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Sportico Transactions: Moves and Mergers Roundup for March 8

sportico staff
·15 min read

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

PERSONNEL

Fubo Names Former NFL Exec Neil Glat to Board of Directors

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Fubo, a sports-first live TV streaming platform, has named former NFL and NY Jets executive Neil Glat to its board of directors. Pär-Jörgen (PJ) Pärson will step down from Fubo’s board to focus on his role at leading venture capital fund Northzone. Glat has extensive operating and strategic experience in sports, entertainment, media and hospitality. He is the managing member of NG Strategies LLC, providing strategic advice to sports, media and technology businesses, and most recently served as co-president, Americas, for Sportfive, a sports, entertainment and marketing agency.

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment Announces Executive Team Additions

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) announced additions to its executive team as part of a corporate-wide restructuring. Long-time KSE executive Mike Neary will now be executive vice president, business operations and development, and Los Angeles Rams president Kevin Demoff is being named president, team and media operations. Neary will oversee operations of various KSE companies and venues, notably Ball Arena, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park and the Paramount Theatre. He will report to Josh Kroenke and will be based in Denver. Demoff will oversee operations of all KSE teams including the Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Colorado Rapids (MLS) and Colorado Mammoth (NLL), as well as operations of all KSE Media properties including Altitude Sports and Entertainment, KSE Radio and Outdoor Sportsman Group. In this role, he will report to Josh Kroenke.

Wave Sports + Entertainment Announces New Promotions, Appointments

Wave Sports + Entertainment has promoted Mack Sovereign to chief content officer and appointed EJ Wright to vice president of athlete relations & content. The company also hired digital sales and brand partnerships veteran Meghan Jones as head of sales; she comes to Wave from Warner Bros. Discovery. In this role, Sovereign will continue to oversee all content strategy across the business, including the company’s premium originals, editorial coverage and strategy for Wave’s 100-plus partnerships with rights holders and sports properties. Jones will be responsible for leading the sales team in driving strategic partnerships and expanding brand collaborations. Wright will be responsible for developing and managing content partnerships with athletes, sourcing new talent opportunities and overseeing Wave’s talent booking strategy for its originals slate.

PARTNERSHIPS

American Cornhole League and Play Anywhere Team to Offer New Content

The American Cornhole League is partnering with Play Anywhere Holdings to bring cornhole fans a wide range of live games and content. Beginning this season ACL fans will be able to interact and play games while watching the live stream of professional cornhole matches. The start of the ACL season begins with “The Kickoff Battle” in Palm Beach, April 4-7. Under this exclusive agreement for its live streams on ACL Cornhole TV, the league will utilize the Play Anywhere technology to roll out real-time on-screen interactive experiences. Fans watching live ACL tournament matches will have opportunities, offered via the Play Anywhere overlay, to play predictive and trivia games, win prizes and buy merchandise.

SailGP Expands Partnership With Sonesta International Hotels

SailGP has expanded its partnership with Sonesta International Hotels, making it the official hotel partner of the United States SailGP team and the upcoming fourth season of U.S. SailGP events this year. Sonesta International Hotels will provide stays for the U.S. SailGP Team, SailGP fans and Sonesta travel pass members at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix on June 22-23 and the SailGP Season 4 grand final in San Francisco on July 13-14. Last year, the hotel group kicked off the partnership with the U.S. SailGP Team and the league at the Mubadala SailGP Season 3 grand final in San Francisco and the Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix in Chicago at Navy Pier.

Toyota Named Official Vehicle of the New York Red Bulls

The New York Red Bulls today announced a marketing partnership with the Greater New York Toyota Dealers Association, granting it the designation as “Official Vehicle of the New York Red Bulls.” The multiyear partnership will feature major team and venue assets including the Toyota Terrace and the Toyota Gate. The partnership will also include New York Red Bulls Youth Programs integration with visibility for Toyota to over 50,000 players and families who partake in the programs throughout the local area. The Toyota Title Night will be held March 23 at Red Bull Arena when the Red Bulls host Inter Miami CF. Additional in-venue assets will include field-level LED signage, video board exposure and inclusion in all marketing/advertising materials.

