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LIV Golf has a new chairman and seeks new funding without Saudi backing

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund officially pulled the plug on future funding for LIV Golf on Thursday, leaving the rival league to find a new path without the largesse that helped it launch four years ago as a threat to the golf establishment. Staff and players have been aware for the last two weeks the Public Investment Fund was only going to support LIV Golf through the end of this year. LIV responded with a new board and a plan to diversify into an investment model with hopes of finding long-term partners. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor who was behind the creation of LIV ...

Will LIV players come back to the PGA Tour? Nobody knows

DORAL, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Spieth is like everyone else in golf right now. When trying to figure out if LIV golfers who left the PGA Tour will try to return, he doesn't mind saying he has no idea. Nobody does. "I think there's just too many unknowns for me to have a good gauge on what would happen," Spieth said Thursday. The announcement that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund will stop funding LIV Golf after this year means some of the biggest names in the sport — Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith among them — may aim to return to the PGA Tour at some point, ...

LIV Golf isn’t the only sports property being reconsidered in Saudi reboot

The billionaires in Saudi Arabia are pulling the plug on LIV Golf. It won't be the first mega sports project they've given up on recently. Over the last several weeks, the Saudis have bailed on a Winter Olympics-style sports festival and sold one of their best soccer teams, all while shifting the strategy of their multibillion-dollar investment fund that bankrolls it all. The Saudi Public Investment Fund, helmed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, recently delivered a new prospectus outlining its strategy for 2026-30. The strategy focuses on more internal investment while ...

Haslam breaks ground on Browns’ $2.4B domed stadium set to open in 2029

BROOK PARK, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and his family marked a significant milestone on Thursday with the groundbreaking ceremony for the new domed stadium scheduled to open for the 2029 season. There are still a couple of questions to be answered though even as ...

New CEO Steve O’Donnell vows to unite NASCAR and return the fun

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — Steve O'Donnell wants to bring some fun back to NASCAR, which he calls a "badass American sport." O'Donnell was introduced as the sanctioning body's chief executive officer at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday and vowed to "make some moves" that will return the storied racing series to its roots. "We lost that in recent years," O'Donnell said. Majority owner Jim France stepped down as CEO but will remain NASCAR's chairman, and his majority ownership stake will not change. O'Donnell will become the first person outside the France family to hold the CEO ...

Big 12 strikes a private capital deal in hopes of growing revenue, AP sources says

DALLAS (AP) — The Big 12 has approved a five-year agreement with RedBird Capital Partners, becoming the first known conference in major college sports to strike a league-wide, private capital deal, multiple people with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither side announced the strategic partnership. Front Office Sports and Yahoo Sports first reported it, and RedBird Capital posted both stories on its website. The deal includes Weatherford Capital and was ratified by Big 12 presidents and ...