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HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL
"In today’s NBA, these amenities are no longer an option but a “requirement” in order to attract top players, said Carrie Potter, Rice University faculty and sports finance expert. Potter, who has represented professional athletes and worked in the NBA since 1999, said the Rockets’ new facility will play a significant role in attracting free agents, particularly international players who have grown up with similar training centers their whole lives."
"Additionally, players, coaches, staff and front office personnel are all in close proximity in the new facility — as opposed to being separated by multiple floors at Toyota Center — to create a more community-oriented environment. Building that culture and a “home away from home” for players is also a key attraction for players, Potter said."
"Houston is already generally considered a top-five city for professional athletes because of the state’s tax structure and the city’s culture and food scene, Potter said. The new training center, which can now compete with the likes of the rest of the NBA, only elevates the Rockets as a team of choice for valuable players."
“Houston is already high on that list, but then you add a facility like this, and it could make the difference between a player choosing our city and another city,” Potter said."
"The new training center also adds a significant revenue boost for the Rockets — already one of the world’s most profitable sports teams — Potter said.
Most notably, there is a direct revenue benefit from the naming rights deal with Memorial Hermann. Additionally, there is a trickle-down effect in which investing in players leads to continued business success, Potter said."
"Investing in player facilities helps teams sign valuable free agents, retain players for multiple contracts and keep those players healthy, Potter said. That allows teams’ fan bases to engage and build bonds with the players in an intimate league like the NBA. That then leads to fans filling seats and buying merchandise, growing the team’s revenue base."
"That investment also leads to winning, the ultimate driver of fan engagement, Potter said. It all starts with player-focused facilities — places most fan will never step foot in."
“If you’re doing the most to invest in your players and retain and attract the best talent — it’s like any other business — then you will continue to be successful,” Potter said. “Winning turns into money. The only way you win is to have the best assets on the court."
“That’s what this training facility brings to the Houston Rockets as a franchise.”
SPORTICO
NFL's Taylor Swift Effect One Year in: The Pop Star Has Changed Sports by Jacob Feldman
“This missing piece was really 35-year-old women and below—the younger demographic—which is exactly in line with Taylor Swift’s fan base,” Rice University faculty and sport finance expert Carrie Potter said. “Not only are the statistics lining up in terms of the demographic that the NFL could go after, but it’s also that the women in those situations control purchasing power.”
“What we’re learning is … not just that these young women are there because Taylor Swift is there, or they’re buying jerseys because Taylor Swift is wearing them, they’re actually now becoming introduced to the game and there’s a stickiness to it,” Potter said. “If the NFL product is so good, and the women are tied to not just the Taylor Swift effect, but that brings them into the fold and now they stick as a fan, and they stay engaged throughout the different life cycles, then it can only add growth to the NFL and their marketing and branding and sponsorship power.”
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Chasing the Olympic dream isn’t cheap, and U.S. athletes often are stuck with the bill by David Wharton
"It goes to the fundamentals of what the #Olympics mean to our country," Carrie Potter, a Lecturer in Sport Finance at Rice University, tells David Wharton of the Los Angeles Times, "The way the United States approached it was to say let's keep politics out of sports."
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
"It is all about profit. There would be a clear, defined structure going in," Potter said. "It's [NFL Team] a huge asset to have in your portfolio. It is a very attractive position to be a minority owner in a professional sports team, especially a coveted team like the Cowboys."
"I think the league is on a trajectory that is brilliant. They have the fan experience, demand for media rights, they're expanding beyond the U.S., even Taylor Swift is adding something," Rice's Potter said.
BUSINESS INSIDER
"In 2026, 50% of the tax exemptions that are currently in place for estate taxes are expiring," Carrie Potter, a lecturer of sports management at Rice University and a sports-finance expert, said. "So when these teams are selling for $6 billion, the amount of estate tax that they're going to have to pay is incredibly high."
Opening the door to new investment will mean a sudden influx of cash that owners could put toward some much-needed upgrades, Potter said. "A lot of the NFL facilities are aged and have a lot of upgrades that need to happen or perhaps new stadiums to be built."
KPRC 2
NBC HOUSTON
The Taylor Swift effect’ on the NFL and Super Bowl by Zach Lashway
Sports finance expert Carrie Potter shares how ‘the Taylor Swift effect’ is attracting an entire new genre of fans to the NFL.
DISCOVERY
Coastal Cruizers | Garage Rehab with Richard Rawlings
Richard Rawlings sees potential in the golf cart industry and is willing to try to turn the shop around. When permitting a historical building puts their plans to a halt and the owner doesn't pull his weight, Richard has second thoughts about the project. Guest finance expert Carrie Potter weighs in on the best way to manage Coastal's overwhelming debt.