevant for fifty years. And
I'm not talking about like, oh, yeah, they won back
in the day and I remember those good old days,
like the Celtics are sort of like that, Like the
Celtics won a gazillion championships sixty years ago and then
they've won two in the last twenty five years. The
Lakers have won championships in every single decade over the
(03:48):
past fifty years, I believe, all the way back to
the eighties, nineties, and then of course the two thousands
and twenty tens as well. And so when you're thinking
about that, as well as the amount of superstars they've had,
Like if you ever played NBA two cap and you
look at the all time Lakers team. It's magic, Kobe, James, Worthy,
Shaq and Kareem. That doesn't even include Lebron and now
(04:09):
Luca and so many other stellar players who just pack
out arenas. And there aren't that many franchises in the
NBA or in the NFL or in the MLB who
can say, no matter who's here, we're going to sell out.
Speaker 8 (04:22):
Now, by the way, we got to talk about something else.
The ratings for Game seven of this past NBA Finals.
ESPN was happy with Game seven, about sixteen point four
million viewers, according to Nielsen Data, watched the thunder in
Game seven go on to win. Now, the games before
(04:44):
that a little shaky, And I think part of that historically, Yeah,
I think part of it is as you thought we were.
That they thought okay see was gonna win hands down.
Speaker 7 (04:55):
Why do you all think ratings are low?
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I'm interested.
Speaker 8 (04:58):
People thought okay c was going to run away with it.
You know, nobody expected any drama from the Indiana Pacers,
and all of a sudden, here we go and it's
like people are thinking, man, I should have been watching
game viving games.
Speaker 10 (05:10):
Well, I did hear that the game one was like
nine million, and that was like the lowest since like
the eighties or something like that.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I don't know if that's true or not. I mean, Randall,
it's been.
Speaker 7 (05:19):
It's been the Game one and two ratings were low.
But I would say this to the ratings conversation is that, yes,
ratings are low. I think that there's blame to place everywhere.
If I ask you where Tyrese Haliburton went to school,
do you know, No, I don't, Okay, you went to
Iowa State. That's something that if you watch the games,
and I don't know whether you did it or didn't,
but that's something that should be talked about all throughout
(05:41):
these playoffs is the journey that these players go through,
and that's not discussed as much on the broadcast anymore.
We have trades happening in the middle of the NBA Finals,
and Kevin Durant is a marvelous player, but that never
happened a decade ago where trades were happening in the
middle of this thing, and it takes away of the attention.
And also there's blame to place on media as well.
(06:03):
ESPN did not treat the NBA Finals like the NBA Finals.
I think, from top to bottom, the broadcast was average.
Stephen A is an incredible talent, but a lot of
times who he's paired with and the conversation they're having
does not make you excited for the game. When someone
says I'm not excited about going to Oklahoma City to
watch this game, and you're a fan listening to that,
(06:23):
of course you don't want to come. And so I
think it's two things. It's storytelling around the league. How
do you uplift these superstars? So if you take away
the storytelling, it's also from the brand perspective. How many
Converse advertisements did you see for Shay Gildes, Alexander or
Tyre's Halliburn who debuted his new signature Shoot, you didn't
see any but a decade ago. If this was Lebron,
(06:45):
if this was KD, if this was Kobe, Nike would
have for sure had signature sneaker commercials. My favorite commercials
are all time are the Lebron and Kobe puppets.
Speaker 8 (06:56):
Yeah, but no, we don't.
Speaker 7 (06:58):
See that branding anymore, and so you don't see the branding.
If you're a kid watching this, what makes you want
to continue to tune into this? When the broadcasters act
like they don't want to be there when you don't
know anything about the players and the brands aren't promoting it.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
I don't think it's so I guess. I mean, I mean,
it's the point fingers.
Speaker 10 (07:15):
But it's ESPN's fault then, right, I mean, let's be
clear and look, I mean, you must be really upset
the ESPN just bought the pl The premiere was ust
league because look, I didn't think it was there was
something that much wrong with with the broadcast. I just think,
quite honestly, it was a hangover after after some of
the semi final and quarterfinal matches.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I think the next yeah, I did.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
I to differ.
Speaker 7 (07:34):
I think this was a really good finals that if
Halliburton doesn't tear his achilles or roughter his achilles, who
knows how that game goes. He came off firing. But again,
if you don't, if both the NBA and its media
partners partners plural and corporate partners do not act like
the Finals are the most magnificent event in the world,
(07:56):
then people won't If the Super Bowl this year features
the Buffalo Bills and the Green Bay Packers to small
market teams, I guarantee you the NFL is going to
be storytelling around this as if this is the greatest
Super Bowl of all time and it could be a
thirteen to three game. We've seen things like that happen,
But again, if you don't act like it, then people
(08:18):
don't believe it. And that's what's happening right now.
Speaker 8 (08:21):
By the way, I should add, the entire series, it
averaged ten point three million viewers per game. That's the
least since twenty twenty one.
Speaker 11 (08:29):
That goes to the face of the NBA conversation, and
that's really where it goes back to you. And I
feel like one of the things that we're seeing in
the draft and we're seeing all these the MVP conversations,
all that is the conversations around international players and should
they be the face of the NBA and people feel
like they shouldn't be. Why does that matter? And do
(08:50):
people really need to put that aside?
Speaker 7 (08:52):
First of all, it doesn't matter. I think that people
love good basketball regardless, but having an international face is
so new for the league. I mean, you think about
the most popular players in the last three finals have
all been international stars. Joker most popular, Luca is more
popular than both Tatum and Brown, and then this.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Year, of course you have SDA.
Speaker 7 (09:15):
However, if you don't again, if you don't market it
like that, if you're not ready to embrace it, and
if the Americans aren't succeeding, we were reminded that America
is still dominating in the basketball forum. Of course, with
the twenty twenty four Olympics, there's no guarantee that that's
going to happen in twenty twenty eight in LA. I
would argue that I wouldn't be surprised if they lost
in twenty twenty eight in LA because of the fact
(09:38):
that the old guard will be gone. We've watched Lebron
and KD Carrey team USA for a decade and a
half now, but again, this new guard is coming up.
People don't know that much about them.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
But if you've.
Speaker 7 (09:51):
Watched the NBA, I mean, the last seven MVPs have
all been international players. You now have an international championship
in some aspect with Shay winning. It had one two
years ago with Jokers. So this is a reoccurring theme
and I think the NBA is going to get better
at this. They're going to have to challenge ESPN to
stop defecating on their game.
Speaker 8 (10:11):
But you know, I'm.
Speaker 7 (10:13):
Serious if you watch, if you watch the NFL coverage
versus the NBA coverage, the NFL coverage is so much
more in depth, and the games are different. I'm not
saying that they're not different. If you watch NFL live,
you watch NBA today. And also this is due to
the fact that the seasons are different. The NFL game
is much more condensed, and so ESPN's coverage naturally and
(10:34):
basketball coverage naturally leans into the drama. But when it's
playoff time, the drama is over. The drama has to
be on the court because, as we've seen over the
past decade, drama is going to happen in June and July,
regardless whether you're talking about it in May or April
or even January. But if you're talking about it in
the midst of your playoffs, people are looking to be like, yeah,
(10:54):
the playoffs, but oh boy, I can't wait for free
agency to happen.
Speaker 8 (10:57):
Speaking of drama now, by the way, be a draft
first round Cooper Flag Dallas Mavericks. Yeah, surprise, now crazy,
But the one that caught me for drama Danny Wolf.
He was picked twenty seventh overall by the Brooklyn Nets,
and then you see the shot of his mother crying,
(11:19):
and then you see the shot of him crying, and
then there's a shot of me crying. Because I thought
that was one of the most touching things when you're
talking about sports.
Speaker 7 (11:29):
I think that this NBA drafting and watching it, I
saw more tears and just more emotional moments than I've
seen in a long time, and that was beautiful to see.
Not a lot of drama. I think the Mavericks part
of it is incredibly fascinating. Just the last twelve months
of the Mavericks I'd say eighteen months, even with Cuban
selling to the Addison family. It's going to need a
(11:52):
documentary someday. Just it doesn't matter if they win or lose,
but just the fact that a team sold, They traded
the the biggest superstar arguably in the franchise history. I
think Luca is a bit more popular than Dirk. And
then you draft a number one pick again like just
the chances of that are crazy. But again, NBA draft,
(12:12):
very emotional night. I thought it was a great and
fun thing to watch.
