REPORT: With economy hurting budgets, NASCAR bans testing to save money

NASCAR will implement a no-testing policy next season in order to save millions of dollars during a massive downturn in the U.S. economy.

NASCAR officials met with teams' crew chiefs Friday morning at Homestead-Miami Speedway to inform them of the change. The official announcement is expected later today.

All tracks that have NASCAR events in the top three series -- Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Trucks, which will be renamed Camping World Trucks next season -- are expected to be included in the testing ban.

The change also is expected to include Daytona International Speedway and the traditional two weeks of test sessions in January before the '09 season begins.

"It has pluses and minuses," said Pat Tryson, crew chief for the No. 2 Dodge driven by Kurt Busch. "Times are tough right now, so it's probably not that bad a thing for most people. It's the same for everybody. It may make the racing better with nobody having the opportunity to test."

This is a dramatic change from the idea NASCAR officials proposed to the teams two months ago, when the plan was to increase testing to 24 sessions per team, with every Cup track included. But the faltering economy caused NASCAR to rethink that idea and take a major step to limit costs.

Many teams spend more than $3 million a season on testing. Each test day can run more than $100,000 per car in expenses.

Cup teams had lobbied for more testing at Cup tracks to gain valuable data on the new car at each Cup facility. Only a few tracks had open test sessions this year, so teams were forced to test at tracks where NASCAR doesn't have Cup races.

The new policy will not keep teams from testing at non-NASCAR tracks.

MLB: Economy Makes Free Agent Signings More Risky

Associated Press

Major League Baseball's free-agent market opened for business at 12:01 a.m. EST Friday morning and the Yankees, who missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993, are expected to dominate proceedings.

"We're going to do what we do every year, and that's try to field a championship team," co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner told reporters on Tuesday. "That's not going to change. We know that we've got some weaknesses, and we're going to fix the problems as best we can. If that means spending money, obviously that means spending money. The philosophy has not changed."

Yankees GM Brian Cashman got things started Thursday by signing reliever Damaso Marte to a three-year, US$12-million contract and trading for Chicago White Sox first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher.

That will likely not be the end of the moves for baseball's richest team.

New York is moving into a new Yankee Stadium that will generate tens of millions of dollars more than the team's former home, although a slowing economy has impacted luxury suite sales for this season. Seven were still available this week.

But with single-game ticket prices as high as US$2,500, the team will not be hurting for cash.

A.J. Burnett must be hopelessly underpaid because he didn't think twice about telling the Toronto Blue Jays that his current contract guaranteeing him $12 million a year just wasn't going to cut it anymore.

Hard to blame him, because fellow pitcher CC Sabathia figures to make double that by the time he reports to spring training a few months from now. Besides, there's always the nagging worry that a new administration taking office soon just might be coming after some of his fortune.

Some team, perhaps even the Blue Jays, will pay Burnett what he wants. They will because this is baseball and, as super agent Scott Boras points out, the economic rules that govern normal civilized society don't apply.

"In our myopic world," Boras said, "there's a lot of fixed elements that frankly are not as applicable to the outside world."

They may listen and nod approvingly when Bud Selig says times are tough and that teams should watch what they do with their money, as he did in a video call to general managers meeting this week in Dana Point, Calif. But toss a top starting pitcher in front of them, and even the mid-market teams start salivating and begging their bankers for a loan.

Cowboys Look To Refinance $350 million debt

The Dallas Cowboys are seeking to borrow $350 million by Dec. 1, according to numerous finance sources, in one of the worst credit environments in the nation’s history.

The club’s proposed deal would refinance $126 million the team borrowed last year through the now-imploded auction-rate securities market, as well as add new debt to cover cost overruns at the team’s $1.2 billion stadium that is set to open next year, the sources said.

“Everyone is looking at the Cowboys’ deal. It is a huge bellwether,” said one finance source. “This is one of the only deals, period, in the market [sports or otherwise].”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the team’s lead lender, Bank of America, hosted more than a dozen banks at the suite sales center adjacent to the under-construction stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Oct. 27, offering a deal priced 2.5 percent over the London Interbank Offered Rate, a floating-rate index, sources said.

The Cowboys and Bank of America want the other banks to buy pieces of the loan, a process called syndication. The Cowboys and Bank of America declined to comment.

The Cowboys are relying on a few factors to get the deal done. One is the allure of the Cowboys brand. Second, the team has pledged in the proposed deal nearly all revenue lines from the new stadium, sources said. That’s a feature that was common in stadium financing six years ago but disappeared during the go-go years of easy credit, when pledged revenues were lighter.

