Applying learnings from the first five years in business, the Las Vegas Raiders and Allegiant Stadium have partnered with the architecture firm Grimshaw to execute a $158M renovation of the venue’s north plaza to overhaul pedestrian access, ride-share operations, and the pregame experience, writes SBJ’s Brett McCormick. The project is backed by $75M from the Las Vegas Stadium Authority’s waterfall residual fund, with plans calling for an elevated 45,000-square-foot pedestrian deck off the Hacienda Bridge, a 100,000-square-foot shade canopy, and a dedicated ground-level ride-share hub beneath the deck to eliminate vehicle-pedestrian traffic conflicts. Stadium event reports show over 50% of Raiders crowds and up to 85% of concertgoers travel from outside the Las Vegas area, driving heavy pedestrian flow from The Strip and outsized demand for ride-share services. Raiders VP of Stadium Operations Chris Sotiropulos noted the project aims to establish a spectacular front door while maintaining continuous operations, with a target completion date ahead of the venue hosting the 2029 Super Bowl. (link)

Meanwhile, the Las Vegas A’s are building their $2.1B ballpark with year-round event capability in mind, incorporating dual tunnels and artificial turf to accommodate large-scale setups, the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Mick Akers observes. The club is working with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and event promoters to ensure adequate power and loading spaces to draw international events and family shows beyond the baseball calendar, and A’s SVP of Strategy and Business Ross Bowen explains: “We obviously wanted this building to be a 365-day-a-year building. … You can bring a semi-truck into the right field tunnel and out the left field tunnel. We’re going to be turf, so we can cover the turf, do a lot of additional events on that. So a lot of the thinking and design here has been preparing for as many other events as we possibly can have.” Bowen also notes that “to make sure that Wi-Fi, cellular, all those things that you need nowadays especially to make sure you walk into a ballpark and that your phones work, all that..” (link)

More from SBJ as publisher Abe Madkour notes Entrepreneur Equity Partners (EEP) Founder and Managing Partner Tim Leiweke has signaled a massive upcoming wave of European sports facility development during Leaders Week London, predicting the biggest explosion in European sports architecture in history driven by soccer, NBA Europe, and the NHL. Speaking alongside EEP Co-Founder Francesca Bodie and Populous Managing Director Declan Sharkey, Leiweke emphasized that European venue development must rely on private funding rather than traditional North American public-private partnerships due to government bureaucratic red tape, noting that private capitalization speeds up construction timelines and saves 10% in costs annually. EEP has made up to nine club investments in under a year, including a $100M-plus minority stake in Italian Serie A club Venezia to build a Populous-designed, 18,500-seat stadium set to open next year with one-third premium inventory, as well as a July minority investment in English Championship club Bolton Wanderers that included significant surrounding real estate for future development. (link)

The Friedkin Group is exploring a full sale of Everton less than two years after purchasing a 94% stake for £331.3M, The Athletic's David Ornstein reports. The potential Premier League exit arrives as the group—which also owns Roma and AS Cannes—prepares to launch a potential $3.5B NHL franchise in Houston and follows a heavily scrutinized summer transfer window that generated a £25M profit on £100M in player sales. Everton confirmed the search for a majority buyer is underway: "When TFG became custodians of Everton, the Club faced significant financial uncertainty and challenges both on and off the pitch. The immediate priority was to provide the stability, investment and support needed to secure the club’s future, including helping to bring the long-promised stadium to completion for its deserving supporters. With that foundation now safely in place, the time is right to consider the next chapter for Everton. We will only entertain interest from parties who we strongly believe will be the right stewards to take the club forward and build on the momentum that has been established." (link)

Financial Times’ Sun Yu observes that institutional investors are increasingly bypassing traditional private equity funds in favor of direct co-investments to reduce fees and secure greater portfolio control. Data from S&P Global Market Intelligence shows the value of private equity co-investments doubled YoY to a record $198B in the first half of 2026. Executives from entities like the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System report that avoiding the standard 2% management fee and 20% carried interest has allowed co-investments to outperform traditional portfolios by five to six percentage points. Yu notes the strategy carries inherent risks regarding rapid decision timelines and adverse selection, as fund managers may reserve their highest-quality deals for internal vehicles rather than external partners. New York City Retirement System Chief Investment Officer Monte Tarbox explains further: "By the time a co-investment comes to an organisation like mine, the details are already baked. The manager dresses it up in a nice wrapper, puts a pretty bow on top of it, and says, ‘Here you go, take it or leave it’." (link)