Speaker 8 (12:17):
Randall Williams, I love you, man, Thank you for coming
and joining us on the Bloomberg Business. Apreciate you for
having me as always, thanks to Randa Williams for joining us.
He's Bloomberg You has sports Business Reporter Up. Next, we
take a break from basketball and turn to the grid iron.
We'll talk with someone who is working on bringing the
latest tech and AI to Jellette Stadium, colleagues Damian Tasaur
(12:42):
and Vanessa Bernomo. I'm Michael Barr. You are listening to
the Bloomberg Business of Sports Bloomberg Radio around the world.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 8 (12:58):
This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports. Have we explore
the big money issues in the world of sports? Michael
Barr along with Damian Sassaur. The Craft Group is going
all in on AI across their businesses and that includes
the New England Patriots and their home venue, Gillette Stadium.
In April, the Craft Group announced a new partnership with NWN,
(13:21):
North America's largest AI power technology solutions provider. And here
to talk to us about the partnership and other tech
innovations that could come to Gillette is Michael Israel. He's
chief Information and Technology Officer for the Craft Group. Michael
Welcome to the Bloomberg Business of Sports.
Speaker 12 (13:41):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 8 (13:42):
One thing you guys are dabbling in it involves AI
power technology solutions and you guys are working with it.
Can you tell us about that and the impact that's
having on the sport, on sports in general?
Speaker 12 (13:59):
Yea, in general. So from a we started with AI
based technology at the stadium a couple of years ago.
Really where we started with is video anomaly detection and
using standard security camera footage, intercepting that footage and detecting
real time what's happening in the stadium. So if someone
leaves a bag behind, if a concession line is long,
(14:23):
if a garbage cans overflowing, detecting that and creating action
associated with that. So if a concession line is long,
do I need more cashiers, if a garbage can's overflowing,
automatically dispatching custodial staff. So using video that would normally
just go unused to create actionary items and enhance our
(14:45):
guest experiences as they're coming in. Moving forward, we're looking
at things like facial recognition for entry for concession purchasing,
where it's tied to a digital wallet. So if you
walk up and you opt in. If you walk up
to a eight entry line, it will see your face,
shred your ticket. You walk up to a concession stand,
I want a cheeseburger, a B or a fries. It
(15:07):
checks your ID, hits your credit card, hits our loyalty system,
and you're often going so looking at speed of transaction,
enhance customer service, really new ways to make your experience
at the stadium better.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Mike, let's talk about the razor.
Speaker 10 (15:23):
I mean, as a New York Jets fan, that's one
of my least favorite places to be Foxborough, New England.
But nevertheless, I have to ask you about how your
technology is going to change the fan experience at the Blade.
I mean I am hearing some wonderful things about what
you're doing. You're overhauling the entire IT infrastructure. I mean,
talk to us about what's going on up there.
Speaker 12 (15:43):
Well, we're essentially taking you know, our stadium is now
a little over twenty years old and technology was stagnant.
Really refreshing the entire technology stack across the stadium with
the folks over at NWN, helping us rebuild our staff,
but again create more engaging experiences. So IPTV putting unique
(16:07):
video content into our suites, into our concourses. So that's
based on where you are. You may be seeing different things,
but really enhanced experiences so that it's better than being
at home.
Speaker 8 (16:22):
You're also involved with I guess training facilities and applying
the applications to help keep players informed and engaged. Tell
us about that, correct.
Speaker 12 (16:34):
Our new training facility is being built as we speak,
will be coming live next April. We'll have new draft rooms,
We'll have new content spaces, so WebEx platforms in all
of our meeting rooms, locations, within weight rooms, training facilities,
where folks can go, what's my schedule for the day,
(16:54):
what specific plans do I have? When's our next meal time?
But in our conference rooms, having the ability to control
everything from the lights, from blinds, from the content on
the screens, right from our common Cisco touch pads.
Speaker 10 (17:09):
So Michael, you know we have a pretty sophisticated audience
here at the Bloomberg Business of Sports, and you know
it's not just about sports. I mean the Craft Group
is the holding company for one hundred different portfolio companies
like Venture Pe, Direct Investments, you name it. I mean
the Rand Whitney Container Company, I mean all of that stuff.
Talk to us about how these different verticals, what you're
doing with them, how AI, how your technology is enhancing
(17:32):
the productivity across the board.
Speaker 12 (17:34):
Sure, so we're we have right now in excess of
seventy five different AI based use cases that are being evaluated.
So it could be something as simple in sports as
automatically transcribing press conferences as they happen, or going into
our manufacturing facilities, looking at a tractor trailer as it
(17:55):
comes into our facility and monitoring when it enters, how
long is it in a docking, how long does it
take to unload that tractor and when does it leave
our facility and comparing that to our invoices as they
come in and saying, hey, that truck wasn't here an
hour and a half. We have it documented of only
thirty eight minutes for an unload. That's resulting in a
(18:16):
decrease in our expenses. Monitoring how raw materials are getting
loaded onto our conveyor belts to make sure they're being
loaded in a sequential order, Or looking at our manufacturing
facility in Worcestern, Massachusetts, what's the proper sequencing of box
manufacturing orders? So that we have the least amount of
(18:36):
waste coming out of that machine, so that we can
get the most out of a roll of paper. All
of these pieces are looking at how we do business
historically and how can we use AI to change that
in the future, enhance our operations, reduce costs, reduce complexity.
Speaker 10 (18:52):
You know, Michael, the impact of technology on sports really
just I mean today, I mean, just for example, I
mean the fact that Amazon, Apple and Netflix are now
airing you know, you know, NFL games as opposed to
you know, Disney and Morner Brothers and things like that.
You know, but it extends beyond that, right, It extends
to you know, esports for example. It extends to sports betting,
and you know, I just want to ask you about,
(19:12):
you know, some of the features you're going to be
implementing within you know, Jillette Stadium. You know, how do
they take advantage of the one hundred billion dollars in
revenue that the sports betting globally, the sports global sports
betting market is generated in twenty twenty four alone. I mean,
are there are there designs to sort of capture a
bit of that.
Speaker 8 (19:29):
There's gambling going on.
Speaker 12 (19:30):
I'm shocked, Well, there's there's no official gambling going on
from our perspective. We have some sponsors who are there,
but when folks are here at the stadium, I have
to make sure I have enough bandwidth to support whatever
they're looking to do fair and we will look at
you know, on a typical game day, we have sixty
thousand people in the in the stadium, we will have
(19:53):
in access of forty five to fifty thousand unique clients
on our Wi Fi network, and we monitor the applications
that they're using. And yes, it's the Yahoo and the
Instagrams and those types of pieces, but the sports betting
apps are gaining and gaining, so we have to make
sure we have enough bandwidth to support whatever they're doing
in real time. If they want to make a bet
(20:13):
on the fourth quarter and what's going to happen, they
don't want to wait, they don't want to see an hourglass.
They want real responsive networks, and we have that and
we continue to evolve and make it faster, make it better.
Speaker 10 (20:23):
You know, in the fan experience, it's not just about football, right,
I mean, it's also about you know, concerts, it's about
you know, all the other stuff that goes on, you know,
it's let's stadium. Talk to us a little bit about
you know, what you're doing there, how you're capturing you know,
a greater I guess percentage of the fan engagement experience
as it were. I mean, talk to us about, you know,
how you make going to a fish concert, for example,
(20:44):
even more enjoyable than it already is.
Speaker 12 (20:49):
Well, it's you know, the challenge goes from concert to concert.
When you see like, for example, several years ago we
had Taylor Swift. We had two hundred and fifteen thousand
guests in this over three days. When we're sitting when
I'm sitting walking in the stadium and there's sixty thousand
guests in. But I hear on my radio that there's
seventy thousand unique people on Wi Fi. How can that be? Well,
(21:13):
you have a TikTok challenge in your parking lot. Ten
thousand sands that are in your parking lot. That's something
you don't plan for. So what we do is look
and saying, hey, we need to make sure we're prepared
for what comes tomorrow. We have FIFA World Cup coming
to our stadium next summer. We're preparing now for that
influx of seven matches and the amount of bandwidth that
(21:34):
we're going to need, the amount of stand up, pop
up retail and concession locations, enhancing our TVs, enhancing our
IPTV frameworks. This is all stuff that is not stagnant.
