Chapter 795: Lauder Stadium

"Although the NFL is in its off-season, every team is actively bolstering its roster," [Writing up to here, I hope readers remember our domain name to find Taiwan novels on Taiwan Novel Network; all the excitement is at ] a reporter said into the camera, standing before the massive stadium under construction. "This is an on-scene report from ESPN. The Los Angeles Raiders, who just won the Super Bowl in February, are making new moves. They are holding a press conference right here in front of the new venue..."

The camera panned, shifting from the reporter to a temporary stage nearby. A massive crowd had gathered, packed with people holding microphones, cameras, and camcorders—clearly the ESPN reporter's peers.

After a brief adjustment, the lens focused on the row of people seated on stage. Duke sat in the middle, head bowed as he signed his name. He then exchanged contracts with Aerin Lauder beside him, who had just finished doing the same, and a round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the crowd.

The reporter's voiceover resumed. "Today, Duke Rosenberg and Leonardo DiCaprio, the two owners of the Los Angeles Raiders, officially signed a sponsorship contract with Aerin Lauder for the Raiders' new stadium. Once construction is complete, the venue will officially be named Lauder Stadium. The total value of this sponsorship reportedly exceeds 100 million dollars. In order to promote her sports skincare line..."

The camera gradually zoomed in, capturing close-ups of the figures on stage one by one.

The reporter continued, "Today's press conference is truly star-studded. Not only are Duke Rosenberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Aerin Lauder here in person, but Los Angeles Raiders star players like Tom Brady and Marshawn Lynch are also in attendance."

Back at the press conference, Duke and Aerin Lauder had finished exchanging contracts and were posing together for photos.

In reality, the official signing had been completed a few days prior. Managing to partner with his good friend Aerin Lauder's company had exceeded Duke's expectations.

In North America, naming rights for almost all professional sports stadiums were sold off, and the new home turf Duke was building for the Los Angeles Raiders was no exception.

The stadium was projected to cost over 500 million dollars and was designed to hold 81,000 people. If necessary, additional stands could push that capacity past 100,000. According to the specifications, it would be one of the most advanced and luxurious stadiums in North America, if not the world.

Nancy Josephson's ICM had been handling the marketing for the Los Angeles Raiders. After the team successfully captured the Super Bowl in February, finding a sponsor for the new stadium was put on the agenda. Meanwhile, Aerin Lauder's company was vigorously promoting its men's sports skincare line. The two sides hit it off instantly.

Even though Duke had missed his team's first Super Bowl appearance due to negotiations with Lucasfilm, he still attended this press conference. The team had secured the championship, but marketing was a long-term endeavor.

His and Leonardo's presence also made the press conference much more high-profile.

After the press conference concluded, everyone moved to a nearby hotel where the Los Angeles Raiders had prepared a dedicated reception banquet.

Unlike the main banquet hall, which hosted the media, the smaller banquet hall was mostly filled with prominent figures from professional sports and Hollywood. Duke socialized briefly in the main hall before handing things over to the Raiders' press officer and retreating to the more comfortable small banquet hall.

The reception was very relaxed. People in the small hall gathered in groups of two or three, chatting about topics of interest.

Duke found Aerin Lauder beside a massive poster celebrating the Raiders' Super Bowl victory.

"You're the owner, yet you weren't even there for the team's championship win?" Aerin Lauder remarked, looking at the poster.

Duke shrugged. "I had more important matters to deal with at the time."

Two Los Angeles Raiders combined wouldn't equal the importance of one Lucasfilm.

Aerin Lauder took two glasses of soda water from a waiter, took a small sip from one, and asked, "Is the Lucasfilm deal complete?"

"The transaction is finished," Duke said, taking the glass Aerin handed him. "But Lucasfilm is currently undergoing internal restructuring."

With a new owner, Lucasfilm was bound to undergo some adjustments, and Duke had no intention of keeping its loss-making departments. He planned to spin them off and sell them. In his vision, Lucasfilm's focus lay in two areas: visual effects technology, represented by Industrial Light and Magic, and the Star Wars franchise along with its derivatives.

"So that means..." Aerin smiled. "We'll have to wait a while to see a new Star Wars?"

Duke nodded. "The company needs internal adjustments, and projects have to be discussed. Give it three to five years."

Although he had some ideas for the new Star Wars Series, Duke was well aware that building the brand hadn't been easy. They had to be extremely cautious with the new films and their merchandise.