Monumental Sports Network, Washington Spirit Enter Broadcast Partnership

The Washington Spirit and Monumental Sports Network announced 10 Spirit matches will air on the regional sports network during the 2024 NWSL season. The first match will be the team’s season opener on March 17 against Seattle Reign FC. In total, the network’s slate will feature six home and four away matches during the upcoming season, building off the nine-match schedule on the network last season. Monumental Sports Network is the local television media rights holder for the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.

 Las Vegas Aces and Ally Financial Agree to Multiyear Deal

Ally Financial, a women’s sports brand, and the Las Vegas Aces, the reigning back-to-back WNBA champions, have agreed on a multiyear, multimillion-dollar deal. Among the terms of the agreement, Ally becomes the first official retail banking partner of the Aces. Ally is now the official jersey patch sponsor of the Aces and will appear on the front shoulder of all Aces game jerseys and the jersey of the mascot, Bucket$. Ally will work with the Aces on several community outreach initiatives. Ally also introduced the two newest members of Team Ally, the company’s brand ambassador program—Aces players Alysha Clark and Sydney Colson.

ESPN Secures Multimedia Rights to 2024 Edition of The Soccer Tournament

ESPN and The Soccer Tournament, a 7-v-7 world soccer championship, have reached an agreement to televise the 2024 tournament in Cary, N.C., June 5-10. ESPN+ will stream 27 matches live, with eight matches on linear television.The 2024 TST marks the second edition of the tournament and will have 48 men’s teams from different countries competing in a World Cup-style format consisting of group play and single elimination knockout rounds, all vying for a $1 million dollar prize. In addition, this year’s event will introduce an inaugural women’s bracket that will feature eight teams, headlined by Heather O’Reilly’s U.S. Women’s team, also competing for a $1 million prize.

Golf Digest and The Caddie Network Strike Multiyear Sponsorship With Yeti

Golf Digest, which is under the TNT Sports umbrella, and The Caddie Network have struck a  multiyear sponsorship with Yeti, the outdoor products company, which will begin with the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week, March 7-10. This deal for Golf Digest and TCN will integrate Yeti’s brand and products, as part of a new Yeti Caddy program, with more than 20 of the top caddies on the tour, both PGA and LPGA. Golf Digest will also create content throughout the tour schedule with these caddies, many of which have outdoor pursuits off the course.

BodyArmor Becomes Official Hydration Partner of U.S. Soccer Federation

BodyArmor has become the Official Hydration Partner of the U.S. Soccer Federation. To support the new partnership, BodyArmor is teaming up with U.S. Soccer players and sisters Alyssa and Giselle Thompson. The brand will hydrate all U.S. Soccer players, including the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams, with its BodyArmor SportWater products on sidelines at matches and practices, and off the field in locker rooms and training rooms. Additionally, BodyArmor’s logo and branding will be featured on equipment coolers, cups, squirt bottles and towels on U.S. Soccer sidelines and tournaments beginning in 2024. BodyArmor and U.S. Soccer will also collaborate on custom content and media integrations featuring top players, including longstanding BodyArmor partner Alex Morgan.

Legends, Blueprint Sports Partner to Help Produce NIL Solutions

Legends, a premium experiences company, and Blueprint Sports (BPSE), a company that runs name, image and likeness (NIL) collectives, have formed a partnership that will provide NIL collectives and Power Five universities with an NIL infrastructure, professional operational capacities, service offerings and NIL industry expertise. Legends College and Blueprint Sports will endeavor to build sustainable revenue opportunities for NIL collectives under the BPSE umbrella, focusing on philanthropic fundraising, student-athlete sponsorships, memberships, exclusive events and merchandise fulfillment. Both companies have partnerships involving the University of Kansas, the University of Maryland, the University of Utah and Villanova University. BPSE powers collectives that support athletes at each university, and Legends College’s partnerships with each span multiple services. Across its portfolio, BPSE powers collectives at more than 25 universities nationwide, including 12 Power Five universities.

