Category: Legends News

Via 2 Playbook

Mike Tomon (Legends): “Maintaining authenticity is key to connecting with the local market”

The co-president and director of operations of the consulting giant assures that some of the main clubs in the world are in Spain and that the new Iberian subsidiary will be supported by the parent company in its projects and investments.

By Alvaro Carter

That a giant like Legends lands in Spain has many implications, but also many readings. The country enjoys a mature and strong sports sector that presents notable growth opportunities. This is also the view of Mike Tomon, co-president and COO of Legends worldwide. The executive joined the company in 2014 to lead global operations from AEG, where he served as director of global sponsorships and managed $500 million in deals. He now assures in a conversation with 2Playbook that “we are in a unique moment in which sport is becoming more global, and maintaining authenticity to connect with the local market is one of the current keys”.

 

In 2021 Sitxh Street took over the majority shareholding of Legends. How has the business changed since then and after the pandemic?

The focus is the same, to be a 360 platform for sports properties. We have more than 2,500 employees around the world and when Covid-19 hit we already had a strong company to resist it. Then Sixth Street came along to give a new impetus, but we already had the main deals tied up, like the one with Real Madrid.

 

How is the relationship with the club?

Real Madrid is one of the best examples when it comes to working. We were already their retail partner before signing the agreement for the Bernabéu. They have a vision very marked by their president, with a very global vocation, but with the best local experience and in the stadium.

 

How do you see the future of the sports property business? Currently they are still very dependent on television income, which is beyond their control.

That is precisely the discourse that we must maintain. There is a huge opportunity for clubs to improve the income they can generate for themselves. And we’re not just talking about matchday , but about the entire experience for the fan, engagement , providing insights with data, merchandising , hospitality areas … It’s a whole new 360 marketing approach.

 

In what aspects are you working more with sports properties at the moment?

It depends on the type of agreement and needs of the property. What we do seek is long-term partnership agreements , adding value to the business, not short-termism. What we now see as more relevant is improving the experience outside of matchday and how to reach the fan.

 

What are the main differences you have found between the American and European markets?

There is a cultural leap, but it is shrinking because the sport is becoming more global. From a commercial point of view, there are global practices that we can replicate in each territory. In addition, we are in a unique moment in which globalization also forces us to maintain authenticity in order to reach local markets. And that is one of the keys to how the sector is evolving and what we have to contribute. The differences between the United States and Europe will always be, but also between England and Portugal, because European countries are also very different from each other.

 

At what point do you see Spain in relation to other markets?

The Iberian market is at the fore right now due to the opportunities it presents. The British is the most established and the one that continues to lead, it is where we have more confidence and a higher level of development. We have also focused on Central Europe, mainly Germany, and Paris, where there are a large number of opportunities. The most imminent with the Rugby World Cup. In fact, in France and Italy we will have big announcements soon.

 

Why did you choose Chus Bueno to lead the project in Spain and Portugal?

We needed someone who was capable of accelerating the business, but above all who had credibility in the world of sports in the region. In addition, he had to have it at the highest level. Chus ticks all the boxes, when we talked to him we knew he was the person we were looking for. In addition, he has a background in the NBA, which is very important for us, because what we are looking for are first-rate talent.

 

 

Mike Tomon (Legends): “Maintaining authenticity is key to connecting with the local market”

The co-president and director of operations of the consulting giant assures that some of the main clubs in the world are in Spain and that the new Iberian subsidiary will be supported by the parent company in its projects and investments.

By Alvaro Carter

 

That a giant like Legends lands in Spain has many implications, but also many readings. The country enjoys a mature and strong sports sector that presents notable growth opportunities. This is also the view of Mike Tomon, co-president and COO of Legends worldwide. The executive joined the company in 2014 to lead global operations from AEG, where he served as director of global sponsorships and managed $500 million in deals. He now assures in a conversation with 2Playbook that “we are in a unique moment in which sport is becoming more global, and maintaining authenticity to connect with the local market is one of the current keys”.

 

In 2021 Sitxh Street took over the majority shareholding of Legends. How has the business changed since then and after the pandemic?

 

The focus is the same, to be a 360 platform for sports properties. We have more than 2,500 employees around the world and when Covid-19 hit we already had a strong company to resist it. Then Sixth Street came along to give a new impetus, but we already had the main deals tied up, like the one with Real Madrid.

 

How is the relationship with the club?

 

Real Madrid is one of the best examples when it comes to working. We were already their retail partner before signing the agreement for the Bernabéu. They have a vision very marked by their president, with a very global vocation, but with the best local experience and in the stadium.

 

How do you see the future of the sports property business? Currently they are still very dependent on television income, which is beyond their control.

 

That is precisely the discourse that we must maintain. There is a huge opportunity for clubs to improve the income they can generate for themselves. And we’re not just talking about matchday , but about the entire experience for the fan, engagement , providing insights with data, merchandising , hospitality areas … It’s a whole new 360 marketing approach.

