Top 5 – ExxonMobil Doubles Down on Guyanese Sports
Top 5 – ExxonMobil Doubles Down on Guyanese Sports
Plus Cosm's new NFL deal, Unrivaled's franchise reveal, and more
Whatsup Squad,
Let’s get into the top stories of the week:
⭐️ FEATURE STORY
ExxonMobil Doubles Down on Guyanese Sports
The Global Super League (GSL), coming to Guyana next month, announced that ExxonMobil Guyana will serve as the cricket tournament’s title sponsor.
ExxonMobil Guyana has a long history of supporting sports, especially cricket, in Guyana.
In 2015, the same year ExxonMobil entered into an oil exploration agreement with the Government of Guyana, they began sponsoring the Guyana Amazon Warriors cricket team.
And just last year, the company announced funding for a new stadium.
With a $1 million prize pool, the GSL is South America’s first standalone cricket event, sanctioned by Cricket West Indies and fully supported by the government of Guyana.
Bottom Line - The announcement not only highlights Guyana’s aspirations to become a major sporting destination, but also ExxonMobil’s increasing influence in the country. TV rights, in combination with ticket sales and sponsors like ExxonMobil, are expected to generate significant revenue to ensure a financially viable (and recurring) annual tournament.
Read more here
Cosm Strikes New NFL Deal
Cosm is partnering with the NFL to show primetime games in its venues through the remainder of the 2024 regular season.
The deal includes broadcasting every Thursday night football game on Amazon, all Sunday night games on NBC, every Monday night football game on ESPN, and select games on Sunday with Fox.
Cosm also has league-wide deals with the NBA and UFC.
The company uses a 360-degree dome with giant 12K+ LED screens to offer viewers a fully immersive “shared reality” experience that mirrors being at the game.
Bottom Line - In addition to operational locations in LA and Dallas, a third Cosm venue slated to open in Atlanta by the end of 2026. Earlier this year, the company raised over $250 million in funding to expand globally.
Read more here
Unrivaled Basketball Reveals Franchise Branding
Unrivaled, the upcoming 3-on-3 women’s basketball league launched by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, has finalized names and branding for its six teams.
The inaugural season, set to tip off this January in Miami and broadcast by Warner Bros. Discovery, will feature the:
Laces Basketball Club
Mist Basketball Club
Phantom Basketball Club
Lunar Owls Basketball Club
Rose Basketball Club
Vinyl Basketball Club
Bottom Line – Right now, the league owns all the franchises. Over the next few years, the league will have the option to sell these franchises and to potentially attach cities to them.
Read more here
Is F1 Leaving Mexico City?
With nearly 405,000 fans in attendance, the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix marked another year of growing attendance.
Last year’s event generated an economic impact of $757 million, and this year’s three-day race was expected to create 8,120 jobs and provide an $800 million boost to Mexico’s economy.
Despite a tough weekend for home favorite Sergio Perez, race organizers are confident that his future in the sport won’t impact the event’s ongoing popularity.
Perez’s presence has been a key factor in the Grand Prix achieving sell-out crowds in all nine seasons since its return to the F1 calendar in 2015.
Bottom Line - The race weekend brings a much-needed cash injection into the Mexican economy, but Mexico City is one of seven F1 locations with contracts expiring in 2025.
Read more here
LA Clippers Introduce The Wall at Intuit Dome
Last week, the Los Angeles Clippers hosted their first home game at their new home — the $2 billion Intuit Dome.
The Clippers have never been known to possess the NBA’s rowdiest fan base, but owner Steve Ballmer is working to changing that with The Wall.
Ballmer was inspired by the Yellow Wall, a fan section of Germany’s FC Dortmund, one of the most popular soccer teams in the world.
Bottom Line – Fan zones within arenas are not new in the NBA, but The Wall takes it to the next level (accounting for about a quarter of the venue’s seats). It features 51 uninterrupted rows of diehard Clippers fans who cannot wear opponent’s gear or cheer for the opposing team.
Read more here
Until next time ✌🏾
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