Today in Ada, Ohio, where Wilson has manufactured NFL footballs for more than 80 years, the league’s oldest licensee is commemorating both the opening of a $15M factory and the extension of its longtime rights to make NFL game balls.

The 80,000-square-foot factory, next to Wilson’s legacy Ada manufacturing facility, will allow the company to increase annual production of NFL balls from 400,000 to 500,000, with hopes of eventually growing capacity to as many as 700,000.

“We outgrew our old building and really couldn’t keep up with demand, for the past eight or 10 years,’’ said Wilson Global GM/Team Sports Kevin Murphy. 

Key to building the factory was an unusually long-term license from the NFL. Without revealing the specific length, Murphy said it was the longest-term NFL renewal in his 35+ years at Wilson. “We needed business certainty for our board to approve the new factory investment and that’s what we got,” he added. “The NFL was very cooperative there.”

The renewal of a deal that dates to 1941 includes specification of Wilson’s rights as the official ball of the NFL as well as the official ball of NFL Flag Football, which both the company and the league are counting on for growth. Flag Football will be an Olympic sport in the 2028 Games in L.A. Today’s ceremonies in Ada will include a flag football clinic.

The Centennial Authority approved a 20-year lease with the Hurricanes to remain at PNC Arena and a new "agreement for the organization to develop up to 80 acres around the arena." Included in the new lease agreement is $300M in "funding from Raleigh and Wake County for a renovation of PNC Arena" originally announced last August. Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said, "This is the largest economic development project in the history of our city. I don't think you're going to recognize this area five years from now, 10 years from now." The Hurricanes could announce "enhancement projects to the arena ... in July or August," with the entire project not expected to "be completed until 2027 or 2028." The first phase of the project "must contain office space, retail, food and beverage options, and at least 200 multi-family residential rental units" (WRALSPORTSFAN.com, 6/27).

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said today that he "expects the state to put together an aid plan by the end of the year to try to keep" the Chiefs and Royals "from being lured across state lines to new stadiums in Kansas." Missouri’s "still undefined plan likely would require legislative approval," but Parson said he "doesn’t anticipate calling a special legislative session before his term ends in January." Parson said the Chiefs and Royals "'are big business,' comparing them to large companies that have received public aid such as Boeing, Ford and General Motors." But he added that any deal "has to work out on paper, where it’s going to be beneficial to the taxpayers of Missouri." Missouri’s "renewed efforts" come after Kansas approved a plan last week that would finance up to 70% of the cost of new stadiums for the two teams (AP, 6/27).

RELATED: Kansas' plan to win over Chiefs, Royals sets up 'confrontation' with Missouri

Former NCAA President Mark Emmert received a nearly $4.3M "severance payment" from the association when he departed in 2023, new federal tax records show. The documents state that Emmert "received $4,281,279 during the NCAA’s 2023 fiscal year," which ended Aug. 31, 2023. Emmert’s pay from the association for the 2022 calendar year was "just over" $3.3M. The NCAA announced in April 2022 that Emmert would be stepping down by mutual agreement with the NCAA BOG. He "remained on the job until Charlie Baker officially began as president" on March 1, 2023. Baker's pay "was not disclosed on this return because he began working for the association during the 2023 calendar year." Other information revealed by the return included that the NCAA had a little more than $61.5M in "outside legal expenses" during its FY2023 -- its "greatest total since 2020," when it reported $67.7M in such expenses. Going back to FY2014, the NCAA has reported $432.9M in "outside legal expenses" and more than $130M in "legal-cost recoveries from insurance" (USA TODAY, 6/27).

Nike is set to report its Q4 earnings this afternoon after the markets close, and while the company "might be close to seeing the light at the end of a very, very long tunnel of lagging sales and market share losses," there are still many on Wall Street who think today's report "will be less than stellar." Nike has been "plagued by slower sales growth in key markets, a sluggish product innovation cycle, rising competition, and cooling consumer spending in the U.S." this year. Wall Street projects that Nike’s revenue in the quarter ended in May "will be largely flat from a year ago," coming in at $12.9B. The company is "expected to report a profit" (BARRON'S, 6/27).

U.S. Ski & Snowboard and X Games today announced the creation of The Winter X Games Series. Two World Cup events, the twice-annual Toyota U.S. Grand Prix and the Visa Big Air -- both of which include freeskiing and snowboard -- will work in concert with the X Games to qualify athletes for the latter. Winners are automatically invited to the Winter X Games.

No financial details were provided. Event locations and dates were not announced but the new series will be part of the 2024-25 ski season that kicks off in December. All the events will be based in the U.S.