It doesn't sit still. We have to make sure we
are a step ahead of what our fans are expecting
and what my business is asking of us.
Speaker 8 (21:55):
Our thanks to Michael Israel for joining us. He's chief
information and Technology officer for the group. Sticking with Football
the latest episode of the Deal with Alex Rodriguez and
Jason Kelly, featuring a conversation with two Titans legendary coach
Bill Belichick and Bridgewater founder Ray Dallyo. Those two know
(22:15):
a lot about winning and success. Let's take a listen
to a portion of that conversation.
Speaker 13 (22:21):
Bill, You've played for multiple owners. No need to mention names,
that's not important. What is important is from your experience
and your lens. What makes a good owner, good management
team to support what you do on the field.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Well, again, I think it starts with what Ray just
said is what are your goals? What are your goals?
Is it the bottom line? Is it financial? Is it championships?
You know, and you've been a player, and I'm sure
that you felt like, as a player, you wanted a
path to a championship, and once something got in the
way of that path, you wanted it removed. Yeah, whatever
(22:55):
it happened to be, whether it's travel or you know,
personnel or the way something was handled, that it affected
your performance as a player. And I would say those
two don't necessarily align, you know, financial success and on
the field success, that there could be a trade off
there that I think as an owner you have to
(23:16):
make a decision as to you know what you probably
want the best of both, but ultimately which one is
the driving force? And that's probably like that in a
lot of businesses. You know, what are your goals and
if goals are you know, truly winning. You know as
a player that you want to remove every obstacle that
(23:37):
could be in the way of a manager or a
player of achieving his winning goals. Financially, that could be expensive.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
So Ray, it's interesting, you know, over the years of
you know, covering Wall Street and investing for Bloomberg, I
got to watch you build this firm, and part of
one of the underlying principles I believe is this notion
of innovation and always sort of changing and evolving and
both of you and we'll get to coach in a second,
have you know, sort of pushed into new markets? How
(24:07):
how do you think about that? How do you think
about innovation? What's your What are the principles underlying how
you go on and build into something new?
Speaker 5 (24:16):
I don't know if it's much thinking about it as
much as feeling it. You know, you feel the excitement,
you feel the poll. You know, one of the principles
that I that he's praised so well. And I also
is being comfortable being uncomfortable?
Speaker 8 (24:31):
Okay?
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Or I might say also the reverse, I'm sometimes uncomfortable
if I'm comfortable, Okay, Okay.
Speaker 8 (24:40):
That's just a little taste A little sample of the
latest episode of the Deal with Alex Rodvegas and Jason Kelly,
featuring Bridgewater founder Ray dally O and legendary NFL coach
and now UNC football coach Bill Belichick. Go to Bloomberg
dot com to learn more and catch the full episode
of Next Back Basketball. We celebrate the Oklahoma City Thunders
(25:02):
NBA Finals win with Okay, Ce Mayor, David Holt, Michael Barr.
You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg
Radio around the world.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 8 (25:21):
Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports.
We explore the big money issues in the world of sports.
Michael Barr, along with the Damian Sasaur and Vanessa Bernomo
the Oklahoma City Thunder are NBA champions and superstar Shae
Gillias Alexander at it final MVP to his resume in
the same season. It's one of the most impressive single
seasons for an NBA player in history. Here he is
(25:45):
just after the win.
Speaker 9 (25:47):
It's hard to believe that I'm part of that group.
It's hard to even fathom that I'm that type of
basketball player. Sometimes as a kid, you dream, and every
kid dreams, but you don't never really know if it's
gonna come true. And I'm just glad and happy that
my dreams have been able to come true. And that's
a thank you to everyone that's been in my corner.
(26:08):
That's how me get here. I wouldn't be able done
without them. They know exactly who they are, So yeah,
it's a win for the family.
Speaker 8 (26:13):
That's SGA speaking to reporters after the thunder. One big
for Oklahoma City. Joining us now is the mayor the
winning town, OKC Mayor David Holt. David, congratulations and welcome
to the Bloomberg Business of sports.
Speaker 6 (26:27):
Yeah, thank you for having me business and sports man.
That's the business we've been in lately.
Speaker 8 (26:32):
And Okay, yeah, you just had the parade, you man,
you guys were having some fun. Ok see, bless your hearts.
This is the last time. Only two years ago you
didn't even have a five hundred season and now look
at you, guys.
Speaker 6 (26:51):
It's been an amazing week. It's all happened so fast.
I mean, Sunday night was Game seven. Tuesday morning was
a half a billion people in inten Oklahoma City, an
event unlike anything we've ever had.
Speaker 11 (27:04):
And yeah, it's hard to keep track event.
Speaker 6 (27:07):
Yeah, it's been a whirlwind for sure. And I'll and
I guess I'll sleep when I'm dead because it's it's
been that kind of weird.
Speaker 11 (27:13):
I feel like, right because it feels like you won't
be able to really relax for a while because something
you did at the parade was announced a celebration day
for every single player on the team over the next month.
What what are they those days going to look like?
And how do you celebrate every single person on over
(27:33):
the next month.
Speaker 6 (27:34):
Yes, well, yeah, so I proclaimed there's eighteen people on
the roster, and by the way, the Thunder, you know,
it's part of their culture is to really extend that
as far as possible. So that eighteen, of course is
I think higher than like the official roster, right, but
that includes three people that were two way players who
you know, were playing ineligible at the end of the
(27:56):
regular season but kind of carried through as members of
the team in as far as the Thunder we're concerned.
So there's eighteen days I proclaimed, starting after July fourth
and going all the way till July thirtieth. And you know,
I don't think we'll have half a million people show
up for each of those days. I think we will,
you know, I will issue a proclamation. It may be
(28:17):
more of a social media event than a in real
life event, but it definitely felt appropriate and it definitely
felt good and proper to sort of carry this forward.
I don't think anyone in Oklahoma City is done celebrating
this championship. I suspect on some level we'll be kind
of in celebration mode all the way till the regular
(28:39):
season tips off in October.
Speaker 8 (28:41):
And there's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 10 (28:42):
Well, mister Mayor, Michael bar brings up a really really
interesting point. In the twenty twenty two to twenty three season,
the Thunder were below five hundred and it was in
September of twenty three. If I'm not mistaken that you
were the one who announced that proposal to publicly fund
a new arena in Oklahoma City, and part of the
deal was to get the Thunder to stay in Oklahoma
City beyond twenty fifty and you know you did it,
(29:03):
and you got it with seventy one percent voting for
the new arena. I mean, and look at where we
are now. So this is really just an unbelievable whirlwind
of a few years.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
For you know.
Speaker 6 (29:14):
Yeah, and by the way, we inked the deal to
like in writing, to keep the team here till twenty
fifty three. Last week we our council passed it between
Games five and six of the NBA Finals. I mean, yeah,
so it's been a lot of developments lately. But to
your point, and let me back up just a little
bit to say, you know, the relationship between this team
(29:36):
and this city I think is very unique. You know,
this was our first major league professional sports team. It
really redefined our city when it came here in two
thousand and eight. I often say that the you know,
the closest thing America has to a blue ribbon that
it bestows upon its top tier cities is is major
league professional sports team, especially in the NFL, the MLB,
(29:57):
and the NBA, and and so we value that. We recognize,
we can see with our own eyes how life was
different but before two thousand and eight and after two
thousand and eight in ways that extend far beyond basketball.
And so their original fifteen year lease was expiring in
twenty twenty three. Our arena is it's like the second
cheapest in the league. It's the smallest in the league
(30:19):
by square footage, it's over twenty years old. It was
obvious that we were not going to be able to
secure long term contract with this team or any team
with that arena. And we built it before the team came,
so it's not even really an NBA arena, you know,
it's actually built with the NHL in mind. So we
(30:39):
we went through a community conversation and as you said.