24 Hour Fitness Partners With Angel City FC

24 Hour Fitness announced a partnership with Angel City Football Club (ACFC). The collaboration aims to foster community wellness, promote women’s fitness and support youth soccer development. 24 Hour Fitness joins as a multiyear Founding Level Partner, and 10% of the partnership investment will support youth soccer access through Girl’s Play Los Angeles. Throughout 2024, 24 Hour Fitness and ACFC will host nine free community soccer clinics with details to come on the SCFC website.

Barcode Beverage Named Official Hydration Partner of Sports Academy 

Barcode Beverage is partnering with Sports Academy, formerly known as Mamba Sports Academy, as its Official Hydration Partner. It is the sports drink partner of Sports Academy’s HQ facility, located in Thousand Oaks, Calif. As part of the partnership,  Barcode is the only official sports drink available to its members. Additionally, Barcode receives branding rights to one of the courts, vending machine branding and sales rights, naming rights to the courtside café, along with the deployment of a “Barcode Activation Zone,” a designated space for Barcode personnel to engage with athletes, by introducing the brand and drink products during weekly tournaments and other sports events hosted at the academy.

DirecTV for Business Renews Apple TV+ Friday Night Doubleheader 

This baseball season, DirecTV for Business will again be the exclusive national home of “Friday Night Baseball” for commercial establishments in the U.S. DirecTV will deliver the action to its network of more than 300,000 restaurants, bars, hotel lounges, retail shops and other venues throughout the regular season on existing satellite equipment. Apple and Major League Baseball announced that “Friday Night Baseball,” a weekly doubleheader, will be available to Apple TV+ subscribers on Fridays throughout the 2024 regular season. Fans in 60 countries and regions can enjoy two matchups over 26 weeks with no local broadcast restrictions. Apple and MLB also announced the “Friday Night Baseball” schedule for the first half of the season, through June 28.

Nature Made Partners With USA Pickleball 

Nature Made has announced a partnership that makes brand the Official Vitamin of USA Pickleball. As part of this partnership, Nature Made will have a presence at upcoming pickleball events and will curate opportunities for spectators to learn about wellness habits and sample Nature Made products at upcoming USA Pickleball Golden Ticket events and regional tournaments.

Fanatics Hosts Athlete Immersion Program in New York

Fanatics hosted nine athletes from the WNBA and NFL in New York this week for its Fanatics Athlete Immersion Program, offering insights for players across several of the company’s businesses—commerce, collectibles, Fanatics Live and betting and gaming. Athletes included the Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin, WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Alysha Clark of the Las Vegas Aces and Jaleel McLaughlin of the Denver Broncos. The week included a visit to Mitchell & Ness headquarters in Philadelphia to meet with CEO Eli Kumekpor, a dinner with Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, and meetings with Vista Equity Partners CEO Robert Smith, Anheuser Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg.

PURCHASES

Underdog Invests in idPair to Accelerate Early-Stage Startups

Underdog has invested in idPair as part of its GuardDog initiative designed to accelerate early-stage startups committed to building solutions to address problem gaming. The New Jersey-based company’s technology creates a centralized view of an individual’s play and gambling activity across all applications and operators used in a jurisdiction for regulators, providing for universal responsible gaming limits. In addition to an investment from the fund, idPair will have access to advisors and mentors. As part of the GuardDog investment, idPair technology will be integrated into Underdog’s product offerings to support multi-operator customer tracking for regulators.

Lakewood Advisors Announces Investment in Draft Nation

Lakewood Advisors LLC, a boutique investment banking firm specializing in media and media technology companies, announced it has closed a minority investment in Draft Nation LLC, a sports-focused content and entertainment platform that brings subscribers and followers the latest news, articles, podcasts, stories and events related to all the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL drafts. Draft Nation launched in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 2023 as Draft 412 and is now in the process of expanding to other major U.S. cities with national sports franchises. Ed Grebow, managing director, and David Stringer, associate and legal counsel, led the LWA team on this engagement.

