City Football Group CMO Nuria Tarre on Business of Soccer

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2:10Come on, is pro pickleball real? Are people really going to tune into this? If you're playing money ball with a huge bag of money, you're going to be really, really good. Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr. And I'm Vanessa Perrimo. Coming up today, we are going to take a look ahead at what the impact of having the FIFA World Cup in the U.S. is going to do for the popularity of soccer stateside. We'll also break down the business of mixed-use districts around sporting venues.

2:47But first, we will speak with Bloomberg's own Elizabeth Rembert. Elizabeth is a municipal finance and higher education reporter for Bloomberg News. She recently wrote a story about how UConn women's basketball team is generating big bucks for the school. Elizabeth joins us in studio now. Welcome to the Bloomberg Business of Sports and you are 10 ,000 % right. UConn's women's basketball, that is a lot of coin for the school. Absolutely. They're a powerhouse on the court and then in these bond documents they're bringing in money. So a financial powerhouse as well for the school. Tell us more about, you know, why now, why does it show now that they're, you know, making a lot more money for the schools?

3:28It's always been or what was it about last year? Yeah, so I think everyone knows that UConn is has such a dominant women's basketball program. But it seems like, you know, I noticed this. They were selling bonds and I just picked out this interesting little tidbit and then looked into the numbers. And it seems like for the 2025 year, it tipped up a little bit from the 2024 levels, but it nearly the revenue that the women's program brought in nearly doubled from the 2023 levels. And so I think we all know that women's basketball has really been exploding in popularity. They also had Paige Beckers, who was such a superstar on the court and then also a superstar in partnerships, high profile partnerships, and just really showed her talents on TV.

4:13So that's what the experts I say maybe made that difference of bringing in viewership and then, of course, them winning the 2025 title. And don't forget now, this season, they went 31-0. I'm going to say it again, so in case you missed it, they went 31-0. They went undefeated, and every ticket was pretty much sold out for every game. Am I correct? Yes, yes, absolutely. Great, great attendance. I think that they still have some stars with Izzy Fudd and Sarah Strong on the team, everyone really wanting to see them play. And then I think I think their coach has said it, too, seeing can they do it without Paige?

4:50So the audiences are there for that as well. What is it about, you know, when you were looking into the numbers, I'm curious when you were seeing it, was it parallel to the men, parallel to the football team? Because I think that's where everyone thinks the money actually comes from is men's basketball and football. Yeah. So it is trailing the men's basketball program. But I did notice that in 2023, the total revenue that the women's program was bringing in was under the football. But then in 2024 and 2025, it did edge out football. And I think that we can see just the pace that the money is accelerating, how much more this program is bringing in for the school's athletic department.

5:29And when we looked at the chart, the men's football program is making less than the women's basketball team in 2025. Exactly. Exactly. Yep. And what is the biggest driver of revenue for the women's basketball program from what you saw? I noticed that the postseason revenue is really bringing in a lot of dollars, which makes sense. They won the title last year, so they're going to be getting more of that TV distribution income. But the school also told me that the women's program brings in more than 30 percent of their corporate sponsorship revenue. So that's another substantial income provider for the athletic department.

6:08And that the school said only is trailed by the men's basketball program, which is bringing in corporate sponsorship revenue as well. We're speaking with Bloomberg's own Elizabeth Rembrandt. I want to go more into the viewership part because that means sponsorships and that means money. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. If the corporate partners know that the eyeballs are going to be on those games, if the butts are going to be in the seat of the audience, of course, that's a powerful opportunity to get their marketing and their brand out there for everyone to see and to partner with such a dominant program.

6:41I was driving through Connecticut a couple weekends ago coming back from a ski trip in Vermont, and I saw so many billboards along the highway with, you know, the women's basketball program up with a brand saying, you know, we're strong on the court, we're strong in the banking partnership or something like that. So really seeing those like highly visible partnerships with the women's basketball team. I think the interesting thing with the UConn women's basketball team is obviously Paige is a big star for them, but the team is really a brand in itself. It's almost essentially as big of a brand or bigger in some cases than a lot of WNBA teams and a lot of other professional sports teams.