In late twenty three, seventy one percent of voters approved
a six year one cent sales tax to build a
new billion dollar arena. And I don't have to tell
you cities don't pass these things, like most cities have
stopped trying. Exactly around the time we voted on this,
Kansas City defeated theirs. But that's You're for us twenty
(31:01):
five year commitment in the new arena, basically like thirty
years in total, and you know, our thunder for another generation.
And then obviously after that, the team you know on
the court has gone to another level. They are now champions.
We inked the deal finally after a year and a
half of negotiating the lease, just last week in the
(31:21):
midst of the NBA Finals. And actually next month we'll
be able to release the renderings of the new arena.
So yeah, it is an exciting time. And okay, see
relative to the thunder on every level.
Speaker 10 (31:31):
Well, mister Mayor, Michael Barr reminds me that this journey
for you began all the way back in two thousand
and eight when you were part of you know, if
I'm not mistaken, the former mayor or to convince the
Seattle superhnucts to come to Oklahoma City. So congratulations, I mean,
this is unbelievable. And look, I mean you've got the
Summer Olympics coming up in twenty twenty eight, right, I
mean isn't Oklahoma City slated to host a few events there?
Speaker 8 (31:53):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (31:54):
You know as and yes, I was chief of staff
to my predecessor when the thunder came in two thousand
and eight. So yeah, I've been there at every step
of this journey. And for an OKC kid who grew
up in a city that didn't have pro sports and
never could have imagined having pro sports, it's pretty special.
Speaker 10 (32:10):
On many posters and mantle on your wall growing up,
I imagine.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
So but yeah, to your point, you know, we have
and it's sort of been organic in the end. I mean,
obviously we strategically pursued different initiatives, but the way that
they've all come together feels a little organic. But we
have definitely leveraged sports in our community as a way
to build and so you reference the Olympics, you know,
but it all kind of starts obviously with the NBA.
(32:37):
We of course have made major investments in softball, which
made us the softball capital of the world and the
home of the College Women's College World Series, which is
one of the great events in American sport now. And
then of course we invested in whitewater rafting of all things,
you know, and have the only whitewater facility west of
the Mississippi, and that allowed us to attract a lot
of international events. And then you know, this opportunity came
(33:00):
along where Los Angeles was really looking to have us
sustainable games and didn't want to build facilities that they
didn't have. And here in Oklahoma City, of all places,
we have, as I said, the only whitewater facility west
of the Mississippi, the biggest softball stadium in the world
by two and a half times. And so we began
a conversation sort of confidentially seven years ago, first started
(33:24):
between my friend, the former mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti,
and then of course Casey Wasserman joined that conversation and
we worked through this over the last several years until
it finally became public about a year ago. And now
we are going to have those two sports, softball and
canoe slalom. That's the Olympic work phrase for what whitewater
canoe kayak is.
Speaker 12 (33:45):
And we're going to have.
Speaker 6 (33:45):
Those two sports seven total events here in Oklahoma City
in twenty twenty eight. And we're the only city outside
of Southern California that's hosting an entire sport, much less
two And that means there's going to be events every
day of the Summer Olympics here in OKC. Which, again,
as an okay See kid, if I could, if I
would find it hard to comprehend that we're the home
of the NBA champions. It's even more beyond my comprehension
(34:08):
to imagine that people will have gold medals put around
their necks here in Oklahoma City in twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 10 (34:14):
Well you've done it, mister Mayor, Me and Michael Barr Vanessa,
We're coming down to the Big Friendly. We're gonna visit
count Them and Steakhouse. We're gonna go to Stockyard City.
We're gonna go to Nickey Mantles, We're gonna We're gonna
do it. We're gonna go to Arino Franienburgers at Michael.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Barr oh Man.
Speaker 8 (34:27):
You know what, years ago, many years ago, I was
in okay See because I think that the ABC had
a bowling tournament there, and I used to be a
big bowler and I used to I loved it. I
had a good time in Oklahoma City.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
I can hear mister Mayor yawning on the other end of.
Speaker 6 (34:43):
I'm gonna guess that the city has grown and changed
a lot since then. I would love to show you
the modern version of Oklahoma City.
Speaker 8 (34:53):
You know what? And you're let me tell you. I
know time is short, but were I was talking about
this before you how much of a geezer I am,
mister Mayor? Uh the year you were born. I just
got my permit to drive a car. That's how old
I am. I am geezered. Don't it's bad, Michael.
Speaker 11 (35:16):
It's called wisdom, actually.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
You know.
Speaker 8 (35:19):
Okay, well that's what we'll go with that.
Speaker 11 (35:22):
Mister Mayer. I'm curious, you know, you're you're saying how
much the city has changed the sense, So how much
does the city now change after being NBA champions?
Speaker 12 (35:29):
What else does.
Speaker 6 (35:31):
Because I really feel it is a significant change. I mean,
so if you think about how getting a team provided
this sort of credibility that suddenly changed the way we
see ourselves and the way others see us. Being a
championship city is an attainment of sports immortality. Right. That
(35:51):
also changes the conversation. Yet again, I know that, of
course I'm selling my city all the time, right, And
I know that any conversation I have, for as long
as I'm mayor beyond the borders of my city limits,
that conversation will start with this.
Speaker 8 (36:08):
Right.
Speaker 6 (36:08):
This is a conversation starter. It's a credibility builder.
Speaker 9 (36:12):
Right.
Speaker 6 (36:12):
People who are thinking about creating jobs in our city,
investing in our city, you know, bringing some restaurant we
don't have, bringing some retail we don't have. Right, They'll
say they'll begin their thought process by saying, well, gosh,
if they have an NBA championship, they must be they
must be important enough for me to do businesses. And
that feels silly, but it's real. I mean, it's just
(36:35):
and I'm a mayor. I live in reality. And the
reality of this is that a championship changes you forever.
And that's why I think of this moment as probably
one of the five most significant events in the history
of the city. Positive events in the history of the city,
like you know, the discovery of oil and gas, the
arrival of an air force, base we have here called
(36:55):
Tinker Air Force Base that employs thirty thousand people. The
arrival of the team, the attainment of a championship. I
mean that's like, that's some of the top five events
I think in one hundred and thirty plus years of history.
It's not significant, and yeah it will. It changes our
city forever and obviously in a very positive way, and
we're excited about that.
Speaker 8 (37:16):
Our thanks to Oklahoma City Mayor David Hold for joining us.
And that does it for the Bloomberg Business of Sports
And have you missed any part of it? Check it
out on demand on the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast.
Find that on Apple, Spotify and all your favorite platforms.
For my colleagues, Damian Sasaur and Vanessa Berdomo, I'm Michael Barr.
Tune in again next week for the latest home the
(37:36):
stories moving big money in the world of sports. You're
listening to The Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio
around the world, and don't forget to catch our podcast
This is the Business of Sports.
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Sports are the greatest unscripted show owner.
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Your face is your ticket, your face is your wallet,
Your face is your access to a club.
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These are such iconic and important buildings for businesses.
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For fans, COVID was one of the best things that
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Speaker 1 (00:35):
Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 8 (00:39):
This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore
the big money issues in the world of sports. Michael
Barr along with my colleagues Damien Sassauer and Vanessa Perdomo.
Coming up on the show, we'll celebrate the newest NBA
champions the Oklahoma City Thunder. We'll talk about what the
big win means for the city with Oklahoma City Mayor
David Holt.
Speaker 6 (01:00):
In a championship city is an attainment of sports immortality.
It's just it's such a game changer for our city.
Speaker 8 (01:06):
We've got that and more on the way on the
Bloomberg Business of Sports, and we start with Bloomberg US
sports business reporter Randall Williams, who is here to take
us through those finals and some of the other big
headlines lately in basketball, including that big, big, big, big, big,
big big announcement from last week about the Lakers sale
and more.
Speaker 7 (01:27):
Hi, Randall Williams, it just sounded like a teacher when
you get in trouble or get caught doing something. But
good to see you too, mister b and thank you
for having me.
Speaker 9 (01:39):
Man.
Speaker 8 (01:40):
There's a lot of stuff that is jumping off, especially recently.
There's so many ways to go in the NBA here,
but let's talk about one of the biggest stories in
the NBA that has happened in the past several days.
The Lakers. Now this used to be a bus family
production and now this is about the change. Know us
about it.
