Aramark Sports + Entertainment has been selected as the food and beverage service provider for the proposed new A’s ballpark in Las Vegas, according to a half-dozen industry sources.

The win didn’t come cheaply for the Philadelphia-based, publicly traded concessionaire. As part of a 20-year deal, Aramark’s total outlay is at least $175M, sources said, with others indicating it could be more. The $175M includes an equity investment into the team of at least $100M and a capex investment commitment of at least $75M. The deal hasn’t been finalized yet, and neither the A’s nor Aramark could comment.

A total investment of $175M (or higher) would almost certainly be the biggest financial investment in a team and its stadium by an F&B provider in sports business history. Valuations of the A’s earlier this year ranged from $1.57B (Sportico) to $1.8B (Forbes); based off those, Aramark’s investment would be worth approximately between 5.5% and 6% of the team. But with the A’s scheduled to open their new stadium just off the Las Vegas strip in 2028, their valuation in this deal was likely higher than any public estimates.

Five of the sports venue F&B industry’s six biggest companies — Aramark Sports + Entertainment, Delaware North, Legends, Levy, and Sodexo Live — competed for the A’s’ business, beginning late last year. At least four of those were willing to consider the A’s equity stake request. Oak View Group, which doesn’t have any baseball clients and is already engaged in Las Vegas with its recent takeover of Allegiant Stadium, was the only major player that didn’t compete. F&B consultant Jonathan Harris ran the RFP process for the A’s.

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PepsiCo is becoming the latest American consumer-facing company to make a splash in F1, with a new arrangement that involves several brands and pouring and snack-distribution rights to most grand prix events around the world. The agreement between Formula 1 Management and the beverage giant was announced during overnight hours in the U.S. this morning, and it will result in Gatorade, Doritos and Sting Energy drinks all becoming sponsors in F1 with plans for everything from digital content to on-package retail promotions.

Financial terms were unclear, but the deal goes through 2030 and assets involved suggest that PepsiCo will be spending well into the eight figures annually. The beverage company, which is based in N.Y., will also get some direct opportunities to earn revenue from the deal through rights to sell its drinks and salty snacks at most of F1’s 24 annual grand prix events, with that element to start in a phased manner this year before being fully rolled out in ’26.

The deal represents the latest significant commercial win for F1 with a major U.S.-based consumer-facing brand, and the categories that PepsiCo is taking are new for the series and were not held by a prior company. PepsiCo VP/Global Sports & Entertainment Partnerships Adam Warner told SBJ that on top of the pouring and snack distribution rights, the pact involves marketing rights, TV-visible trackside signage, midway activations at 21 races, and hospitality and ticket options for PepsiCo to entertain its employees and clients with.

Sting is the lead brand of the deal and will roll out digital marketing and retail promotions in the coming months, with a focus around the sound of F1 cars and attempting to draw a parallel between that noise and the way it sounds when you pronounce the word “Sting.” Sting has become a popular energy drink in Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Egypt and Vietnam, though it’s only available in 30 markets and the U.S. is not a major focus or it.

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Fox drew 7.05 million viewers for its debut Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon, per fast-national data, marking what will be the race’s best audience since 7.25 million in 2008. This year also is up 33% from 5.31 million last year on NBC. There was a short weather delay this year, and a four-hour delay last year.

The race peaked from 4:15-4:30pm ET at 8.4 million viewers as Alex Palou was getting set to capture his first Indy 500.

RELATED: Fox milks Indy 500 brand identity to drum up interest in 109th running

This year will mark only the third time over the last 30 years that the Indy 500 has drawn a larger audience than NASCAR’s Daytona 500 (that race had a longer rain delay this year, finishing with 6.76 million viewers on Fox on a Sunday). Indy also beat Daytona in the pandemic-influenced 2021 (5.58 million for Indy vs. 4.83 million for a Daytona running that had a six-hour delay). The last time Indy beat Daytona before that was 1995 (12.03 million, which was the last time Indy got about 10 million, vs. 11.44 million for Daytona).

The Minnesota Frost once again took home the Walter Cup on Monday, as the team took down the Ottawa Charge 3-1 in overtime to hoist the PWHL championship trophy “across Xcel Energy Center ice — delighting 11,024 fans and family and friends alike” — after they won for the second consecutive season in a league that has had only two of them. The team “opened up club-level seating to accommodate a holiday afternoon crowd.” The Frost drew 8,098 for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon. One of those in attendance Monday was Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. PWHL advisory committee member Billie Jean King “awarded the trophy” to Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, who was “instrumental in the league’s founding.” Advisory member Stan Kasten, PWHL EVP/Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford and PWHL co-founder Kimbra Walter, wife of Dodgers owner Mark Walter and together primary owners of the league, all attended Monday’s game (MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE, 5/27).