7:17From what you know, from what you've seen around other college programs, how do they stack up in that sense? Do you know? Yeah, they have built their championship brand for years. I mean, they are vying in this tournament for their 13th national championship, which is a record across all of the schools. And I think that then there were the years when Breonna Stewart was there and just going back to back to back to back where just really solidifying that dominance. I think that their competitors, as far as just brand, of course, South Carolina, Dawn Staley has really built that program and has just built that from scratch and made them known as a women's basketball destination.

8:01LSU, UCLA is obviously very prominent, but I think that UConn is undisputed just the numbers of 12 titles. You can't deny that type of championship brand. Now they make millions is an understatement. But it's not only great for the school, but it's great for the businesses around the arena. Because if you are playing in front of a sold out crowd each game, that means the restaurants and bars are going to be packed as well. Yeah, the local economic impact is also big. And that's something that I've seen when I was researching this story. Other Connecticut businesses, like you said, around the stadium, just saying the economic impact that these teams bring into the state and the area cannot be understated as well with with fans wanting to pregame or maybe celebrate a win after the game.

8:51Particularly because there's nothing else to do in Storrs, Connecticut, I think.

8:58Michael, what do you think? You think they're going to go back to back? You think they can do it this year? I don't see anybody beating UConn. I mean, yes, I know the top seeds. You got UConn, UCLA, Texas, and South Carolina. Nobody's – let me – I'm going to give it the kiss of death. Nobody's going to beat UConn. Whoa. So a completely perfect undefeated season. I think you're going to see an undefeated, like a Miami Dolphins style undefeated season. I know. I put it out there. Elizabeth is like, are you crazy? What is going on? I mean their defense. Like they do not, they make all the teams fight for every single point.

9:43And then their offense, it's on both ends. And by the way, it brings me to NIL. If you're talking an elite team like the Huskies, there's going to be a lot of money in name, image, and likeness for these athletes. Yeah, I think that Paige Beckers is one of, you know, at the top. Obviously, she's graduated and she's in the W now. But the deals that she inked with Gatorade, Bose, she was the first college athlete to have a Nike edition player shoe. So just that platform as well, especially as college sports increasingly becomes with these big NIL paydays, as schools can pay their athletes. I think that that's just another advantage.

10:22And as well as that championship brand, UConn has also shown we can set you up for these types of partnerships economically for these players as well. which is an interesting thing when we look at your story and we're looking at oh they bring in eight million dollars of revenue that has nothing to do with the nil deals that these players are bringing in on on their own which i know az fudd is also one of the top most followed players she has she's had deals since the start of nil we did an entire profile on her back in 2021 she has been in this game for for a long time so when she does go eventually to the w just at the end of this year's i think she's going to try and write it out on the high note she's she's also just as incredible as page i love seeing the graphic also by the way you have men's basketball for uconn then you have women's basketball then you have football and then and then you have other sports that's that's uh is that like swimming or something like that yeah i think swimming you know all the Olympic sports, soccer, just, yeah, all lumped in there.

11:24Yeah. They, you know, lawn jarts and, you know, whatever. Well, you know, it's every other sport, Michael. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Soccer is good. Soccer is great. Okay. I'm kissing up. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Even though we, yeah, zero money for revenue for the school. But, you know, go watch it anyway. Right. Well, Elizabeth, where do you see it going years down the road in terms of building revenue, not just for UConn, but they're leading the way for other big schools as well, like Carolina or UCLA? Where do you see the future revenue building for other schools? Yeah, when I talk to experts about this and kind of have like a broader conversation, like you said, stepping back from UConn, they say that it can really only go up.

12:11You know, like I said, like women's basketball is exploding in popularity. That's bleeding into college basketball as well. And the experts that I talk to say that now is the time where schools can really be investing in women's basketball because it's not such a crowded space. Like they say that football and men's basketball is an arms race. It has been an arms race. But maybe there's a little bit more room where if you put your dollars to work in your women's basketball program, there's huge upside there. And so I think it's just going to keep keep growing, especially with these superstars like AZ Fudd, like Sarah Strong, like Audie Crooks, Audie Hooks, Audie Crooks, Audie Crooks at Iowa State.

12:53just these like really talented players that are making people see the types of game that can be played on the women's basketball court. That was Elizabeth Rembert. She is a municipal finance reporter for Bloomberg News. Up next, we're talking infrastructure. But really building stadiums and mixed use districts are big business. So we will take a look at what's driving big investment from owners. That's straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports for Vanessa Superdomo. I'm Michael Barr. You are listening to Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.