Speaker 7 (02:00):
Yeah, Mark Walter has bought a majority stake in the
Lakers to be valued at ten billion dollars. It is
high mode that I don't see anybody passing for a
very long time, very long, being maybe five to ten years.
Speaker 8 (02:14):
Wow.
Speaker 7 (02:15):
Mark Walters is obviously the owner of the Dodgers. If
you are an LA native, if you're a Lakers fan,
this is a great sign.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
So wait a second, I just have to go back.
Speaker 10 (02:23):
You don't think that every team like the Dallas Cowboys
were valued at ten point one billion as of last
year by Sportico, that all those valuations don't explode to
the upside off the back of it.
Speaker 7 (02:31):
So I do think the Day will be valued in more.
But I think as far as a control sale, this
is going to be the high mark for a bit interesting.
I think like if the Seahawks were put up for
sale tomorrow, I don't know that Day would go for ten.
I think they might go for seven or eight. But
ten is high.
Speaker 11 (02:48):
Ten's high, And the question is how do you get
to ten after Mark Walter's invested into the team four
years ago for evaluation of five billion? They have they
didn't they don't own their arena, they didn't win a
new championship. How do you double your valuation four years? Then?
Speaker 7 (03:03):
I think it's all in brand value in media of course,
like they have a new media deal that hasn't kicked
in yet. It'll kick in next year. But the Lakers
are one of the biggest brands in the world period
and in sports, Like they're a top three sports brand,
and there are some people who say they're the number
one sports brand, ahead of both the Yankees and the Cowboys.
Now I don't know about that, but and I'll leave
that up to debate, but the Lakers are top three.
(03:25):
And with that in mind, like you think about how
many sports franchises have been relevant for fifty years. And
I'm not talking about like, oh, yeah, they won back
in the day and I remember those good old days,
like the Celtics are sort of like that, Like the
Celtics won a gazillion championships sixty years ago and then
they've won two in the last twenty five years. The
Lakers have won championships in every single decade over the
(03:48):
past fifty years, I believe, all the way back to
the eighties, nineties, and then of course the two thousands
and twenty tens as well. And so when you're thinking
about that, as well as the amount of superstars they've had,
Like if you ever played NBA two cap and you
look at the all time Lakers team. It's magic, Kobe, James, Worthy,
Shaq and Kareem. That doesn't even include Lebron and now
(04:09):
Luca and so many other stellar players who just pack
out arenas. And there aren't that many franchises in the
NBA or in the NFL or in the MLB who
can say, no matter who's here, we're going to sell out.
Speaker 8 (04:22):
Now, by the way, we got to talk about something else.
The ratings for Game seven of this past NBA Finals.
ESPN was happy with Game seven, about sixteen point four
million viewers, according to Nielsen Data, watched the thunder in
Game seven go on to win. Now, the games before
(04:44):
that a little shaky, And I think part of that historically, Yeah,
I think part of it is as you thought we were.
That they thought okay see was gonna win hands down.
Speaker 7 (04:55):
Why do you all think ratings are low?
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I'm interested.
Speaker 8 (04:58):
People thought okay c was going to run away with it.
You know, nobody expected any drama from the Indiana Pacers,
and all of a sudden, here we go and it's
like people are thinking, man, I should have been watching
game viving games.
Speaker 10 (05:10):
Well, I did hear that the game one was like
nine million, and that was like the lowest since like
the eighties or something like that.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I don't know if that's true or not. I mean, Randall,
it's been.
Speaker 7 (05:19):
It's been the Game one and two ratings were low.
But I would say this to the ratings conversation is that, yes,
ratings are low. I think that there's blame to place everywhere.
If I ask you where Tyrese Haliburton went to school,
do you know, No, I don't, Okay, you went to
Iowa State. That's something that if you watch the games,
and I don't know whether you did it or didn't,
but that's something that should be talked about all throughout
(05:41):
these playoffs is the journey that these players go through,
and that's not discussed as much on the broadcast anymore.
We have trades happening in the middle of the NBA Finals,
and Kevin Durant is a marvelous player, but that never
happened a decade ago where trades were happening in the
middle of this thing, and it takes away of the attention.
And also there's blame to place on media as well.
(06:03):
ESPN did not treat the NBA Finals like the NBA Finals.
I think, from top to bottom, the broadcast was average.
Stephen A is an incredible talent, but a lot of
times who he's paired with and the conversation they're having
does not make you excited for the game. When someone
says I'm not excited about going to Oklahoma City to
watch this game, and you're a fan listening to that,
(06:23):
of course you don't want to come. And so I
think it's two things. It's storytelling around the league. How
do you uplift these superstars? So if you take away
the storytelling, it's also from the brand perspective. How many
Converse advertisements did you see for Shay Gildes, Alexander or
Tyre's Halliburn who debuted his new signature Shoot, you didn't
see any but a decade ago. If this was Lebron,
(06:45):
if this was KD, if this was Kobe, Nike would
have for sure had signature sneaker commercials. My favorite commercials
are all time are the Lebron and Kobe puppets.
Speaker 8 (06:56):
Yeah, but no, we don't.
Speaker 7 (06:58):
See that branding anymore, and so you don't see the branding.
If you're a kid watching this, what makes you want
to continue to tune into this? When the broadcasters act
like they don't want to be there when you don't
know anything about the players and the brands aren't promoting it.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
I don't think it's so I guess. I mean, I mean,
it's the point fingers.
Speaker 10 (07:15):
But it's ESPN's fault then, right, I mean, let's be
clear and look, I mean, you must be really upset
the ESPN just bought the pl The premiere was ust
league because look, I didn't think it was there was
something that much wrong with with the broadcast. I just think,
quite honestly, it was a hangover after after some of
the semi final and quarterfinal matches.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I think the next yeah, I did.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
I to differ.
Speaker 7 (07:34):
I think this was a really good finals that if
Halliburton doesn't tear his achilles or roughter his achilles, who
knows how that game goes. He came off firing. But again,
if you don't, if both the NBA and its media
partners partners plural and corporate partners do not act like
the Finals are the most magnificent event in the world,
(07:56):
then people won't If the Super Bowl this year features
the Buffalo Bills and the Green Bay Packers to small
market teams, I guarantee you the NFL is going to
be storytelling around this as if this is the greatest
Super Bowl of all time and it could be a
thirteen to three game. We've seen things like that happen,
But again, if you don't act like it, then people
(08:18):
don't believe it. And that's what's happening right now.
Speaker 8 (08:21):
By the way, I should add, the entire series, it
averaged ten point three million viewers per game. That's the
least since twenty twenty one.
Speaker 11 (08:29):
That goes to the face of the NBA conversation, and
that's really where it goes back to you. And I
feel like one of the things that we're seeing in
the draft and we're seeing all these the MVP conversations,
all that is the conversations around international players and should
they be the face of the NBA and people feel
like they shouldn't be. Why does that matter? And do
(08:50):
people really need to put that aside?
Speaker 7 (08:52):
First of all, it doesn't matter. I think that people
love good basketball regardless, but having an international face is
so new for the league. I mean, you think about
the most popular players in the last three finals have
all been international stars. Joker most popular, Luca is more
popular than both Tatum and Brown, and then this.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Year, of course you have SDA.
Speaker 7 (09:15):
However, if you don't again, if you don't market it
like that, if you're not ready to embrace it, and
if the Americans aren't succeeding, we were reminded that America
is still dominating in the basketball forum. Of course, with
the twenty twenty four Olympics, there's no guarantee that that's
going to happen in twenty twenty eight in LA. I
would argue that I wouldn't be surprised if they lost
in twenty twenty eight in LA because of the fact
(09:38):
that the old guard will be gone. We've watched Lebron
and KD Carrey team USA for a decade and a
half now, but again, this new guard is coming up.
People don't know that much about them.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
But if you've.
Speaker 7 (09:51):
Watched the NBA, I mean, the last seven MVPs have
all been international players. You now have an international championship
in some aspect with Shay winning. It had one two
years ago with Jokers. So this is a reoccurring theme
and I think the NBA is going to get better
at this. They're going to have to challenge ESPN to
stop defecating on their game.
Speaker 8 (10:11):
But you know, I'm.
