紐時賞析／LIV併PGA後 沙烏地銀彈攻勢的下個目標是誰？

After LIV Golf, What Will Be the Next Saudi Sports Bet?

LIV併PGA後 沙烏地銀彈攻勢的下個目標是誰？

When the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf series announced an agreement to join with the PGA Tour, it shocked deal makers across the sports world.

沙烏地阿拉伯支持的LIV高球巡迴賽宣布與美國職業男子高球巡迴賽PGA（美巡賽）合併協議，消息震撼了整個體育投資界。

“It’s been a mix of stunned and in disbelief,” Alex Michael, a managing director at the investment bank LionTree, talked about the general reaction.

投資銀行「獅樹」董事總經理麥可談到大家普遍的反應，「參雜了震驚和不可置信」。

Industry insiders quickly moved on to wondering which sport could be next.

但業界人士很快就接受這項事實，開始猜想沙國下一個體壇目標。

Saudi Arabia’s enormous sovereign wealth fund, which is known as the Public Investment Fund, or PIF, has an appetite for sports. It has made investments in WWE, Formula 1 and a national soccer league.

沙國主權財富基金「公共投資基金」財力雄厚，且對體育賽事展現高度興趣，包括世界摔角娛樂、一級方程式賽車及沙國國內足球聯賽之一都有其投資。

But the kingdom’s history of human rights violations has been an obstacle to some deals in the United States. In 2019, the entertainment giant Endeavor returned the fund’s $400 million investment after the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. And until recently, the PGA Tour was eager to use Saudi Arabia’s record against it.

但這個王國侵犯人權的歷史，一直是在美國部分交易的障礙。華盛頓郵報專欄作家哈紹吉遭殺害後，美國娛樂巨頭奮進公司2019年退還了沙國基金4億美元投資。直到最近，美巡賽都還熱中以人權紀錄對付沙國。

That moral concern seems to have been overridden by the PGA Tour’s business concerns. The deal with LIV Golf came together after the rival circuit picked up traction and lured players away with lofty purses, ultimately making it infeasible for the PGA to compete.

但道德疑慮顯然比不過美巡賽的商業考量。隨著對手聯賽逐漸成氣候、選手接二連三被重金挖角，美巡賽終於難以競爭，同意與LIV合併。

“The Saudis didn’t change history or change who they were,” said Lyle Ayes, CEO of Verance Capital, which invests in sports. “The deal just made sense.”

體育投資銀行「維倫斯資本」總裁艾斯說：「沙烏地人並未改寫歷史，也沒有改變身分；這筆交易十分合理」。

Effectively a commercial partnership, the deal may open the door for more sports businesses to accept PIF funds, Ayes said.

艾斯表示，這筆交易實為商業合作，可能為更多體育產業接受公共投資基金打開大門。

It would be difficult to pull off the LIV Golf playbook in another sport. Baseball faces challenges that would make an investment in a rival league risky: Its fan base is aging, the regional sports model is collapsing, and there aren’t a lot of spare baseball stadiums big enough for a major-league team. A rival to the National Football League would require a large number of players, and past efforts to create competitor leagues have flopped.

但要在其他運動項目套用LIV的劇本恐怕十分困難。棒球面臨的挑戰，讓投資對手聯盟頗有風險：美國棒球迷年齡層正在老化，區域體育模式搖搖欲墜，也沒有很多夠大的閒置棒球場能容納大聯盟隊伍。要成立國家美式足球聯盟的對手需要不少球員，而過去類似的競爭者聯盟嘗試都失敗。

The National Basketball Association might be the easiest team league to challenge. Basketball requires fewer players than baseball or football, and courts are fairly easy to find or build. But given how much U.S. players are already paid, it’s unclear what a rival league could offer.

最容易挑戰的也許是美國職籃「國家籃球協會」。比起棒球與美式足球，籃球隊需要的球員較少，要找到或建造新籃球場也比較容易。但鑑於美國球員的待遇很高，對手聯盟能提供什麼仍然不清楚。

Tennis is probably the best candidate for a rival tour. Like golf, it’s an individual sport, which makes it easier for PIF to lure athletes with big checks.

網球或許是成立巡迴賽打對台的最佳選項。如同高爾夫球，網球是個人運動，公共投資基金比較容易以重金挖角選手。

文／Lauren Hirsch, Michael J. de la Merced　譯／陳曉慈