13:32This Sports Spotlight is brought to you by Capital One. Capital One offers no fees or minimums on checking accounts. Did you know that the first ever U.S. women's national soccer team was formed in 1985? A group of 17 women trained just one week before traveling to compete in the prestigious Mundialito tournament in Italy, marking the first time a U.S. team participated in international play. Capital One, what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com slash bank for details. Capital One, N.A. Member FDIC. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop.

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15:23Thousands of businesses have made the switch. So why not you? Try Odoo for free at odoo.com. That's O-D-O-O dot com. This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr. And I'm Vanessa Perdomo. As team valuations continue to rise, we know that one big cause of that is the huge stacks of money going into stadium development. So we're bringing in an expert to give us the lowdown on why owners are willing to spend so much money on these projects and how they are going to get their money back.

16:06We're speaking with David Carlock. He is the founder and managing partner of Machete Group, who have advised clients on projects such as the Barclay Center, the Chase Center, and more. David, welcome to the Bloomberg Business of Sports. I want to start. You're the founder and managing partner of Machete Group. Tell us about that. Well, we're a Houston-based real estate development platform that sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and real estate. We've been around for about 18 years. We spend about half our time developing public assembly venues, arenas, stadiums, ballparks, and about half our time working on mixed-use districts, typically in partnership with a team and located adjacent to an arena, stadium, or ballpark.

16:49David, I'm glad you brought that up, like the mixed use part, because it seems like every single stadium or venue, anything going up right now almost has to have a mixed use development project. Why has that become the norm? And do you think it is something that really every venue should have? I think the answer is that it ideally I think every team would benefit from something like it. I think the reality is that the number of locations where it makes sense commercially, it underwrites, regardless of what kind of metrics you're applying, is obviously more limited, particularly in the current environment where construction costs are way up.

17:28Money is a lot more expensive. It's a lot more challenging. But, you know, I think what sports team owners have figured out, particularly the really smart ones, is that the business that they're in, and this is similar to what I learned at Disney 25 years ago back when I was involved in the resource and attractions group there, is that Disney is really in the length of stay business. They aren't in the theme park business. They aren't in the hotel business. They just want you to stay one more day because the marginal contribution on that revenue is really, really significant. The economics are much more attractive than getting someone new to come for one day.

18:04And in a sports business, if you can extend the length of stay that your fan is engaging in when it's connected with your brand, right? So extending that game day experience. They show up a few hours early. They stay an hour late. They start coming on off days to have the kinds of experiences they're interested in having, whether that's going to a restaurant or maybe they're signing a lease at the apartment building or making an hour late. night out of it staying at the hotel, that has really significant benefits to the team. And I think that's what these kinds of districts offer. We're talking with David Karlock.

18:41He's the founder and managing partner of Machete Group. And I want to go more into that about the bars and restaurants either on a game day or a concert day. That is critical for those businesses that are around wherever the stadium is. Tell us more about that. It is critical. I think that the key question or challenge or perhaps opportunity, depending on how you want to think about it, is developing a project that is a logical place to go when there isn't something happening at the arena or stadium. So, you know, fans are good at figuring out that when there's a Rockets game, it makes sense for me to go visit the bar or the restaurant or whatever it may be that's right next to the arena.

19:30That's not enough for a successful real estate development. You also need that fan to think to himself or herself, this would be a great place for me to hang out Tuesday afternoon at 2 o 'clock when there's nothing happening at the arena or Sunday for dinner or whatever it may be. So that, I think, is at the core of really getting these kinds of projects right. Do you think that some markets have an advantage there than others? The experience with the Machete Group really runs the gamut across. It seems very global in Brooklyn, London, Paris, but other smaller cities like Richmond and Louisville, is it easier for those places to have a bigger spread and have people come there more often?

20:11Or can you give a little bit of the disadvantages to bigger versus smaller markets? Sure. Yeah, that's a really good question. In larger markets, you have all the benefits you would expect to come along with larger markets. You have more people. You have typically more income that's available. You have more, not just local people, but you might have more tourism. All those things can be helpful. And also, frankly, you have higher rents, spends, whatever sort of comes along with the revenue side of the equation relative to midsize markets or smaller markets. The benefit of smaller markets is that, frankly, there's typically less competition.