Speaker 7 (10:13):
Serious if you watch, if you watch the NFL coverage
versus the NBA coverage, the NFL coverage is so much
more in depth, and the games are different. I'm not
saying that they're not different. If you watch NFL live,
you watch NBA today. And also this is due to
the fact that the seasons are different. The NFL game
is much more condensed, and so ESPN's coverage naturally and
(10:34):
basketball coverage naturally leans into the drama. But when it's
playoff time, the drama is over. The drama has to
be on the court because, as we've seen over the
past decade, drama is going to happen in June and July,
regardless whether you're talking about it in May or April
or even January. But if you're talking about it in
the midst of your playoffs, people are looking to be like, yeah,
(10:54):
the playoffs, but oh boy, I can't wait for free
agency to happen.
Speaker 8 (10:57):
Speaking of drama now, by the way, be a draft
first round Cooper Flag Dallas Mavericks. Yeah, surprise, now crazy,
But the one that caught me for drama Danny Wolf.
He was picked twenty seventh overall by the Brooklyn Nets,
and then you see the shot of his mother crying,
(11:19):
and then you see the shot of him crying, and
then there's a shot of me crying. Because I thought
that was one of the most touching things when you're
talking about sports.
Speaker 7 (11:29):
I think that this NBA drafting and watching it, I
saw more tears and just more emotional moments than I've
seen in a long time, and that was beautiful to see.
Not a lot of drama. I think the Mavericks part
of it is incredibly fascinating. Just the last twelve months
of the Mavericks I'd say eighteen months, even with Cuban
selling to the Addison family. It's going to need a
(11:52):
documentary someday. Just it doesn't matter if they win or lose,
but just the fact that a team sold, They traded
the the biggest superstar arguably in the franchise history. I
think Luca is a bit more popular than Dirk. And
then you draft a number one pick again like just
the chances of that are crazy. But again, NBA draft,
(12:12):
very emotional night. I thought it was a great and
fun thing to watch.
Speaker 8 (12:17):
Randall Williams, I love you, man, Thank you for coming
and joining us on the Bloomberg Business. Apreciate you for
having me as always, thanks to Randa Williams for joining us.
He's Bloomberg You has sports Business Reporter Up. Next, we
take a break from basketball and turn to the grid iron.
We'll talk with someone who is working on bringing the
latest tech and AI to Jellette Stadium, colleagues Damian Tasaur
(12:42):
and Vanessa Bernomo. I'm Michael Barr. You are listening to
the Bloomberg Business of Sports Bloomberg Radio around the world.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 8 (12:58):
This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports. Have we explore
the big money issues in the world of sports? Michael
Barr along with Damian Sassaur. The Craft Group is going
all in on AI across their businesses and that includes
the New England Patriots and their home venue, Gillette Stadium.
In April, the Craft Group announced a new partnership with NWN,
(13:21):
North America's largest AI power technology solutions provider. And here
to talk to us about the partnership and other tech
innovations that could come to Gillette is Michael Israel. He's
chief Information and Technology Officer for the Craft Group. Michael
Welcome to the Bloomberg Business of Sports.
Speaker 12 (13:41):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 8 (13:42):
One thing you guys are dabbling in it involves AI
power technology solutions and you guys are working with it.
Can you tell us about that and the impact that's
having on the sport, on sports in general?
Speaker 12 (13:59):
Yea, in general. So from a we started with AI
based technology at the stadium a couple of years ago.
Really where we started with is video anomaly detection and
using standard security camera footage, intercepting that footage and detecting
real time what's happening in the stadium. So if someone
leaves a bag behind, if a concession line is long,
(14:23):
if a garbage cans overflowing, detecting that and creating action
associated with that. So if a concession line is long,
do I need more cashiers, if a garbage can's overflowing,
automatically dispatching custodial staff. So using video that would normally
just go unused to create actionary items and enhance our
(14:45):
guest experiences as they're coming in. Moving forward, we're looking
at things like facial recognition for entry for concession purchasing,
where it's tied to a digital wallet. So if you
walk up and you opt in. If you walk up
to a eight entry line, it will see your face,
shred your ticket. You walk up to a concession stand,
I want a cheeseburger, a B or a fries. It
(15:07):
checks your ID, hits your credit card, hits our loyalty system,
and you're often going so looking at speed of transaction,
enhance customer service, really new ways to make your experience
at the stadium better.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Mike, let's talk about the razor.
Speaker 10 (15:23):
I mean, as a New York Jets fan, that's one
of my least favorite places to be Foxborough, New England.
But nevertheless, I have to ask you about how your
technology is going to change the fan experience at the Blade.
I mean I am hearing some wonderful things about what
you're doing. You're overhauling the entire IT infrastructure. I mean,
talk to us about what's going on up there.
Speaker 12 (15:43):
Well, we're essentially taking you know, our stadium is now
a little over twenty years old and technology was stagnant.
Really refreshing the entire technology stack across the stadium with
the folks over at NWN, helping us rebuild our staff,
but again create more engaging experiences. So IPTV putting unique
(16:07):
video content into our suites, into our concourses. So that's
based on where you are. You may be seeing different things,
but really enhanced experiences so that it's better than being
at home.
Speaker 8 (16:22):
You're also involved with I guess training facilities and applying
the applications to help keep players informed and engaged. Tell
us about that, correct.
Speaker 12 (16:34):
Our new training facility is being built as we speak,
will be coming live next April. We'll have new draft rooms,
We'll have new content spaces, so WebEx platforms in all
of our meeting rooms, locations, within weight rooms, training facilities,
where folks can go, what's my schedule for the day,
(16:54):
what specific plans do I have? When's our next meal time?
But in our conference rooms, having the ability to control
everything from the lights, from blinds, from the content on
the screens, right from our common Cisco touch pads.
Speaker 10 (17:09):
So Michael, you know we have a pretty sophisticated audience
here at the Bloomberg Business of Sports, and you know
it's not just about sports. I mean the Craft Group
is the holding company for one hundred different portfolio companies
like Venture Pe, Direct Investments, you name it. I mean
the Rand Whitney Container Company, I mean all of that stuff.
Talk to us about how these different verticals, what you're
doing with them, how AI, how your technology is enhancing
(17:32):
the productivity across the board.
Speaker 12 (17:34):
Sure, so we're we have right now in excess of
seventy five different AI based use cases that are being evaluated.
So it could be something as simple in sports as
automatically transcribing press conferences as they happen, or going into
our manufacturing facilities, looking at a tractor trailer as it
(17:55):
comes into our facility and monitoring when it enters, how
long is it in a docking, how long does it
take to unload that tractor and when does it leave
our facility and comparing that to our invoices as they
come in and saying, hey, that truck wasn't here an
hour and a half. We have it documented of only
thirty eight minutes for an unload. That's resulting in a
(18:16):
decrease in our expenses. Monitoring how raw materials are getting
loaded onto our conveyor belts to make sure they're being
loaded in a sequential order, Or looking at our manufacturing
facility in Worcestern, Massachusetts, what's the proper sequencing of box
manufacturing orders? So that we have the least amount of
(18:36):
waste coming out of that machine, so that we can
get the most out of a roll of paper. All
of these pieces are looking at how we do business
historically and how can we use AI to change that
in the future, enhance our operations, reduce costs, reduce complexity.
Speaker 10 (18:52):
You know, Michael, the impact of technology on sports really
just I mean today, I mean, just for example, I
mean the fact that Amazon, Apple and Netflix are now
airing you know, you know, NFL games as opposed to
you know, Disney and Morner Brothers and things like that.
You know, but it extends beyond that, right, It extends
to you know, esports for example. It extends to sports betting,
and you know, I just want to ask you about,
(19:12):
you know, some of the features you're going to be
implementing within you know, Jillette Stadium. You know, how do
they take advantage of the one hundred billion dollars in
revenue that the sports betting globally, the sports global sports
betting market is generated in twenty twenty four alone. I mean,
are there are there designs to sort of capture a
bit of that.
Speaker 8 (19:29):
There's gambling going on.
