Phoenix is center of the sports world for a week

This week, sports fans have their eyes on Phoenix. Two events of enormous caliber are being held in Arizona's capital: the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament and Super Bowl LVII. In addition, the purchase of the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury was confirmed, the most expensive sports franchise acquisition in history.

Phoenix Suns: record acquisition and new "big three"

Mat Ishbia, a well-known American businessman, fulfilled one of his lifelong dreams: to be part of the NBA ownership fraternity. The previous owner of the Suns and Mercury, Robert Sarver, put the teams up for sale in September 2022 after owning them for 19 years.

After three months of negotiations, Ishbia offered $4 billion for both franchises, which Sarver could not refuse. The agreement was signed in December, although it remained to be seen whether the NBA's Board of Governors would approve the transaction.

Finally, Ishbia was approved to become the most recent owner to land in the NBA and the WNBA. The sale was the most expensive acquisition of a sports team in history.

The Suns' prominence did not end there. One day after the purchase was made official, Kevin Durant, one of the league's premier stars, was traded to the Arizona franchise.

With the acquisition of the forward, the Suns complete a dream "big three" of Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Durant himself, with which they can win their first NBA championship.

WM Phoenix Open: Scheffler, McIlroy and Rahm going for the win

The first round of the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament began this Thursday, albeit with a few hours delay due to frost. The best golfers in the world will compete in one of the most prestigious tournaments of the professional circuit at the TPC Scottsdale course in Arizona.

The tournament more than doubled its prize purse compared to the previous edition: from $8.5 million last year to $20 million this year. With this alone, the WM Phoenix Open raised the tournament's stakes and status.

Last year, the event generated more than $450 million, almost three times as much as the Ryder Cup ($130 million). Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, plus world number one Rory McIlroy and Spaniard Jon Rahm are the favorites to win.

Super Bowl LVII: the show is on the road

This Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will face off in what is one of the greatest sporting spectacles on the planet: the Super Bowl. The 57th edition of the tournament is being held at State Farm Stadium, located just a few miles from downtown Phoenix.

In the conference championships, the Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals by a narrow margin (23-20). Meanwhile, the Eagles had little trouble against the San Francisco 49ers (31-7). Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will be the game's headline matchup.

Off the field, Super Bowl LVII will be a stratospheric source of income for Phoenix, in addition to the entertainment provided by the world of music and movies during the halftime show.