Serialized films like Star Wars absolutely could not be handled recklessly; otherwise, it would only backfire.

"What about you?"

They hadn't seen each other in a long time, and Duke asked out of concern, "Have you finished consolidating your operations in China? You've spent so much time over there these past two years, I thought you'd become Chinese."

"Pretty much," Aerin Lauder laughed happily. "The potential of the Chinese market is just too tempting. I think it's absolutely necessary to keep steering the company's business in that direction. Out of all my brands, the Chinese market has had the fastest growth rate these past two years."

She suddenly shifted the subject. "I'll be heading back to China soon, and I'll probably stay there for a bit. If you ever visit, I'll host you."

Duke laughed. "Sure. I expect my next film will focus heavily on promotions in China."

Over the past year, the entire Chinese film market had grown by over thirty-five percent—an unprecedented phenomenon in global cinematic history. Coupled with the new Sino-US WTO memorandum coming into effect, the major Hollywood studios and production companies would only place greater importance on that vast, boundlessly promising market across the Pacific Ocean.

Just as Aerin Lauder had embedded herself in China over the past two years to aggressively expand her market, Duke and Warner Brothers had never stopped their own promotional efforts there. Especially after Duke acquired Lucasfilm, figuring out how to promote Star Wars culture in China had been elevated to the agenda for Lucasfilm's management.

The Star Wars Series possessed countless fans in North America and across the West, but it fell significantly short in China. If the new Star Wars films were to reap massive revenues and profits, pushing into the Chinese market would be one of their key priorities.

The two chatted briefly about their respective careers before Aerin Lauder changed the subject again. She asked, "Does Scar have time tomorrow?"

"She's been working out lately," Duke said after a moment of thought. "She shouldn't have anything major going on tomorrow."

Aerin Lauder mimed dialing a phone. "I'll give her a call and ask her to go shopping with me tomorrow."

With that, she waved to Duke and walked off toward her assistant.

Duke also left the area, strolling over to Leonardo DiCaprio's small circle and joining their casual chatter.

"Hey, Tom. Hey, Gisele..." Duke greeted the two people standing opposite Leonardo as he took his place beside him.

The people across from Leonardo were none other than his ex-girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen, and her husband, Tom Brady. The three of them seemed to be having a great time talking.

This was a very normal occurrence in North America, and Duke knew a bit of the backstory. Leonardo and Gisele Bundchen hadn't broken up over some irreconcilable, bitter conflict. The main reason was simply that Leonardo had been unwilling to give up the entire forest for a single tree.

"You did a fantastic job at the Super Bowl," Duke said. Even though he hadn't watched the game live, he had still seen the highlights. "Tom, I'm counting on you to bring the team more Super Bowls."

During the Super Bowl, Tom Brady's performance had been exceptionally steady. He was undoubtedly one of the key figures responsible for the team capturing the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

After Gisele Bundchen exchanged greetings with Duke, Tom Brady took the initiative to lead her to another side of the room. The quarterback was quite smart; proactively maintaining a certain distance from Duke—the team's actual owner—was a very wise approach.

"He's a very smart guy, isn't he?" Leonardo remarked, watching Tom Brady walk away.

"That he is." Duke lightly patted Leonardo's shoulder. "If he wasn't smart enough, why would Gisele Bundchen have willingly married him?"

Catching Duke's teasing tone, Leonardo pointed a finger at him. "I wouldn't do what you did, giving up all those people waiting for me just for one person."

"People waiting for you?" Duke couldn't help but shake his head. "Leo, you really have a high opinion of yourself."

"Am I wrong?" Leonardo struck an incredibly smug pose. "If this were ten years ago and you waved at a long-legged blonde model, she would definitely leave with you. But now? I'm afraid they wouldn't even give you the time of day. Meanwhile, all I have to do is wave, and countless models line up for me."

Hearing this, Duke nearly spat out the soda water he had just sipped. However, the truth wasn't far off from what Leonardo claimed. Over the past few years, his reputation as a playboy had long been eclipsed by countless newcomers in Hollywood. In front of a master philanderer like Leonardo, he didn't hold any advantage.

But Duke had no regrets. People constantly adapt to their circumstances, and he was no exception.

This was the Los Angeles Raiders' reception, and quite a few sports celebrities could be seen in the hall. NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, for instance, had come over specifically to greet him.

Soon after, Duke spotted another somewhat familiar face. It was a Black man with a massive frame, built like a small mountain.