GameSquare Announces Completion of FaZe Clan Acquisition

GameSquare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: GAME) and FaZe Holdings Inc. have completed a merger that was originally announced Oct. 20, 2023. As a result of the merger, and effective as of the close of trading on March 8, FaZe’s common stock (NASDAQ: FAZE) and FaZe warrants (NASDAQ: FAZEW) will cease trading. As a combined company, GameSquare has become one of the largest gaming and esports organizations in the world based on the company’s audience reach of 1 billion. In addition, the company is focused on revolutionizing the way brands and game publishers connect with hard-to-reach Gen Z, Gen Alpha and millennial audiences through a media platform that includes marketing and creative services, data and analytics solutions and the FaZe Clan gaming organizations.

PRODUCTS

Braves Unveil Plans to Upgrade Truist Park Ahead of 2024 Season

The Atlanta Braves unveiled planned upgrades for Truist Park that include new group seating, hospitality, concessions and retail spaces. The Rooftop in right field will house a new Blue Moon Beer Garden. Adjacent to the beer garden will be a renovated and expanded group hospitality space overlooking the field and accommodating groups as large as 210. Left field will feature a new group space called the Jim Beam Bourbon Decks, which will include private access to a new bar that also serves customers on the concourse. The Braves Clubhouse Store at Truist Park is being expanded to include an additional 1,500 square feet and redesigned to provide a premium retail experience. Additional renovations include the relocation of Slice Pizza to section 113. Bars on the first base and third base sides of the Terrace Level will be upgraded, and all suites will be refurbished over the next four years. These renovations and upgrades are being made in partnership with Rossetti, with Impact Development Management as an advisor on the project.

Rebranded, Expanded T100 Triathlon World Tour Races Begins in Miami

The T100 Triathlon World Tour races begin Saturday as part of Clash Endurance Miami with $7 million in prize money on the line over the season. The tour is the new name for the PTO Tour and is designed by the sports international governing body (World Triathlon) as the official world championship for long distance triathlon. It will be a season-long schedule of eight T100 races over 100 kilometers (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run). It will feature 40 contracted pro triathletes (20 men and 20 women) going head to head. There will be a $250,000 prize fund at each T100, totaling $2 million across the eight races (1st place–$25,000; 2nd–$16,000; 3rd–$12,000 at each race). The series winners following the Grand Final will be crowned T100 Triathlon World Champion and collect $210,000 from an additional total prize pool of $2 million.

Shoot 360 Unveils Digitally Connected Basketball Shooting Competition

Shoot 360, which integrates in-person basketball training with proprietary technology and analytics, is set to unveil a digitally connected basketball shooting competition. Backed by pro athletes Trae Young, Brittney Griner, Sue Bird and Kelsey Plum, Shoot 360 has expanded from four locations to 36 since its inception in 2020 and is planning to grow to close to 60 locations in the United States, alongside expansion into Canada and Asia. Using its technology systems with motion tracking cameras that gather data on every shot, Shoot 360, which has collaborations with NBA teams such as the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors, will bring together players worldwide who virtually vie in a shooting contest.

Springhill Company’s The Shop Returns for Seventh Season

The seventh season of The Shop, produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The Springhill Company, debuted on Thursday on The Shop’s YouTube channel. In the premiere episode, The Shop’s co-hosts Carter and Paul Viera were joined by back-to-back WNBA championship coach and Naismith Hall of Famer Becky Hammon, actor, comedian, director and producer Cedric the Entertainer and artist, entrepreneur and investor Nelly.

Major League Rugby Signs Docuseries Deal With Goldfinch

Major League Rugby (MLR) has struck a deal with Goldfinch, a financing and production company for independent films in the United Kingdom, to produce and create an exclusive, all-access and multiyear docuseries focused on chronicling the growth and development of the league and the sport of rugby union in America. Filming for the first season of Stars, Stripes and Scrums: The American Rugby Journey (working title) is underway, focusing on the Chicago Hounds. The growth of the game is at a pivotal point with the United States slated to host the 2031 men’s and 2033 women’s rugby World Cups. MLR has grown from seven teams in its inaugural season in 2018 to 12 teams competing in 2024. Chicago enters its second year in the league and is joined by new clubs in Miami, Los Angeles and Charlotte, N.C.

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