Latest news with #expansion
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Portland's expansion WNBA team parts ways with President Inky Son
FILE - From left, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage appear at an event to award Portland a WNBA franchise at the Moda Center on Sept. 18, 2024, at the Moda Center in Portland. (AP Photo/Anne M. Peterson, File) PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Inky Son, president of the expansion WNBA team in Portland, is leaving the organization after less than three months on the job. RAJ Sports, led by team owners Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage, announced the move Friday. Advertisement 'During her brief but impactful tenure, Son helped lay the foundation for the franchise's presence in Portland, shaping its early business operations and community engagement efforts,' the firm said in a statement. 'Son will return to New York, where she was previously based, and the organization thanks her for her leadership during this important phase and wishes her success in her next chapter.' The team is set to start play next season, along with the expansion Toronto Tempo. Portland's team does not yet have a name, a coach or a general manager. Portland's branding is expected to be announced on July 15. Son was announced as the first employee of the team in early April. As president of business operations, Son was tasked with leading all aspects of the business, including marketing, ticket and sponsorship sales, community relations, finance, legal, and human resources. She was also responsible for hiring. Advertisement Before working for the team, Son was chief administrative officer for the National Basketball Players Association. Portland was awarded an expansion team in September. The Bhathal family paid $125 million for the franchise. ___ AP WNBA:
Washington Post
8 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Portland's expansion WNBA team parts ways with President Inky Son
PORTLAND, Ore. — Inky Son, president of the expansion WNBA team in Portland, is leaving the organization after less than three months on the job. RAJ Sports, led by team owners Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage, announced the move Friday. 'During her brief but impactful tenure, Son helped lay the foundation for the franchise's presence in Portland, shaping its early business operations and community engagement efforts,' the firm said in a statement. 'Son will return to New York, where she was previously based, and the organization thanks her for her leadership during this important phase and wishes her success in her next chapter.' The team is set to start play next season, along with the expansion Toronto Tempo. Portland's team does not yet have a name, a coach or a general manager. Portland's branding is expected to be announced on July 15. Son was announced as the first employee of the team in early April. As president of business operations, Son was tasked with leading all aspects of the business, including marketing, ticket and sponsorship sales, community relations, finance, legal, and human resources. She was also responsible for hiring. Before working for the team, Son was chief administrative officer for the National Basketball Players Association. Portland was awarded an expansion team in September. The Bhathal family paid $125 million for the franchise. ___ AP WNBA:
BBC News
14 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Five thousand extra seats is a start' - your views on expansion plans
We asked for your views on the expansion plans for the City are some of your comments:Kevin: Mixed thoughts. Location is iconic so really want to stay. But parking and travel is already a nightmare. Is it worth it for £120+ million for only 5,000 extra seats?Martyn: There's always a struggle to get tickets since Forest moved up to the Premier League. Five thousand extra seats is a start, but they could have tried to extend it beyond 5,000 extra seatsLuke: Great news that it's going ahead, but I can't help but think that if we're doing it, why not go bigger and add more than 5,000 seats?Steve: Good news about the new stand but this time it needs to happen. We have thousands on the waiting list for season tickets who want to support the club. Let's get on with The stand does need upgrading I agree, but just 5,000 more seats. I don't know, it's a lot of money for what seems like little return for it. I am normally wrong so my opinions carry very little Stumbling blocks have been put up for years. It will drag on for years. Could and should have built a new stadium elsewhere. Love our ground but it's out-dated.
The Guardian
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Super League could expand to 14 teams in 2026 but crucial vote awaits
Super League could expand to 14 teams as early as next year if a strategic review led by the Rugby Football League's interim chair, Nigel Wood, can convince the existing 12 teams that expansion is financially viable for 2026. Wood, the governing body's former chief executive who was brought back earlier this year after clubs decided he should lead a review that would scrutinise all aspects of the professional game in the United Kingdom. That included whether there is room for French clubs Catalans Dragons and Toulouse, as well as the sport's long-term partnership with IMG. Their recommendations in 2022 suggested that Super League should only expand when there were enough clubs reaching the highest bracket in their gradings criteria. But Wood's review, which will be delivered to clubs next month at a meeting in Wakefield, will recommend a move to 14 as early as next year. Crucially, the Guardian has been told that more and more support has been garnered for that idea in recent weeks, with one high-ranking figure suggesting it was 'as good as a done deal'. However, there remains scepticism from some elite clubs about the financial impact expanding Super League would have for the existing 12 teams, which could be the big stumbling block. The central distribution each club receives has shrunk drastically with the value of the competition's TV deal shrinking from £40mper year a decade ago to around £21m in 2025. Some clubs who are open to 14 teams are only keen to commit to the idea once they have seen commitments on whether or not their central distribution would reduce further owing to more teams being in the competition. However, the Guardian has been told that one idea that has been floated among the corridors of ambitious Championship clubs would be for two clubs to join the elite and receive minimal – or even no – central distribution in 2026, with the hope that the sport can then secure an increased TV deal for 2027 when the current Sky contract ends. That would lead to an almighty scramble to become one of the two teams added to Super League with four clubs – Toulouse, Bradford, York and London – all believing they could step up for next year. It is understood that at least two of those teams would be willing to do so without distribution for one year, too. But expansion to 14 would not be received well by the National Rugby League (NRL), who remain interested in taking control of the competition in an attempt to revive its fortunes. Their preference would be to actually reduce Super League to 10 teams, not increase it. One official in Australia believes that if clubs go with Wood's proposals given his unpopularity in the corridors of the NRL, it would effectively spell the end of any meaningful interest in a deal between the two competitions. The RFL have been approached for comment.
Bloomberg
21 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
All Grown Up
Morning, I'm Louise Moon Britain's fledgling banking startups are spreading their wings and increasingly expanding overseas.
