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Sportico Transactions: Moves and Mergers Roundup for August 25

sportico staff
·8 min read

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry.

PERSONNEL

Logitix Names Michael Ramirez as Vice President of Business Operations

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Logitix has hired Michael Ramirez as vice president of business operations. Ramirez most recently worked with Amazon Web Services (AWS) as their head of worldwide sales strategy & operations for Microsoft Workloads. As a result of Logitix’s recent growth into more markets with broader offerings, Ramirez will focus on streamlining processes and workflows to maximize efficiencies. Logitix manages millions of tickets for teams and properties from the MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL and NCAA, plus live event properties across the entertainment industry.

OneTeam Partners Appoints CEO and President

OneTeam Partners, a pioneer in commercializing group licensing rights for professional and collegiate athletes, has named Sean C. Sansiveri as chief executive officer and Frank Arthofer as president, effective immediately. As CEO, Sansiveri assumes the responsibility of defining the company’s strategy and vision, and oversees all operations to drive success and growth. Before taking on this role, Sansiveri served as the general counsel & head of business Affairs at the NFL Players Association and its for-profit subsidiary, NFL Players Inc., where he also led initiatives related to athlete health, safety and medical research. Arthofer’s background spans Formula 1, The Walt Disney Company/ESPN and Boston Consulting Group. At OneTeam, he will lead revenue generation and marketing efforts, as well as business strategy and development.

PARTNERSHIPS

DirecTV Becomes Official Sponsor of Notre Dame Athletics

Notre Dame Global Partnerships (NDGP), the multimedia rightsholder for the University of Notre Dame Athletics Department, announced a new sponsorship with DirecTV. It will become an official sponsor of Notre Dame Athletics and its 26 varsity athletic teams. DirecTV has worked with teams, leagues and events across the entire U.S. sporting landscape since its inception in 1994. As part of the multiyear agreement, DirecTV will receive the ability to include official Notre Dame Athletics designation, involvement in the Notre Dame Radio Network and access to VIP hospitality at home games.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Hydro Flask Announce Title Partnership of Snowboard Team

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has partnered with Hydro Flask—a maker of insulated stainless steel flasks and soft goods products—officially naming the team the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team. The partnership will bring additional financial and marketing support to the snowboard program over the next three years, extending through the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Hydro Flask’s title sponsorship broadens an existing partnership with U.S. Ski & Snowboard. The brand has been a named supplier to the team since 2019 and produced co-branded bottles and gear throughout the last four years. Hydro Flask will also take on the role of associate partner at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix events held at Copper Mountain, Colo., and Mammoth Mountain, Calif. Additionally, Hydro Flask will be involved in the Visa Big Air event at Copper Mountain.

Mike Trout Golf Course Announces Routing by Tiger Woods Design Firm

Trout National—The Reserve, a golf club collaboration between Mike Trout and local partner and businessman John Ruga, announced the course routing by Tiger Woods’ TGR Design. The 18-hole, par-72 golf course, slated to complete construction in 2025, is routed through two unique natural landscapes giving distinct character to the course. The club said the site in Trout’s hometown of Vineland, N.J., which has a former silica sand mine and rambling farmland, offers playable sandy waste areas as well as fairways offering multiple routes from tee to green.

AC Milan and Idealista Announce Exclusive Partnership

AC Milan and Idealista, a real estate portal in Southern Europe, announced a new multiyear partnership that will tie the two brands together starting with the 2023-24 season. The partnership between AC Milan and idealista combines the the Rossoneri brand with the experience in the real estate sector of idealista.

Parity x Morgan Stanley Partner on Women Athletes‘ Financial Education

Parity, the platform dedicated to closing the gender income and opportunity gap in professional sports, has renewed its partnership with Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to empower women athletes through financial education. Morgan Stanley will tap Parity to launch their latest initiative, “Money in the Making,” a digital financial education program for athletes, entertainers and young and emerging professionals in the sports and entertainment industry.

LPGA and Fenway Sports Form Commercial Partnership

The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and Fenway Sports Management (FSM) have made a sales alliance focused on developing next level tour marketing partnerships. This collaboration aims to further strengthen the LPGA’s growth while expanding opportunities for FSM in the world of professional golf and women’s sports. This partnership will allow the LPGA to expand its reach in identifying and engaging with new partners, paving the way for increased revenue generation and enhanced exposure. FSM’s Partnerships team will now assist in developing and selling LPGA partnership assets worldwide alongside FSM’s portfolio of sports properties.

