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After the Arizona Coyotes and Gila River Arena renegotiated their current lease agreement, the Coyotes had since been pursuing a new home arena in Tempe, Arizona in partnership with Arizona State University. However, those plans have since fallen through after Arizona State University backed out of the plan. The Coyotes also suffered a major setback when Arizona state bill 1149 was not voted on. The bill would have provided the funding to build a new arena for the Coyotes in the Phoenix area. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has reiterated time and time again that the Coyotes will not be able to stay in Glendale, Arizona for the long term.

It’s been 14 years since Steve Bartman ruined the Chicago Cubs World Series run during game 6 of the 2003 NLCS vs. the Florida Marlins. We're only kidding. Bartman, a 26 year-old Cubs fan at the time, accidentally interfered with a foul ball that outfielder Moises Alou wouldn’t have been able to catch in the first place. That didn’t stop ESPN from milking the story for all it’s worth with the documentary “Catching Hell”. Unfairly, Bartman was scapegoated as being the reason the Chicago Cubs failed to reach their first World Series since 1945.

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Now that Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander has officially put the team up for sale, there are whispers that Houston, Texas could eventually lure an NHL franchise. Houston, one of the largest sports and television markets in the United States, already has the Toyota Center, a world-class arena that would provide a perfect home for an NHL team. Unfortunately, Leslie Alexander also controls the lease with the Toyota Center and has made it clear that he doesn’t want to share the venue with another sports franchise.

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After filing for bankruptcy in 2016, sporting goods retailer Sports Authority struggled to live up to it’s naming rights agreement with the Denver Broncos and Mile High Stadium. The partnership was plagued with delinquent payments so the Denver Broncos organization terminated the agreement. Joe Ellis, team President, was hopeful that the team would be able to secure a new naming rights agreement with a new corporate sponsor by the start of the 2017 NFL season. However, the right partner has yet to present itself.

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On August 24^th, the Chicago Bears and Chicago Tribune will be teaming up to host a fantasy football draft party at Soldier Field. At the conclusion of the event, all attendees will be able to have their picture taken on the field. The draft party will feature two packages; a standard package and a VIP package and is sponsored by Jewel-Osco.

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Day games have long been a tradition of both the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field. In fact, the Chicago Cubs had never hosted a night game at Wrigley Field until August 8^th, 1988 (8/8/88). To put that into better perspective, Wrigley Field opened in 1914. Crane Kenney, President of Business Operations for the Chicago Cubs, is now lobbying for more night games to be hosted at Wrigley Field. However, the city of Chicago limits the number of home games the Chicago Cubs can host.

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The Montreal Canadiens are hitting season ticket holders with a $150 penalty if they elect to have their season tickets printed and mailed to them. According to Francois Marchand, a spokesman for the team, mobile tickets will be a priority next season for reasons pertaining to security, ease of use and the environment. Therefore, all season ticket holders will be receiving their season tickets via their mobile devices unless they elect to pay the $150 surcharge.

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Detroit’s Ford Field is one of the most underrated stadiums in the National Football League. Earlier this year, the Detroit Lions announced that they would be upgrading Ford Field at a cost of $100 million. Those renovations are expected to be completed in one week. The centerpiece of the renovation are the brand new video boards in each end zone.

U.S. Bank Stadium - Minnesota Vikings

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The Washington Examiner wrote an article yesterday that called for the end of the usage of public dollars to build stadiums and arenas for sports teams. The popular newspaper cited the Brookings Institution which determined that 36 stadiums have been constructed since 2000 that have cost federal taxpayers $3.2 Billion. The article was inspired by a recent bipartisan bill that aims to keep taxpayer dollars from being used to build new stadiums for professional sports franchises and their billionaire owners. The bill is being championed by Senators Cory Booker (D) of New Jersey and James Lankford (R) of Oklahoma.

