Silicon Valley enterprise capitalist Vinod Khosla has made a fortune backing issues that develop. Whether or not that can embody actual grass within the stadium of the Seattle Seahawks — the staff he’s getting ready to proudly owning — stays to be seen.
When asked directly on X whether or not he’d swap Lumen Subject’s synthetic turf for actual grass, Khosla punted. Pledging a hands-off method to soccer operations, he made it clear he intends to go away groundskeeping selections to the staff’s entrance workplace and the very management group that constructed a Tremendous Bowl champion.
The query carries recent weight after Lumen Subject efficiently swapped its artificial FieldTurf CORE system for pure grass to host 2026 FIFA World Cup matches.
With followers seeing proof that actual sod works within the venue, participant strain isn’t far behind.
In response to NFLPA participant surveys, an enormous 92% of gamers favor taking part in on pure grass over synthetic turf, citing profession longevity and a lowered threat of non-contact accidents. That sentiment is shared in Seattle’s personal locker room: at first of coaching camp, Seahawks veterans Cooper Kupp and Leonard Williams both voiced strong support for transitioning Lumen Subject to actual sod.
The interplay presents a recent glimpse into what kind of hands-off proprietor Khosla could possibly be for the Seahawks.
On July 11, a gaggle led by the billionaire and his household agreed to purchase the Seahawks from the property of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for a reported $9.6 billion, which might be the best worth ever paid for an NFL staff.
The deal — which names his spouse Neeru as controlling proprietor and offers his son Neal a key government position — is slated for a proper vote by NFL house owners on Aug. 26 earlier than the common season kicks off.
Khosla is a longtime San Francisco 49ers fan and season ticket holder whose household purchased a 3.1% stake in that staff final 12 months, which they’ll now should promote.
In an look Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Pod,” he known as the Seahawks a “nice franchise” and their fan base, the 12s, “probably the greatest manufacturers within the NFL.”
He doubled down on his non-interventionist type, saying any choice on a future taking part in floor at Lumen Subject shall be left to staff administration.
An enormous investor in startups and AI, Khosla did say that proudly owning the Seahawks was an opportunity to diversify away from know-how and do one thing “enjoyable.”
“Stay sports activities would be the one space that shall be insulated from any disruption that AI causes, so it’s a terrific funding space per se,” he mentioned on CNBC (at 19:35 in clip beneath).
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