NASCAR, nVenue Announce Sports Betting and Predictive Data Partnership

NASCAR and nVenue have agreed to a multiyear partnership to develop in-race micro-betting markets and predictive content for race fans nationwide. As part of the agreement, NASCAR will work with nVenue, a micro-betting technology company, as an official micro-betting data and technology provider, collaborating to design and develop in-race odds for delivery to NASCAR fans via sportsbooks and operators. Unlike traditional betting markets focused on the end-of-race outcome, in-race markets will include unique betting windows such as stage results, qualifying and pit road betting opportunities. NVenue will leverage official live racetrack data along with historical race data points to generate predictions and odds for each race and driver.

ATP and Sense Arena Partner on Virtual Reality Tennis Training Platform

The ATP and Sense Arena have announced a multiyear partnership that will see Sense Arena become the Official VR Tennis Training Tool of the ATP Tour, called ATP Tour Sense Arena. The cobranded platform, operated via a Meta Quest 2 headset paired with a haptic racket, will offer VR training applications to tennis players of all levels. Additionally, the ATP’s Top 100 Singles players and Top 25 Doubles players will receive complimentary access to train with Sense Arena’s VR technology. The platform will feature a new integration called Master Your Return, which will be powered by data and analytics from pro players on the ATP Tour and Hologic WTA Tour, enabling users to analyze and return true-to-life serves in VR from top ATP and WTA players.

Sagamore Spirit Named as Partner of the Baltimore Ravens

Sagamore Spirit announced its designation as partner of the Baltimore Ravens. The partnership, which initially runs through March 2028, kicks off with the opening of the Sagamore Spirit Bar at M&T Bank Stadium, where visitors will be offered the Baltimore-distilled brand’s rye whiskey products along with its line of canned craft cocktails. Sagamore Spirit is also launching a collective commemorative bottle to mark the stadium’s 25th anniversary.

USTA and beIN Sports Extend U.S. Open Broadcast Partnership

The USTA announced that it has extended its partnership with beIN Sports, granting beIN the exclusive media rights to the U.S. Open Tennis Championships through 2027 in the Middle East and North Africa. BeIN will feature both Arabic- and English-language coverage of the U.S. Open over the next five years. BeIN has held exclusive rights to the U.S. Open for more than a decade, and the extension solidifies beIN as the only platform in the region where viewers can watch all four Grand Slam events.

BeIN Selects Screach to Stream Matches to Australia’s Commercial Venues

The global sports network beIN Sports has teamed up with the Screach streaming platform to deliver its coverage of world soccer and tennis to thousands of commercial venues across Australia. Launched in Australia in 2014, beIN Sports holds the exclusive Australian broadcast rights to more than 1,000 soccer matches a year, including all fixtures in Italy’s Serie A, English Football League, Carabao Cup, Scottish Premiership and French Ligue 1. The network also announced its acquisition of Bundesliga broadcasting rights for the next three seasons, and in tennis holds the Australian rights to all ATP and WTA tour events, as well as the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.

PRODUCTS

Athletes.Org Launches to Organize College Athletes 

Jim Cavale and Brandon Copeland have launched Athletes.org (AO), a 501c nonprofit organization designed for college athletes to receive on-demand support in navigating their respective college athletics experience. All athletes who sign up for a free AO membership will have an exclusive login to their AO member app. AO member athletes will receive on-demand support through a series of knowledge, access and protection app features, providing them with the ability to ask any question to the app, interact with a pro bono expert and view a registry of AO-verified agents and collectives.

Midwest Games Is Born With Help From Green Bay Packers VC Arm

This week marked the launch of regionally focused video-game publisher Midwest Games. Founded and helmed by former Netflix senior management Ben Kvalo, Midwest Games will focus on creating opportunities for talent across the Midwest and other underrepresented regions. Headquartered in Green Bay, Midwest Games works in residence at the offices of partner and lead investor TitletownTech, a venture capital firm anchored by the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft. Joining the inaugural executive team with Kvalo as co-founder and head of partnerships is former XSET co-owner chief experience officer Rob Martin III.

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