20:52And if you're creating a 21st century urban place, and I want to emphasize that what constitutes urban different markets is on a sliding scale, right? Urban in Manhattan means something different than urban in Richmond, Virginia. But we think that the market, regardless of whether you live in Richmond or Manhattan, wants really great urban places. and the opportunity to develop those kinds of projects in partnership with the team and adjacent to an arena or stadium, there are a lot of what we would think of as unfair advantages that come along with that. And when you're doing that in a smaller market, oftentimes you're the only game in town or you have the opportunity to be the only game in town.

21:30And that can often offset or largely offset some of the disadvantages you might face by being in a relatively smaller market. The new fancy stadiums, everybody, They want to have a new place to play. But unfortunately, it drives up the ticket prices. Are fans willing to pay more if the facility is spanking brand new, complete with Wi-Fi and all the others? I think the data suggests generally, yes, that fans are willing to pay more. Although what I will say, and I want to emphasize, I don't have sort of detailed data on this. But my sense is fans aren't necessarily paying a lot more for the same thing, if that makes sense, right?

22:16So if I'm sitting in an upper deck seat in a building that's been around for 20 years and the team comes along and develops a new one and I'm still sitting in that same basic seat, I mean, I might pay a modest increase for that same experience, but not a dramatically more expensive price for that experience. However, if the new building offers an upgraded product that is of interest to me that didn't exist in the old building, then I probably am paying a significantly greater amount. And I think a lot of owners have gotten smart about that. When I developed Toyota Center 25 years ago, premium products, and by that I mean an offering other than a basic GA or general admission ticket, was fairly limited.

22:58You had traditional suites. We were one of the first arenas to do what's called a bunker suite or an event-level suite product. There are club seats. That was about it. Now you have – there are Lowe's boxes. There are Skydex suites. There are party decks. There are a wide variety of premium products based on the market figuring out that the premium buyer is less monolithic than was believed a couple of decades ago. And you've seen a pretty significant progression towards offering a greater variety of experiences. And that's been a really effective way to monetize the game day experience more efficiently.

23:41David, I mean, you brought up a good point there. That's definitely something that we're seeing a lot in these new arenas is the focus on the premium seating. I'm curious from what you've seen over the last 30 years that you've been in this business is what is the biggest part of innovation that you've seen in venues, in stadiums that you think has changed really the game for everything that maybe every single owner, no matter what venue it is, they want that to be a part of their venue? That's a good one. I think the way I would broadly frame that is that to go back to when I worked on Toyota center.

24:15At that time, the arguments that you had as a team owner to persuade Michael and Vanessa to get off the couch and come down and watch the game, it was much higher resolution, right? This is back when people still had CRTs and, you know, it was hard to make out sometimes what was happening because no one had high def television. You had better statistics, meaning you had the stat boards and you could see how many points Kevin Durant or Yao Ming or whoever it was had that night. And then, of course, you had the tribal nature of the live experience. And it's now, you know, 2026, and we're down to just the last one, right?

24:48I can get every statistic in the history of the NBA, including whatever's happening in real time, my smartphone. I can pick my own camera angle or put on my headset and pretend I'm sitting courtside from the comfort of my own couch. And so it's really about the live experience. And so my sense is that the innovations that have occurred, setting aside the monetization strategies that we touched on just a minute ago, that I think have been most significant. And I think that every owner is looking for is how to increase the energy and the excitement of being there live. And we saw Steve Ballmer do a lot of that with Intuit in LA.

25:24Every project we work on, that's an important consideration. I mean, Joe and Peter on the Warriors thought a lot about how do we get fans out of their suites, out of the premieres back into the bowl following halftime, which is a challenge in a lot of NBA arenas, for example. You want people in the seats because when the bowl is 20 % empty, that's not as energetic and as exciting as it is when the bowl is full. Every owner is thinking the same thing. When you are at a venue, how do I get the most return on investment? And that is a major issue. What are some of the things where they can improve their ROI?

26:05There's a long list. And I think going back to where we started, what's interesting about the interest in adjacent real estate, and I think part of what's driven that over the past several years, is that that is something that represents a new, and it's not just one revenue stream, but sort of multiple new revenue streams that the team and the owner is in a unique position to take advantage of. And really there are sort of three significant benefits there that can all increase returns. The first is that there are the direct economics on the real estate development itself. And you don't look any further than the battery in Atlanta that the Braves did, which is an incredibly successful project.