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To the surprise of many within the Houston Rockets organization, owner Leslie Alexander listed the team for sale earlier this week. The NBA is expecting the highest bidder to spend well over $1 billion to acquire the Houston Rockets in what could be the largest transaction in NBA history. But how could a team not named the Los Angeles Lakers or New York Knicks command so much money?

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Beginning in 2019, the Golden State Warriors will be the first team in NBA history to require their fans to purchase a personal seat license (PSL) in order to buy season tickets. The new rule will begin when the Warriors move to downtown San Francisco and begin playing at the newly constructed Chase Center. What exactly is a personal seat license?

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For many years, the Target Center was a rather irrelevant venue in the NBA. There was really nothing that stood about it. The Twin Cities’ other three professional teams all have much newer stadiums than the Minnesota Timberwolves. In fact, the Target Center began to miss out on performers and other acts that were opting for the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul instead. However, the Minnesota Timberwolves are nearly 70% finished with a $140 million renovation of the Target Center that is expected to conclude by the start of the 2017-2018 Timberwolves season.

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For many years, Joe Louis Arena, former home of the Detroit Red Wings, featured an old school scoreboard at the center of the arena. Now, the Red Wings are getting ready to unveil the largest scoreboard in NHL history when Little Caesars Arena opens in September. The scoreboard will measure 5,100 total square feet. Little Caesars Arena will also offer 45 Led displays throughout the arena measuring 13,500 total square feet.

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The Atlanta Hawks are renovating Philips Arena, their home arena, at a whopping $192 million. There are now whispers around the Charlotte Hornets organization about what the team could do to improve the Spectrum Center. The renovation to Philips Arena will be the second largest renovation project in NBA history. The Charlotte Hornets are currently renovating and relocating their box office and team store to better locations on the arena’s property.

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Thomas Boswell and Keith McMillan of the Washington Post recently ranked all 30 ballparks in Major League Baseball. The duo set out to make the project part interactive checklist, part travel guide and part ranking. The writers referred to their Washington-Post co-workers that were also very knowledgeable about Major League Baseball to help complete the list. They included Adam Kilgore, Dave Sheinin, Chelsea Janes and Lacey Lusk.

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Former Texas Rangers co-owner Chuck Greenberg is leading a group of investors that have submitted a $500 million offer to purchase the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos, Jr., has already signed documents of his intent to sell the team who according to him, would remain in Raleigh, North Carolina. Karmanos has been seeking a local owner for the team for three years and originally purchased the team when they were the Hartford Whalers back in 1994.

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In memory of the 50^th anniversary of America's Vietnam War, the Boston Red Sox honored more than 1,300 Vietnam Veterans and their families at Fenway Park yesterday. A small on field ceremony was held before the team’s matinee matchup with the New York Yankees; a game the concluded after 16 innings of play. The ceremony included a flyover of four F-15 Jets from a local Air National Guard Base.

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The Milwaukee Bucks organization have officially signed a one year lease with the BMO Harris Bradley Center; the team’s final lease with the venue.The Milwaukee Bucks will begin playing at their new $524 million dollar arena beginning in the fall of 2018. Until then, the Bucks will play one final season at the Bradley Center; their home arena since 1988. 

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Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred recently confirmed that league officials were monitoring the NFL and NHL’s successes in Las Vegas, Nevada very closely. Earlier this week, Manfred was once again asked whether Major League Baseball would be expanding and adding additional teams in the near future. Manfred confirmed that the league would like to expand but it’s not in their immediate plans. He went on to add that Montreal, Mexico City and Charlotte are the most attractive candidates for an MLB team at the moment. However, before the league could expand, both the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays would need to get new home ballparks built.

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The NBA’s Detroit Pistons are set to move from Auburn Hills, Michigan to downtown Detroit this fall. The Pistons will share the newly constructed Little Caesar’s Arena with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. However, local activists D. Etta Wilcoxon and Robert Davis attempted to block the funding for the arena’s construction because property tax revenue is being used to fund it.