"Joining forces with X Games is an exciting step forward in our mission to provide more world class competitive opportunities for freeskiers and snowboarders," said Sophie Goldschmidt, U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO. "With the recent announcements from X Games regarding their expansion to include more events in various locations and Shaun White’s Snow League, these sports have unmistakable momentum in the market and we are enthusiastic to work together to see them grow.”

Scott Guglielmino, X Games President and COO, said, “As we build toward the X Games League format, this partnership will allow us to deliver on the promise of more world class competitions and a more consistent schedule for the athletes. Working with U.S. Ski & Snowboard will ensure we support and grow the athlete pipeline, which will benefit the entire industry.”

SeatGeek has signed a new primary ticketing partnership with the NWSL's Utah Royals and has also inked an extension with the Portland Thorns after seven years using SeatGeek's primary ticketing technology (SeatGeek).

American Dream has been tapped to host the Arena Football League’s 33rd ArenaBowl Championship Game, set to take place at The Rink on July 19. The championship game will be the highlight of a three-day series of events that will include various activations, player meet-and-greets and several celebrity appearances (American Dream).

Western Kentucky Athletics and Taymar Sales U. have signed a multiyear agreement for the firm to handle outbound ticket sales and operations (Taymar Sales U.).

McLaren Racing and Levi’s have unveiled their first collaborative collection, which launches on July 3. The collection features a variety of limited-edition wearable, vintage-inspired items (McLaren Racing).

Spalding is releasing the Spalding x Harlem Globetrotters Official Game Ball for consumer purchase for the first time ever. Boasting a one-of-a-kind limited edition commemorative design to mark the occasion, the limited basketball can be seen at all games that the Globetrotters play in (Spalding).

Avenue Sports Fund has made a significant minority investment in CityPickle, the urban home for pickleball. The new capital will support CityPickle’s plans to expand the locations of its permanent, indoor pickleball club concept in addition to activations at landmarks in metropolitan areas (Avenue Sports Fund).

Spain said it will "send 313 police officers to Paris to strengthen security" for this summer's Olympic Games. The officers, "including bomb deactivation experts and sniffer dog teams," will be deployed "in response to a request from France for foreign assistance" (LE MONDE, 6/27).

The Professional Fighters League has signed a media rights deal with Setanta Sports for all PFL and Bellator programming in Eurasia and the Philippines. Through the partnership, all PFL programming will be available live in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and the Philippines (PFL).

Larry Kestelman, owner of Australia's National Basketball League, has purchased the Women's National Basketball League from Basketball Australia. The NBL will "assume operation of the WNBL" beginning in April 2025, "following the upcoming women's season" (THE WEST AUSTRALIAN, 6/27).

The Florida Panthers Celebration Tour might be even more effective at building their fan base than the actual games that they won. These pics/videos are wild.

— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) June 27, 2024

🗣️ "Players are ready." 🎾

Check out ESPN's new 2024 #Wimbledon spot featuring @oliviarodrigo's 'Obsessed'@ESPNMusic pic.twitter.com/N3zHMYqaHT

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 24, 2024

NEW: Notre Dame and Michigan State announce a home-and-home football series in 2026 and 2027.

2026 in South Bend
2027 in East Lansing

The Megaphone Trophy is back. pic.twitter.com/Tco6tYS6dt

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) June 27, 2024

With Bilal and Sarr onboard, can see why this job is a need for the #Wizards pic.twitter.com/IDEqXt8dk7

— T M (@reshmanuel) June 27, 2024

With Bilal and Sarr onboard, can see why this job is a need for the #Wizards pic.twitter.com/IDEqXt8dk7

— T M (@reshmanuel) June 27, 2024

Congrats to @SteveGleason, who will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the @ESPYS! #Saints | #NoWhiteFlags pic.twitter.com/mE2sbRfcUv

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 27, 2024

Big Al always delivers! We teamed up with @Al_Horford to surprise fans around Boston with a special delivery of some championship gear. #AlHorford #BostonCeltics #NBAFinals #FanaticsDelivers @NBA @celtics @KevinCooneyy pic.twitter.com/hlwWjkPPCc

— Fanatics (@Fanatics) June 27, 2024

YouTuber Marques Brownlee does a deep dive on the hidden technology at golf tournaments, including the shot tracer technology.

16 -- Games from the UEFA Euros group stage this year that topped 1 million viewers across Fox Sports networks. There were only 10 group stage games over that mark on ESPN airwaves in 2021, and there have now only been 41 in total on English-language TV in the U.S. (Austin Karp, SBJ).