Just like last year, the Frost won the title “as the fourth and final-seeded playoff team,” and both times advanced to the finals after knocking off Toronto in the semis. The Frost “sneaked into the playoffs this year” with an 8-1 win over the Boston Fleet on the final day of the regular season (AP, 5/26).

Ottawa “did establish a strong rivalry” with the two-time champs in 2024-25. Game 4 was the 10th in the history of the Ottawa-Minnesota matchup (including playoffs) that was “decided by one goal or a shootout.” That equaled the second-most one-goal games between any two PWHL teams all-time (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 5/26).

Cornell outlasted Maryland in the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship Monday afternoon “in front of 32,512 fans at Gillette Stadium, cementing the program’s fourth national title and first since 1977” (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/26). On Friday, North Carolina beat Florida in the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship “in front of a record crowd” of 14,423 at Gillette Stadium (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/24). Meanwhile, the 2026 NCAA Division I, II and III Men’s Lacrosse Championships will be held in Charlottesville, Va., at Scott Stadium on the campus of the Univ. of Virginia. Gillette Stadium was “originally scheduled to host” the 2026 events, but a scheduling conflict occurred when the facility was named as one of the sites for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Scott Stadium will be the first campus stadium to be the finals site of the Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship since 2002 (NCAA).

Russia “will not be allowed to participate” at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan “amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.” International Ice Hockey Federation President Luc Tardif announced the decision via hockeynews.se, saying the decision “ultimately came from” the IOC and “is pending an official statement.” Tardif: “Recently, they asked us to send them a schedule without Russia, so that’s where we are. The official statement is pending but the IOC has told us that they are informing the Russian Olympic Committee that they are not participating in the Olympics” (THE HOCKEY NEWS, 5/26).

Russia was barred from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris following the country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Individual athletes from the country “were allowed to compete, but not under their country’s flag.” Belarus, which is allied with Russia, is “also expected to be kept out of the Olympics again” (REUTERS, 5/26).

A 53-year-old man “has been arrested after a car collided with crowds” at Liverpool FC’s Premier League victory parade, but authorities “are not treating the incident as terrorism.” At least 47 people “were injured in the incident, including 27 who required hospital treatment.” Two “sustained serious injuries,” including one child. Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool FC fans had gathered in Liverpool on Monday to celebrate their club winning the Premier League. An “open top bus carrying the club’s players paraded through the city over a 10-mile route for several hours.” The collision between the car and pedestrians “took place as the event drew to a close” (FINANCIAL TIMES, 5/26). Video posted on social media “appears to show a confrontation between the driver and the crowd at one point during the incident.” The car is “seen stopped and some in the crowd can be seen kicking and punching the car, which then quickly reverses before driving off” (CNN.com, 5/26).

Relevent Sports has launched its new subsidiary called Relevent Football Partners to manage the global commercial rights for all UEFA men’s club competitions from 2027-2033 after winning the opportunity in an open tender process in March. Relevent CEO Daniel Sillman will serve as Exec Chair of the new company, and Relevent President & Partner Boris Gartner will serve as CEO. Relevent Football Partners will be based in London with additional offices to follow in N.Y.; Miami; Doha, Qatar; Nyon, Switzerland; and Southeast Asia.

Sillman and Gartner have recruited a dedicated leadership team for the new business that notably includes former TEAM Marketing Managing Dir of Media Rights Oliver Holland as Chief Media Rights Officer. TEAM Marketing, where Holland spent 12 years, managed the commercial rights for UEFA’s men’s club competitions globally for three decades before losing the U.S. business to Relevent beginning this past season and the global rights beginning with the 2027-28 season.

Other executives joining the Relevent Football Partners leadership team include:

• Former PGA Tour EVP/Corporate Partnerships Brian Oliver as CCO 
• Former DAZN Finance Dir David Baddeley as CFO 
• Former F1 Chief Counsel Laurence Anthony as CLO 
• Former Disney VP/Communications Amy Phillips as Chief Communications & Marketing Officer 
• Former DAZN SVP/People & Reward Georgie Cleeve as Chief People Officer 
• Former Heineken Global Sponsorship Lead Benjamin Blanco as Dir of Commercial Strategy and Partnerships, Sponsorships & Licensing 
• Former DAZN EVP/Global Head of Rights Tom Burrows as Dir of Strategy & Partnership Operations 

Relevent is expected to begin the sales process for UEFA’s next two commercial cycles (three seasons each) this summer. In the U.S., CBS has UEFA’s English-language broadcast rights locked up through the 2029-30 season, but TelevisaUnivision’s Spanish-language contract only runs through 2026-27.

