LVSportsBiz.com’s High Five: 5 News Items That Got Us Thinking

By ALAN SNEL   -- Forbes reported last week that brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta cashed out their final stake in UFC to complete a deal valued at FIVE BILLION DOLLARS in the sale of the Las Vegas-based fight promotion organization to entertainment powerhouse WME-IMG. Yes, folks, $5 billion. That's more than twice what cousin Tilman Fertitta of Houston spent to buy the Houston Rockets of the NBA ($2.2 billion). I get that UFC puts on a great fight spectacle, produces an entertaining combat show, owns an impressive headquarters off the 215 and creates its own programming that's typically more polished than any network content. But $5 BILLION? Looks like someone has some cash to buy an NBA team for T-Mobile Arena. The Fertittas bought UFC for $2 million back in 2001. Nice little ROI.   --  Please, ESPN, for the love of Emerson Boozer and Matt Snell, please cut Rex Ryan immediately. His Monday Night Football color commentary during the Broncos-Charges game was la
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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.