Speaker 12 (19:30):
I'm shocked, Well, there's there's no official gambling going on
from our perspective. We have some sponsors who are there,
but when folks are here at the stadium, I have
to make sure I have enough bandwidth to support whatever
they're looking to do fair and we will look at
you know, on a typical game day, we have sixty
thousand people in the in the stadium, we will have
(19:53):
in access of forty five to fifty thousand unique clients
on our Wi Fi network, and we monitor the applications
that they're using. And yes, it's the Yahoo and the
Instagrams and those types of pieces, but the sports betting
apps are gaining and gaining, so we have to make
sure we have enough bandwidth to support whatever they're doing
in real time. If they want to make a bet
(20:13):
on the fourth quarter and what's going to happen, they
don't want to wait, they don't want to see an hourglass.
They want real responsive networks, and we have that and
we continue to evolve and make it faster, make it better.
Speaker 10 (20:23):
You know, in the fan experience, it's not just about football, right,
I mean, it's also about you know, concerts, it's about
you know, all the other stuff that goes on, you know,
it's let's stadium. Talk to us a little bit about
you know, what you're doing there, how you're capturing you know,
a greater I guess percentage of the fan engagement experience
as it were. I mean, talk to us about, you know,
how you make going to a fish concert, for example,
(20:44):
even more enjoyable than it already is.
Speaker 12 (20:49):
Well, it's you know, the challenge goes from concert to concert.
When you see like, for example, several years ago we
had Taylor Swift. We had two hundred and fifteen thousand
guests in this over three days. When we're sitting when
I'm sitting walking in the stadium and there's sixty thousand
guests in. But I hear on my radio that there's
seventy thousand unique people on Wi Fi. How can that be? Well,
(21:13):
you have a TikTok challenge in your parking lot. Ten
thousand sands that are in your parking lot. That's something
you don't plan for. So what we do is look
and saying, hey, we need to make sure we're prepared
for what comes tomorrow. We have FIFA World Cup coming
to our stadium next summer. We're preparing now for that
influx of seven matches and the amount of bandwidth that
(21:34):
we're going to need, the amount of stand up, pop
up retail and concession locations, enhancing our TVs, enhancing our
IPTV frameworks. This is all stuff that is not stagnant.
It doesn't sit still. We have to make sure we
are a step ahead of what our fans are expecting
and what my business is asking of us.
Speaker 8 (21:55):
Our thanks to Michael Israel for joining us. He's chief
information and Technology officer for the group. Sticking with Football
the latest episode of the Deal with Alex Rodriguez and
Jason Kelly, featuring a conversation with two Titans legendary coach
Bill Belichick and Bridgewater founder Ray Dallyo. Those two know
(22:15):
a lot about winning and success. Let's take a listen
to a portion of that conversation.
Speaker 13 (22:21):
Bill, You've played for multiple owners. No need to mention names,
that's not important. What is important is from your experience
and your lens. What makes a good owner, good management
team to support what you do on the field.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Well, again, I think it starts with what Ray just
said is what are your goals? What are your goals?
Is it the bottom line? Is it financial? Is it championships?
You know, and you've been a player, and I'm sure
that you felt like, as a player, you wanted a
path to a championship, and once something got in the
way of that path, you wanted it removed. Yeah, whatever
(22:55):
it happened to be, whether it's travel or you know,
personnel or the way something was handled, that it affected
your performance as a player. And I would say those
two don't necessarily align, you know, financial success and on
the field success, that there could be a trade off
there that I think as an owner you have to
(23:16):
make a decision as to you know what you probably
want the best of both, but ultimately which one is
the driving force? And that's probably like that in a
lot of businesses. You know, what are your goals and
if goals are you know, truly winning. You know as
a player that you want to remove every obstacle that
(23:37):
could be in the way of a manager or a
player of achieving his winning goals. Financially, that could be expensive.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
So Ray, it's interesting, you know, over the years of
you know, covering Wall Street and investing for Bloomberg, I
got to watch you build this firm, and part of
one of the underlying principles I believe is this notion
of innovation and always sort of changing and evolving and
both of you and we'll get to coach in a second,
have you know, sort of pushed into new markets? How
(24:07):
how do you think about that? How do you think
about innovation? What's your What are the principles underlying how
you go on and build into something new?
Speaker 5 (24:16):
I don't know if it's much thinking about it as
much as feeling it. You know, you feel the excitement,
you feel the poll. You know, one of the principles
that I that he's praised so well. And I also
is being comfortable being uncomfortable?
Speaker 8 (24:31):
Okay?
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Or I might say also the reverse, I'm sometimes uncomfortable
if I'm comfortable, Okay, Okay.
Speaker 8 (24:40):
That's just a little taste A little sample of the
latest episode of the Deal with Alex Rodvegas and Jason Kelly,
featuring Bridgewater founder Ray dally O and legendary NFL coach
and now UNC football coach Bill Belichick. Go to Bloomberg
dot com to learn more and catch the full episode
of Next Back Basketball. We celebrate the Oklahoma City Thunders
(25:02):
NBA Finals win with Okay, Ce Mayor, David Holt, Michael Barr.
You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg
Radio around the world.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 8 (25:21):
Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports.
We explore the big money issues in the world of sports.
Michael Barr, along with the Damian Sasaur and Vanessa Bernomo
the Oklahoma City Thunder are NBA champions and superstar Shae
Gillias Alexander at it final MVP to his resume in
the same season. It's one of the most impressive single
seasons for an NBA player in history. Here he is
(25:45):
just after the win.
Speaker 9 (25:47):
It's hard to believe that I'm part of that group.
It's hard to even fathom that I'm that type of
basketball player. Sometimes as a kid, you dream, and every
kid dreams, but you don't never really know if it's
gonna come true. And I'm just glad and happy that
my dreams have been able to come true. And that's
a thank you to everyone that's been in my corner.
(26:08):
That's how me get here. I wouldn't be able done
without them. They know exactly who they are, So yeah,
it's a win for the family.
Speaker 8 (26:13):
That's SGA speaking to reporters after the thunder. One big
for Oklahoma City. Joining us now is the mayor the
winning town, OKC Mayor David Holt. David, congratulations and welcome
to the Bloomberg Business of sports.
Speaker 6 (26:27):
Yeah, thank you for having me business and sports man.
That's the business we've been in lately.
Speaker 8 (26:32):
And Okay, yeah, you just had the parade, you man,
you guys were having some fun. Ok see, bless your hearts.
This is the last time. Only two years ago you
didn't even have a five hundred season and now look
at you, guys.
Speaker 6 (26:51):
It's been an amazing week. It's all happened so fast.
I mean, Sunday night was Game seven. Tuesday morning was
a half a billion people in inten Oklahoma City, an
event unlike anything we've ever had.
Speaker 11 (27:04):
And yeah, it's hard to keep track event.
Speaker 6 (27:07):
Yeah, it's been a whirlwind for sure. And I'll and
I guess I'll sleep when I'm dead because it's it's
been that kind of weird.
Speaker 11 (27:13):
I feel like, right because it feels like you won't
be able to really relax for a while because something
you did at the parade was announced a celebration day
for every single player on the team over the next month.
What what are they those days going to look like?
And how do you celebrate every single person on over
(27:33):
the next month.
Speaker 6 (27:34):
Yes, well, yeah, so I proclaimed there's eighteen people on
the roster, and by the way, the Thunder, you know,
it's part of their culture is to really extend that
as far as possible. So that eighteen, of course is
I think higher than like the official roster, right, but
that includes three people that were two way players who
you know, were playing ineligible at the end of the
(27:56):
regular season but kind of carried through as members of
the team in as far as the Thunder we're concerned.
So there's eighteen days I proclaimed, starting after July fourth
and going all the way till July thirtieth. And you know,
I don't think we'll have half a million people show
up for each of those days. I think we will,
you know, I will issue a proclamation. It may be
(28:17):
more of a social media event than a in real
life event, but it definitely felt appropriate and it definitely
felt good and proper to sort of carry this forward.
I don't think anyone in Oklahoma City is done celebrating
this championship. I suspect on some level we'll be kind
of in celebration mode all the way till the regular
(28:39):
season tips off in October.
Speaker 8 (28:41):
And there's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 10 (28:42):
Well, mister Mayor, Michael bar brings up a really really
interesting point. In the twenty twenty two to twenty three season,
the Thunder were below five hundred and it was in
September of twenty three. If I'm not mistaken that you
were the one who announced that proposal to publicly fund
a new arena in Oklahoma City, and part of the
deal was to get the Thunder to stay in Oklahoma
City beyond twenty fifty and you know you did it,
(29:03):
and you got it with seventy one percent voting for
the new arena. I mean, and look at where we
are now. So this is really just an unbelievable whirlwind
of a few years.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
For you know.
