Diamond Baseball Holdings is acquiring the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the White Sox. The transaction includes the Knights’ ballpark, Truist Field and the adjacent Paper Mill Pub. The Knights are being sold by local businessman Don Beaver, who has owned the team since 1997.

The club will continue to be run by the existing executive staff, led by COO Dan Rajkowski. Financial details of the transaction were not immediately available, though other recent Triple-A team sales have been valued in the high eight figures. Owners of the NBA’s Kings, along with an investment from Arctos Sports Partners, acquired a majority stake in the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats at a reported $90M valuation in 2022. DBH in December bought the Worcester Red Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Red Sox, for around $70M.

The Knights will be the 35th team in the DBH portfolio and the sixth club acquired this year. The minor league team roll-up strategy is backed by private equity giant Silver Lake, which in 2022 acquired the business, then with a ten-team portfolio, from Endeavor for $280M. The Knights will be the third White Sox affiliate owned by DBH, joining the Double-A Birmingham Barons and the High-A Winston-Salem Dash. 

The Knights last year ranked tenth in average home game attendance (6,833) among MLB-affiliated minor league teams, and the club has been at or near the top of that list since opening its Uptown-area ballpark in 2014. The Charlotte Business Journal in January reported that Beaver and minority partner Bill Allen had begun seeking offers for the team. Beaver had previously attempted to relocate the Twins to North Carolina in the late 1990s. Charlotte is currently among the markets thought to be in the mix for a potential MLB expansion team, though MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has indicated the league’s future expansion plans remain years away.

NBC on Sunday night delivered the best audience for a U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials telecast since 2012. The network averaged 5.2 million viewers in primetime (8:37-11pm ET), which was highlighted by Noah Lyles winning the 100 meters on the men’s side. NBC peaked at 5.7 million during Lyles win at 10:45pm. The Sunday night program also featured commentary from Snoop Dogg. Saturday night, NBC drew 4.1 million viewers for track and field coverage, which featured Sha’Carri Richardson winning the women’s 100-meter final. That was up 41% from the corresponding Saturday night leading into the Tokyo Games in 2021.

The nine nights of U.S. Swimming Trials from Indianapolis averaged 3.4 million viewers on NBC (does not include qualifying on USA Network during the afternoons). That’s up 26% from three years ago. Diving trials also saw an 18% gain this year.

NEWPORT -- The International Tennis Hall of Fame today unveiled a series of renovations to its museum that are scheduled to take place between November 2024 and May 2025.

The facility -- which began operating as the sport’s hall of fame in 1954 and hosting a grass court ATP tournament, now called the Infosys Hall of Fame Open, on-site in 1976 -- last underwent renovations to its museum in 2015. Following an RFP process, it retained Advent, a Nashville-based experiential design firm that has spearheaded facility projects for several Power Five universities, to lead the project.

“[What we’re trying to accomplish] is to not only preserve what is already out there,” said ITHF CEO Dan Faber, “but to prepare for the global eyes that are going to be here in Newport -- it’s super exciting when you think about this golden era of [players] who’s going to be inducted coming up in the next five to 10 years.”
The renovations will be funded using a portion -- totaling just over $3M, according to Faber -- of a $12M capital raise that the ITHF began in 2018 called the Tennis Forever campaign, which has also underpinned recent court renovations and community engagement programs.

Premier League club Liverpool announced a multi-year deal with Japan Airlines to become the club’s “official airline partner,” terms of the deal were not disclosed. The sponsorship is something Liverpool has not had “since the end of their partnership with Malaysia Airlines in 2019.”  Japan Airlines will “collaborate closely with the LFC Foundation on key community initiatives across global markets” and “look forward to a shared journey of community empowerment and inspiring moments.” The first initiative will kick off in July, with the airline supporting a youth football clinic in conjunction with LFC’s international pre-season match held in Philadelphia (LIVERPOOL ECHO, 6/25). 

The Pelicans are promoting front office exec Swin Cash -- a former WNBA star and Basketball HOFer -- to SVP/Basketball Operations, making her "one of the highest-ranking women in an NBA front office" (X, 6/25). Cash, who also won two Olympic gold medals as a member of the women's national team, has been working as the Pelicans' VP/Basketball Operations & Team Development since June 2019. She was named N.Y. Liberty Dir of Franchise Development in 2017 and also worked as an analyst on NBA TV. The Pelicans also named the replacement for departed GM Trajan Langdon, promoting assistant GM Bryson Graham to the role (YAHOO SPORTS, 6/25).

NBA corporate sponsors are finalizing activation plans for the league’s first two-day draft, which starts tomorrow evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

State Farm is again presenting sponsor of the draft, one of eight league sponsors with commercial inventory in the ABC/ESPN TV coverage, along with AmEx, AT&T, DoorDash, Expedia, Meta, New Balance and Pepsi. The insurer also gets in-arena promotion and event signage, and three draftees will post a tune-in asset on their Instagram stories.

Pepsi’s Starry soda brand gets a “Dance Cam” in-arena promotion; AmEx is hosting 90 guests at a pre-draft reception; while Tissot continues its “Define Your Greatness” social media series with players answering questions in the arena after being selected.

