From New York with love
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
Hello hello!
Indoor golf league WTGL grabbed the attention of top LPGA stars and investors, and now it’s attracting athletes keen on upping their investment game. Aryna Sabalenka, Hilary Knight, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, and Nneka Ogwumike are a few of the top-tier athletes currently backing WTGL.
- Professional athlete careers are often short, so experts suggest pros explore investment opportunities during their careers to get a head start on their portfolios. Rewriting the playbook.
NYC
🏀 From New York with love
The GIST: It’s been a minute since the NBA’s NY Knicks have been this close to a championship — 53 years, to be exact. All that waiting has energized a famously avid fanbase, one that the NYPD (and bedtimes) can’t restrain.
- That’s because the Knicks have managed to build a massive, global following that stays loyal in tough times. But the Knicks aren’t the only game in town — let’s go over its recent wins, and how the WNBA’s Liberty and NWSL’s Gotham FC can build from them. Bing bong.
The activations: Team partner DoorDash is cashing in on the hype with community-based activations, while Nike and Jordan Brand are catering to the excitement with orange and blue colorways. Additionally, brands like Kith, Saie Beauty, and New York Or Nowhere are releasing Knicks-inspired items to deck fans out in style.
Why it works: NYC teams are often perceived as national brands: They tend to draw fans from all over, and it’s not just the Knicks. Through its partnership with the team, Luggage brand Away seized the opportunity to connect with the Liberty’s 10M-strong fanbase spanning the U.S. — having that kind of reach beyond a local market is highly appealing to brands, especially those new to sports.
- That helps explain why Fenty, Essie, and Offwhite are a few of the trendy brands that entered the WNBA chat through Liberty partnerships. And they don’t always wait for Finals runs: Essie offered a free product giveaway to help the Liberty kick off its 30th season, while New York Or Nowhere just dropped a Liberty collection.
Zooming out: Right now, the Knicks are enjoying the unique combo of a national sports brand on a championship run, but those aren’t all the ingredients necessary to capitalize on fan hype. The more important element is establishing staying power: Once NYC teams do that, it truly doesn’t matter if a team is good or bad because enough people will show up and care regardless.
- After the Liberty and Gotham won their first-ever championships, the floodgates opened, commercially-speaking. The Knicks managed to carry its title momentum for 53 years and now that the on-court success is there, fans need little to get excited. And for NYC teams, truly any brand can meet that moment. This is where dreams are made, after all.
🏔️ Denver Summit FC energizes area fans who largely haven’t been to pro games
Denver Summit FC lead investor Mellody Hobson recently noted at Forbes’ Iconoclast Summit that of the 8.5K season tickets the team sold in a three-week span, only 11% of buyers also held tickets to other major Denver franchises.
- We saw this during the PWHL’s Takeover Tour, where many fans in NHL markets were attending their first pro hockey game. The W’s Golden State Valkyries also observed this trend, recently telling The GIST that of its over 12K season tickets sold this year, only 8% crossed over with the Warriors. A whole different crowd.
🏀 Hartford flexes its strength as a WNBA market ahead of move to Houston
It was bittersweet for basketball-loving Hartford, CT, to host its first WNBA game since 2003 on Saturday, which drew over 10K fans. The city has another game set for July 2nd, which is also expected to draw large crowds with former UConn stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd returning to the area.
- It’s enough to pack the area for a few games, but was the business case strong enough to relocate the Connecticut Sun to Hartford instead of Houston? Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti noted she’s “been able to look at both sides of it,” but believes a move to Texas is ultimately the best option for the franchise’s success.
🥎 The opening-day matchup for the 2026 NCAA Women’s College World Series reached 1.4M viewers, a record for the most-watched opening day in history. Quite the ballpark figure.
🏟️ The Washington Spirit’s 20K-seater home stadium, Audi Field, will host this year’s NWSL Championship.
🦚 NBC–owned streamer Peacock will reportedly see its first profitable quarter this year since its 2020 launch.
🏎️ Clinical skincare brand SkinCeuticals was named the official skincare partner for F1 team Scuderia Ferrari HP, marking the team’s first-ever skincare deal.
⚽ American Eagle teamed up with athletic wear brand Umbro for a limited-edition collab for women’s and men’s soccer products. So fly.
🏀 Who to follow
LeagueFits for all the WNBA tunnel looks. Hoops meets high fashion every single game day.
⚽ What to watch
We’ll Go Down in History. A mini doc about the UK’s first trans football club is streaming on YouTube.
✈️ What to do
Plan a sports trip. Condé Nast Traveler explores how sports tourism — now a $680B industry — is turning fans into global travelers chasing games, tournaments, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad Bhullar and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Ali Haberstroh. Managing edits by Molly Potter, Katie Kehoe Foster, and Ellen Hyslop. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.