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Rafael Nadal‘s farewell to Roland Garros “prompted a reunion of the ‘big four’” as Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray joined him on court Sunday “during an emotional ceremony” to mark Nadal’s record of 14 French Open titles. Nadal “broke down in tears at various points” during a 45-minute tribute on Court Philippe-Chatrier, and the stadium “was packed out with 15,000 spectators, most of whom were wearing an orange T-shirt with the message ‘Merci Rafa.’” Nadal later again “broke down in tears when tournament organisers revealed a new permanent plaque displaying his footprint beside the net” (London TIMES, 5/25).

T-shirts “were up for sale on Monday morning” with prices ranging from $170-$567, “to the disappointment of the French tennis federation (FFT).” FFT President Gilles Moretton said, “That some people are taking the opportunity to make money off the ‘Merci Rafa’ T-shirt, I find that a bit deplorable” (REUTERS, 5/26).

SailGP’s Italian team, Red Bull Italy, has been acquired by a group of investors organized by Muse Sport, the sports investing and advisory practice of early-stage VC firm Muse Capital. The consortium is led by Muse founding partner Assia Grazioli-Venier, Italian luxury brand entrepreneur Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo and team driver and CEO Jimmy Spithill. The transaction values Red Bull Italy at $45M.

Other investors joining the ownership group include actresses Anne Hathaway and Miriam Leone; DoubleVerify EVP & Global Chief Commercial Officer Julie Eddleman; auction house entrepreneur and VC investor Alexander Gilkes; Third Space Capital founding partner Heather Karatz; and Evan Yurman, heir to and president of luxury brand David Yurman, among others. SailGP also currently maintains a minority ownership position in the team, though the new consortium is in the process of acquiring that stake.

The Italian-born Grazioli-Venier got her first taste of SailGP team ownership through the U.S. team, which she invested in several years ago as a minority partner.

“It’s so impressive to see how well the league has been growing and the teams have been growing from when I invested to today,” Grazioli-Venier said. “Every event was better, [all of the] content was better, every digital strategy was better. Every single element … was really impressing me.”

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Kings League, the seven-on-seven soccer startup founded by retired Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué, has partnered with Saudi Arabia’s SURJ Sports Investment to launch a new joint venture, Kings League MENA. It will be the seventh league for Kings League, joining initiatives in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Latin America and Spain. Saudi Arabia will be the inaugural host for the new regional league, which will launch later this year. Financial details were not disclosed.

Piqué launched Kings League in 2022 as a digitally-focused property, with teams predominantly led by content creators and pro soccer players, including Neymar and James Rodriguez. Last year, Kings League raised a $68M funding round led by Left Lane Capital and Mexican sports investment firm Fillip. Kings League generated more than seven billion social media impressions in 2024.

In this week’s SBJ:

• The Sports Business Awards took place last week in N.Y., with 1,100 industry luminaries in attendance. SBJ’s Rachel Axon recaps the big night and explains why this was a night to celebrate the innovators and big thinkers in sports. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh collaborated on the birth of the 4 Nations Face-Off, which took home the award for Sports Event of the Year and landed those two on the cover; Intuit Dome’s revolutionary technological approach earned it the Sports Facility of the Year award. And Sports Breakthrough of the Year went to Cosm, the immersive-reality venue that is changing the way people watch games.
• In total, we have 10 pages of SBAs coverage, including five pages packed with photos, the full list of presenters and the judges who helped make tough choices in 16 different categories. Abe Madkour also gives a look behind the process in choosing the winners in his Forum column.
• Our continuing series on Best Sports Business Cities focuses on soccer by ranking the top 25 U.S. markets for the beautiful game, and L.A. comes out on top. David Broughton explains the methodology behind our rankings.
• Elsewhere in the issue, Bret McCormick picks the 12 best basketball arenas in Europe that might one day be home to an NBA division; Mike Mazzeo reports on the lingering attendance problems for one of MLB’s most popular teams; and Chris Smith gets an inside look at the NFLPA’s Rookie Premiere event, an invite-only opportunity for 42 first-year players that brings them together with some of the league’s top sponsors.

“The first 12 sites added to the list 1978 included Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado & this site 500 miles to the north.”