Speaker 6 (29:14):
Yeah, and by the way, we inked the deal to
like in writing, to keep the team here till twenty
fifty three. Last week we our council passed it between
Games five and six of the NBA Finals. I mean, yeah,
so it's been a lot of developments lately. But to
your point, and let me back up just a little
bit to say, you know, the relationship between this team
(29:36):
and this city I think is very unique. You know,
this was our first major league professional sports team. It
really redefined our city when it came here in two
thousand and eight. I often say that the you know,
the closest thing America has to a blue ribbon that
it bestows upon its top tier cities is is major
league professional sports team, especially in the NFL, the MLB,
(29:57):
and the NBA, and and so we value that. We recognize,
we can see with our own eyes how life was
different but before two thousand and eight and after two
thousand and eight in ways that extend far beyond basketball.
And so their original fifteen year lease was expiring in
twenty twenty three. Our arena is it's like the second
cheapest in the league. It's the smallest in the league
(30:19):
by square footage, it's over twenty years old. It was
obvious that we were not going to be able to
secure long term contract with this team or any team
with that arena. And we built it before the team came,
so it's not even really an NBA arena, you know,
it's actually built with the NHL in mind. So we
(30:39):
we went through a community conversation and as you said.
In late twenty three, seventy one percent of voters approved
a six year one cent sales tax to build a
new billion dollar arena. And I don't have to tell
you cities don't pass these things, like most cities have
stopped trying. Exactly around the time we voted on this,
Kansas City defeated theirs. But that's You're for us twenty
(31:01):
five year commitment in the new arena, basically like thirty
years in total, and you know, our thunder for another generation.
And then obviously after that, the team you know on
the court has gone to another level. They are now champions.
We inked the deal finally after a year and a
half of negotiating the lease, just last week in the
(31:21):
midst of the NBA Finals. And actually next month we'll
be able to release the renderings of the new arena.
So yeah, it is an exciting time. And okay, see
relative to the thunder on every level.
Speaker 10 (31:31):
Well, mister Mayor, Michael Barr reminds me that this journey
for you began all the way back in two thousand
and eight when you were part of you know, if
I'm not mistaken, the former mayor or to convince the
Seattle superhnucts to come to Oklahoma City. So congratulations, I mean,
this is unbelievable. And look, I mean you've got the
Summer Olympics coming up in twenty twenty eight, right, I
mean isn't Oklahoma City slated to host a few events there?
Speaker 8 (31:53):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (31:54):
You know as and yes, I was chief of staff
to my predecessor when the thunder came in two thousand
and eight. So yeah, I've been there at every step
of this journey. And for an OKC kid who grew
up in a city that didn't have pro sports and
never could have imagined having pro sports, it's pretty special.
Speaker 10 (32:10):
On many posters and mantle on your wall growing up,
I imagine.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
So but yeah, to your point, you know, we have
and it's sort of been organic in the end. I mean,
obviously we strategically pursued different initiatives, but the way that
they've all come together feels a little organic. But we
have definitely leveraged sports in our community as a way
to build and so you reference the Olympics, you know,
but it all kind of starts obviously with the NBA.
(32:37):
We of course have made major investments in softball, which
made us the softball capital of the world and the
home of the College Women's College World Series, which is
one of the great events in American sport now. And
then of course we invested in whitewater rafting of all things,
you know, and have the only whitewater facility west of
the Mississippi, and that allowed us to attract a lot
of international events. And then you know, this opportunity came
(33:00):
along where Los Angeles was really looking to have us
sustainable games and didn't want to build facilities that they
didn't have. And here in Oklahoma City, of all places,
we have, as I said, the only whitewater facility west
of the Mississippi, the biggest softball stadium in the world
by two and a half times. And so we began
a conversation sort of confidentially seven years ago, first started
(33:24):
between my friend, the former mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti,
and then of course Casey Wasserman joined that conversation and
we worked through this over the last several years until
it finally became public about a year ago. And now
we are going to have those two sports, softball and
canoe slalom. That's the Olympic work phrase for what whitewater
canoe kayak is.
Speaker 12 (33:45):
And we're going to have.
Speaker 6 (33:45):
Those two sports seven total events here in Oklahoma City
in twenty twenty eight. And we're the only city outside
of Southern California that's hosting an entire sport, much less
two And that means there's going to be events every
day of the Summer Olympics here in OKC. Which, again,
as an okay See kid, if I could, if I
would find it hard to comprehend that we're the home
of the NBA champions. It's even more beyond my comprehension
(34:08):
to imagine that people will have gold medals put around
their necks here in Oklahoma City in twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 10 (34:14):
Well you've done it, mister Mayor, Me and Michael Barr Vanessa,
We're coming down to the Big Friendly. We're gonna visit
count Them and Steakhouse. We're gonna go to Stockyard City.
We're gonna go to Nickey Mantles, We're gonna We're gonna
do it. We're gonna go to Arino Franienburgers at Michael.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Barr oh Man.
Speaker 8 (34:27):
You know what, years ago, many years ago, I was
in okay See because I think that the ABC had
a bowling tournament there, and I used to be a
big bowler and I used to I loved it. I
had a good time in Oklahoma City.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
I can hear mister Mayor yawning on the other end of.
Speaker 6 (34:43):
I'm gonna guess that the city has grown and changed
a lot since then. I would love to show you
the modern version of Oklahoma City.
Speaker 8 (34:53):
You know what? And you're let me tell you. I
know time is short, but were I was talking about
this before you how much of a geezer I am,
mister Mayor? Uh the year you were born. I just
got my permit to drive a car. That's how old
I am. I am geezered. Don't it's bad, Michael.
Speaker 11 (35:16):
It's called wisdom, actually.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
You know.
Speaker 8 (35:19):
Okay, well that's what we'll go with that.
Speaker 11 (35:22):
Mister Mayer. I'm curious, you know, you're you're saying how
much the city has changed the sense, So how much
does the city now change after being NBA champions?
Speaker 12 (35:29):
What else does.
Speaker 6 (35:31):
Because I really feel it is a significant change. I mean,
so if you think about how getting a team provided
this sort of credibility that suddenly changed the way we
see ourselves and the way others see us. Being a
championship city is an attainment of sports immortality. Right. That
(35:51):
also changes the conversation. Yet again, I know that, of
course I'm selling my city all the time, right, And
I know that any conversation I have, for as long
as I'm mayor beyond the borders of my city limits,
that conversation will start with this.
Speaker 8 (36:08):
Right.
Speaker 6 (36:08):
This is a conversation starter. It's a credibility builder.
Speaker 9 (36:12):
Right.
Speaker 6 (36:12):
People who are thinking about creating jobs in our city,
investing in our city, you know, bringing some restaurant we
don't have, bringing some retail we don't have. Right, They'll
say they'll begin their thought process by saying, well, gosh,
if they have an NBA championship, they must be they
must be important enough for me to do businesses. And
that feels silly, but it's real. I mean, it's just
(36:35):
and I'm a mayor. I live in reality. And the
reality of this is that a championship changes you forever.
And that's why I think of this moment as probably
one of the five most significant events in the history
of the city. Positive events in the history of the city,
like you know, the discovery of oil and gas, the
arrival of an air force, base we have here called
(36:55):
Tinker Air Force Base that employs thirty thousand people. The
arrival of the team, the attainment of a championship. I
mean that's like, that's some of the top five events
I think in one hundred and thirty plus years of history.
It's not significant, and yeah it will. It changes our
city forever and obviously in a very positive way, and
we're excited about that.
Speaker 8 (37:16):
Our thanks to Oklahoma City Mayor David Hold for joining us.
And that does it for the Bloomberg Business of Sports
And have you missed any part of it? Check it
out on demand on the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast.
Find that on Apple, Spotify and all your favorite platforms.
For my colleagues, Damian Sasaur and Vanessa Berdomo, I'm Michael Barr.
Tune in again next week for the latest home the
(37:36):
stories moving big money in the world of sports. You're
listening to The Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio
around the world, and don't forget to catch our podcast
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