The San Francisco 49ers partnered with cybersecurity firm Doppel to implement a unified digital risk platform to defend against brand attacks, impersonation threats, and social engineering. EVP of Technology Costa Kladianos opted for a single-vendor system rather than outsourcing to multiple providers to ensure the franchise's defensive layers communicate effectively. The new infrastructure utilizes artificial intelligence-driven security simulations and enhanced email controls to mitigate vulnerabilities when standard employee awareness training falls short, and Kladianos notes: "Social engineering is incredibly good, so you want to make sure that those controls are in place that can catch it when the user training isn’t enough, but you still have to have those trainings. You still have to have the technical controls, you have to have email controls." (link)

Pimco Chief Investment Officer Dan Ivascyn warned that US benchmark borrowing costs could hit 6% for the first time in 26 years as inflation, high oil prices, and rising public debt roil the $32T bond market. The heavy sell-off in 10-year US Treasury notes has already pushed yields to 5.29%, simultaneously driving 30-year fixed mortgage rates to an average of 7.4% and escalating borrowing costs for the lowest-rated corporate bonds to 17%. A combination of factors, including heavy capital expenditures by artificial intelligence companies and geopolitical instability linked to the Iran war, continues to suppress bond prices and raise yields. Ivascyn cautioned that yields climbing to 5.5% or higher would trigger widespread vulnerability across global equities, corporate credit, and commercial real estate: "It is certainly possible, even from a short-term trading perspective, given that some of the activity we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks is tied to some negative technicals, some stop-out activity from the platform hedge funds and other levered investors. You can certainly get there." (link)

Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds outlined the racing circuit's practical approach to implementing artificial intelligence, pushing back against the trend of broad, theoretical AI investments that result in unused tools. In an op-ed for SBJ, Dodds explained the league deploys narrow, highly specific AI agents directly into existing workflows, such as utilizing a Google Cloud-backed agent for live race strategy or providing automated coaching directly through driver headsets. Successful AI adoption, he argued, requires proximity to the actual work and a realistic scope rather than broad corporate overhauls: "The companies that get this right over the next three years won’t be the ones with the largest AI budgets. They’ll be the ones that treat each deployment the way a race team treats a new component: tested under pressure, judged on whether it makes the car faster and ripped out if it doesn’t." (link)

However, finance leaders remain hesitant to entrust artificial intelligence with capital allocation decisions compared to other administrative tasks, according to CFO Brew's Demi Lawrence. An August 2026 survey of 338 global finance executives by Esker revealed that only 24% plan to prioritize AI investment for capital allocation over the next year, lagging behind planning and forecasting (51%), financial reporting (42%), liquidity and cash flow management (39%), and invoice processing (30%). Esker CFO Scott McDermott explained that while tools like Anthropic's Claude can assist with straightforward data modeling, complex financial choices still require human oversight: "Evaluating an investment using metrics such as payback period, NPV, or IRR is largely a data and modeling exercise, and AI is well positioned to help accelerate and improve those analyses. ... [Nuanced decisions] may involve choices around dividends versus buybacks, acquisition opportunities, hiring plans, product investments, marketing spend, or determining where the next marginal dollar should be deployed across the business. Those decisions often require context, judgment, and a deep understanding of company strategy, competitive dynamics, and management priorities that do not fully reside in enterprise systems." (link)

More specifically, Prophix CEO Alok Ajmera expects artificial intelligence to enable finance departments to scale capacity rather than drive layoffs, citing his own company's engineering output increasing 3.5 times over two years via AI tools. Industry data supports this shift toward productivity over workforce reduction, as Gartner projects CFO headcount growth expectations will fall to 2% in 2026 (down from 6%), while Datarails reports 60% of CFOs are redeploying staff to higher-value work compared to only 3% actively reducing headcount. Ajmera estimates current AI tools save employees four to eight hours a week—yielding a 10% to 20% productivity improvement—though adoption remains limited to low-risk tasks. While Boston Consulting Group projects leading organizations could adopt AI-first finance functions within two to five years and potentially cut required staff in half, executives remain hesitant to trust the technology with mission-critical duties. According to Datarails, executives cite a lack of auditability (75%) and accuracy concerns (71%) as primary obstacles, with just 5% trusting AI for board-ready reports and 4% for month-end close procedures. Ajmera anticipates AI agents will eventually manage core workflows once the technology guarantees absolute precision because “in finance and accounting, every number has to be 100% correct. You cannot have any variation." (link)

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(Posted from most recent over the last 30 days).