A third factor is the growth of the Dallas market. During the bank meeting, according to a banking source, Jones pitched Dallas as being second only to Chicago in terms of market size among NFL cities with just one team. He referred to the Dallas Metroplex, which includes Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington.

For the Cowboys, getting out from underneath the auction-rate debt is a pressing concern. They are one of four NFL teams to have borrowed from the auction-rate securities (ARS) market, a market that allowed companies to borrow cheaply and continue to reset the interest rate with auctions of the debt weekly and monthly.

The Cowboys estimated the stadium would cost $650 million when they announced the project in 2004. With $350 million of public funding and $76 million from the NFL, it looked like a choice deal for the team.

The club arranged to borrow at least $450 million through Banc of America Securities for its portion, with the first $126 million through the ARS market. But Jones agreed to cover cost overruns as part of the team’s share, and like many stadiums in this period, the price has spiraled.

The team has not yet secured a naming-rights deal for the stadium, which would bring in additional revenue. The club also could raise as much as $735 million from the sale of personal seat licenses, according to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram report. There are 55,000, 30-year PSLs available at prices ranging from $2,000 to $150,000.

The stadium will seat 80,000 but will be able to expand to 100,000 for special events like the Super Bowl, which Dallas is scheduled to host in 2011.

Report: Cuban has 'zero chance' of buying Cubs

From the Chicago Sun-Times

Cubs owner Sam Zell would love to sell the team to Mark Cuban.

Plenty of Cubs fans would love to have him own the team.

But that's not going to happen, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

"There's no way Bud and the owners are going to let that happen. Zero chance," a Major League Baseball source told the paper this week.

The Cubs originally went on sale on Opening Day of the 2007 season, but there has been little movement toward a resolution.

The recent global financial crisis has only stalled it even more as the value of the team and ballpark has dropped from a high of $1 billion.

The source doesn't see a resolution any time soon, telling the paper, "We'll be standing here at next year's GM meetings and this will still be unresolved."

The paper says a group headed by John Canning Jr. is the likely front-runner.

Blues Offer Their Own Homeowner "Bailout" Program

Rob Rodgers | www.stableretirement.com

Another reason to see the Blues in STL. The St Louis Blues of the NHL are introducing "Fannie and Freddie Mortgage Saturday." One fan chosen at random during each Saturday home game will receive relief on his or her monthly mortgage or rent payments for up to four months ($1,000 maximum per month).

With eleven Saturday homes games left on the regular season calendar, eleven lucky fans in total will be "bailed out." The team is also offering reduced Saturday night ticket prices on 1,000 seats.

Friday Morning Review On KADI 1340 AM

Rob Rodgers | www.stableretirement.com

Wow! Time flies, especially 30 minutes, when you're talking money and sports.

Today on the show, we discussed how the JQH Arena will pay its bills and the advantage of having national acts like the Eagles and Casting Crowns coming to Springfield.

The St Louis Blues have a "mortgage bailout plan" for fans. See the full story on this blog.

We also talked about the best deals in sports. From buy one, get one season tickets to buy now, pay later deals. Teams are doing everything they can to put fans in the seats in this tough economy.

Did you know Jerry Jones has to refinance $350 million in debt on the new stadium in Dallas? Not your ordinary mortgage.

And will Mark Cuban be able to buy the Cubs? Cub fans like it as well as current owner Sam Zell. However, MLB is not to exited about it.

Join Rob and Steve on Sports Biz Friday on KADI 1340 AM from 8:30 to 9:00 am. Don't forget to get your market opening bell report every Friday.

Tickets To JQH Arena Opening Still Available

Tickets to the new $67 million JQH Arena at Missouri State University are still available for the basketball home openers for both the Bears and Lady Bears.

Individual game tickets for the Saturday, Nov. 22 opener for the Bears against Arkansas are $20 for upper bowl seats. That game is also a part of a "Triple Tipoff Pack" for $90 per lower bowl ticket that also includes the Friday, Nov. 28 matchup against Utah and the Saturday, Dec. 6 tilt versus Arkansas State.

The Lady Bears opener against Arkansas State on Nov. 23 has seats available in the upper bowl for $15. Their "Triple Tipoff Pack" is $57 per lower bowl ticket and features games against Western Kentucky on Dec. 7 and Arkansas-Little Rock on Dec. 14.

Family plans for $300 for the men and $250 for the women (includes four season tickets) are also still available.

Call the Missouri State ticket office at 417-836-7678.