Neophyte NBA official bank SoFi is hosting a watch party at N.Y. nightclub Slate and paid off a sweeps promo with trips to the draft.

Licensee activation includes New Era draft caps, worn annually as crowns by draftees. New Era has Donovan Clingan (UConn), Dalton Knecht (Tennessee), Jared McCain (Duke) and Tristan da Silva (Colorado) under contract, largely for social media activation.

NBA exclusive trading-card rightsholder Panini has more than 40 expected draftees under contract, including Reed Sheppard (Kentucky), Knecht, Clingan and McCain. Panini will release the players’ first physical trading cards online and capture social media content backstage.  

KFC has stepped in with some assault marketing, on the draft, via a TV commercial with former Purdue C and presumed high draft pick Zach Edey touting its Value Menu. The spot depicts Edey exiting the draft to grab some KFC after seeing an ad. Edey is repped by Priority Sports and Entertainment. His ad also had to filmed in Canada to adhere to his immigration status.

The Blackhawks will wear a patch advertising sports betting company Circa Sports on their red home jerseys in 2024-25. This is the first time the team will take advantage of the rule the NHL implemented in 2022 allowing teams to add a sponsored jersey patch after two years without one. The Blackhawks have donned an advertisement for Belle Tire on their helmets since 2021 and “will continue to do so” in 2024-25. Circa Sports is based in Las Vegas and is also the Golden Knights’ home jersey sponsor, but they “do have a physical sportsbook” in Waukegan, Ill. The patch will “debut on the jerseys handed out to Hawks draft picks” at the NHL Draft Friday and Saturday (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/25).

Sports tech consultant Next League is hosting the second installment of its Next League University program this week, a two-day educational experience that started today designed for college students and early career professionals looking to carve out their spots in the sports industry.

This year’s cohort features 40 total participants that were either nominated by Next League partners -- such as NASCAR, PGA Tour, USOPC and TMRW Sports -- or student-related groups like the sports management program from Columbia University and the Women in Sports Tech program. Next League debuted the program last year. This year’s cohort features an even split of male and female professionals, with 55% of participants coming from BIPOC communities.

The speaker list includes Doug Perlman (CEO of Sports Media Advisors), Nicole Jeter West (former CEO of Underdog Venture Team and Legends exec.), Lauren Dwyer (senior director, growth and innovation for the WNBA), Jack Ostler (VP of product technology at Overtime) and Devon Fox (PGA Tour senior director of media PMO and QA). Next League University will take place at the company’s N.Y. office.

Next League was the presenting sponsor of SBJ Tech Week in March.

The Chiefs and the NFL announced a partnership with the Hallmark Channel to produce a new Holiday movie titled "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story" for the network's 15th annual Countdown to Christmas event this year. The movie will be shot entirely in Kansas City, Mo., with production "kicking off next month." In addition to the movie, the collaboration "will feature game-day activations, co-branded merchandise and digital promotion." The movie will be executive produced by Skydance Sports, "a newly formed venture between Skydance Media and the NFL" (VARIETY, 6/25)

WIVB-CBS is "expected to announce shortly" that it will have the broadcasting rights for the Bills-Jaguars Monday Night Football game on September 23 "that is being simulcast" on ESPN. WKBW-ABC is "expected to get the rights" to the Bills-Jets MNF game on October 14 (BUFFALO NEWS, 6/25).

The WNBA Sky announced that Jerry Rice-founded G.O.A.T Fuel will be the team's Official Energy Drink. The partnership will include press conference integration, on-court logo placement, celebrity features and in-arena activations (G.O.A.T Fuel).

Team USA Surfing announced that Oakley will be the Olympic team's Official Offshore Outfitter for the 2024 Paris games (Oakley).

Sports Illustrated will partner with Oak View Group to host the second annual Club SI at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November. The experience will be located in turn 12 of the course (SI).

I don’t think there is a Taylor Swift cameo. pic.twitter.com/CuEuL8XGFw

— Joe Flint (@JBFlint) June 25, 2024

More endorsement money coming to the Dodgers since the arrival of Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
This time, it's with AFEELA, a new automotive brand created by Sony and Honda.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 25, 2024

Noteworthy that Bass Pro is staying on as primary sponsor: https://t.co/wMAhlVTiMK

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 25, 2024

The Stanley Cup has made it to the Atlantic Ocean 🏆#TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/ETsZuQFZ4W

— David R (@David954FLA) June 25, 2024

Don’t blink or you’ll miss @BubbaWallace and @23XIRacing in the Columbia No. 23 Toyota with a camo design inspired by the upcoming @lukecombs Performance Hunting Gear collection. pic.twitter.com/7wKfAXXCUI

— columbia1938 (@Columbia1938) June 25, 2024

A flurry of moves for the #Commanders, as the new regime is further set. Doug Williams gets a new title and Rob Rogers remains. SVP of football strategy Eugene Shen is transitioning out of the organization. pic.twitter.com/JymnX0hvoh

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 25, 2024

HBO today unveiled the official trailer for "Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants," which premieres July 2.