(NEW!) Director of Athlete Compensation (Clemson University / Clemson, SC): Key member of the Athletics Central Front Office, providing strategic leadership & analytical support in the development, negotiation, and administration of student-athlete compensation strategies. More details HERE.

Data Analyst – Athletic Financial Reporting (Texas A&M University / College Station, TX): Provide data support for departmental projects and business processes and perform assigned administrative and financial business functions for Athletics business operations. More details HERE.

Financial Analyst I (2 Positions) (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): Help drive Arizona Athletics forward through financial insight, analysis, and strategy. Join our team as a Financial Analyst I and help turn data into informed decisions. More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Director, Revenue Marketing & Business Intelligence (University of Maryland / College Park, MD): Leads data-driven marketing and analytics to grow revenue, attendance, donor engagement, retention, and databases through targeted campaigns, pricing, audience insights, and sales partnerships. More details HERE.

Athletics Business Coordinator (Rice University / Houston, TX): The Business Coordinator will help in the generation of budget reports, purchasing, and deposits for the Athletic Department. More details HERE.

Athletics Business Associate (University of Illinois Springfield / Springfield, IL): Lead the business and HR operations for athletics, including providing insight into budgets, policies and staff hiring. Serves on senior staff. Has opportunity for athletics administration duties. (DII) More details HERE.

Coordinator - Business & Finance (University Athletic Association, Inc. at the University of Florida / Gainesville, FL): Manage key financial processes including accounts receivable and bank statement reconciliations. Support balance sheet reconciliation reviews. Ensure timely/accurate recording of incoming payments. More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director, Business Operations, Department of Athletics (R0009158) (Wake Forest University / Winston-Salem, NC): The Assistant Athletic Director, Business Operations, is responsible for a broad range of accounting and business operations functions within the Department of Athletics’ Business Office. More details HERE.

Assistant Business Manager (University of Texas – Austin / Austin, TX): To provide support assigned Sport Programs and Departments within Intercollegiate Athletics, in the areas of budget management, travel, procure to pay, and related business functions. More details HERE.

Data Analyst I (University of Alabama / Tuscaloosa, AL): The Data Analyst I gathers, audits, analyzes, and reports low- to moderate-complexity data under general supervision. More details HERE.

Deputy Athletic Director (University of Washington / Seattle, WA): Washington Athletics has an outstanding opportunity for a Deputy Athletic Director to join their team. More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Seattle? Click HERE.

Assistant Director for Business Services (University of Connecticut / Storrs Mansfield, CT): The University of Connecticut is seeking applications for the full-time position of Assistant Director for Business Services More details HERE.

Assistant or Associate Athletic Director, Business Operations/SWA (Sacred Heart University / Fairfield, CT): Provides operational leadership for Athletics' business functions. Oversees financial management, budgeting, purchasing, contracts, revenue and expense tracking to ensure fiscal responsibility More details HERE.

Associate VP & Chief Commercial Officer/Chief Revenue Officer (Ohio State University / Columbus, OH): Responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive revenue growth strategy for the Department of Athletics and Buckeye Enterprises at The Ohio State University. More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Columbus? Click HERE.

Director, Business Office (Spartan Ventures / East Lansing, MI): This role, in conjunction with the Spartan Ventures CFO, will manage all financial activity related to the organization and contribute directly to the success of Michigan State University Athletics. More details HERE.

Manager, Financial Planning and Analytics (University of Texas – Austin / Austin, TX): This position will serve as a point-of-contact for financial planning and internal control functions within the Department of Athletics. More details HERE.

Director of Athletics Budget and Finance (Syracuse University / Syracuse, NY): The Director of Athletics Budget and Finance oversees the comprehensive stewardship, fiscal integrity, and business operations of the athletic department More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director, Business Operations (FINANCIAL ANL SUPV 1) Job 88459. (University of California – Davis / Davis, CA): This position is responsible for overseeing all Business Office operations, including account management and oversight of an approximately $50M budget as well as all purchasing and travel activities. More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Director (California State University – Fullerton / Fullerton, CA): Assist the AD with overall organization and management of the Athletic Department, operational and strategic planning, sport supervision, policies and procedures, assist with budgetary decisions. More details HERE.