 

In what aspects are you working more with sports properties at the moment?

 

It depends on the type of agreement and needs of the property. What we do seek is long-term partnership agreements , adding value to the business, not short-termism. What we now see as more relevant is improving the experience outside of matchday and how to reach the fan.

 

What are the main differences you have found between the American and European markets?

 

There is a cultural leap, but it is shrinking because the sport is becoming more global. From a commercial point of view, there are global practices that we can replicate in each territory. In addition, we are in a unique moment in which globalization also forces us to maintain authenticity in order to reach local markets. And that is one of the keys to how the sector is evolving and what we have to contribute. The differences between the United States and Europe will always be, but also between England and Portugal, because European countries are also very different from each other.

 

At what point do you see Spain in relation to other markets?

 

The Iberian market is at the fore right now due to the opportunities it presents. The British is the most established and the one that continues to lead, it is where we have more confidence and a higher level of development. We have also focused on Central Europe, mainly Germany, and Paris, where there are a large number of opportunities. The most imminent with the Rugby World Cup. In fact, in France and Italy we will have big announcements soon.

 

Why did you choose Chus Bueno to lead the project in Spain and Portugal?

 

We needed someone who was capable of accelerating the business, but above all who had credibility in the world of sports in the region. In addition, he had to have it at the highest level. Chus ticks all the boxes, when we talked to him we knew he was the person we were looking for. In addition, he has a background in the NBA, which is very important for us, because what we are looking for are first-rate talent.

 

Via 2 Playbook

The consultancy will open its new headquarters in Paseo de la Castellana and aims to diversify beyond sports. Chus Bueno, who has been at the forefront of the Iberian market since this month, assures that “he does not have many restrictions” to make strategic investments.

By Alvaro Carter

The Spanish sports industry has come out of the pandemic affected, but strengthened. Not only have fans returned to the center of the conversation, but the interest of giants in the sector that perceive great opportunities in a phase of need for funds and, above all, of strategic partners that help push new lines of business where sports properties do not have that knowledge. That role is what Legends wants to play, which already has a team of 80 people in its subsidiary for Spain and Portugal and next month it will be installed in new offices next to the Santiago Bernabéu.

“Iberia is one of the markets where we see more growth opportunities. The time is right for further investment,” Mike Tomon , co-president and COO of Legends, tells 2Playbook. To this end, they have carried out a strong offensive, culminating in the signing of Chus Bueno as general director to pilot the business in the Iberian Peninsula, a potential center for large investments if the 2030 World Cup is awarded.

“A great bet has been made with a strong investment, but Legends already had a structure in Spain, which is now expanding,” Bueno tells this medium. “The idea is to have our own team because of the market volume and opportunities, but with the support of the parent company to be able to develop the 360 ​​project idea that we want to work on with our partners,” he adds.

The new offices will be located on Paseo de la Castellana, close to the home of its main partner in Spain, Real Madrid. The offensive comes after Sixth Street took over the majority shareholding in the consultancy created by the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees. Their entry was key to being able to close what is their biggest deal in Spain so far, for which they will pay up to 360 million euros to keep 30% of the profit generated by the company created to commercially exploit the Bernabéu during the next twenty years.

“Entering a market hand in hand with Real Madrid is the best possible letter of introduction because you don’t have to do a go to market ; the marketing is already done, but Legends already had a huge reputation that spoke for itself of the company”, affirms Bueno. The director, incorporated this summer from the NBA, assures that “there are more interested clubs”, but for now no proposal has gone beyond preliminary conversations.

The consultant also advises Sevilla FC to project a new Sánchez Pizjuán open 365 days a year. FC Barcelona and Atleti also had their services to carry out a study on Espai Barça and Civitas Metropolitano, respectively. In addition, Legends also has the operation of the Real Madrid retail business, a project independent of the Bernabéu and for which its structure in Spain has already been reinforced to pilot it.

“There are different projects, but above all we are looking for partnership agreements , not a one off ”, Bueno points out. “We want to be a strategic partner to help properties accelerate their business and organically improve not only their revenue, but other key issues in today’s industry like their brand exposure.”

The manager does not rule out that there are more investments like the one made in the white club. “We are not going to have many restrictions to invest, but it will only be done when it makes strategic sense and adds value.” Regarding billing forecasts, he maintains that “we are still making the numbers for next year.”

In what coincides with Tomon is in the opportunity detected in the Spanish and Portuguese markets. “Context always helps. That there are stadiums that have to undertake reforms as part of a World Cup bid is important. Also that LaLiga obliges to allocate a part of the CVC funds to the facilities ”.

And he points out: “The fact that funds like CVC or Sixth Street enter the business is the best news for Spanish sport, because that means that they perceive a solid, mature industry with potential, but the right investment must be made, because when invest so much money there is no more room for maneuver to go back into debt. That is why choosing the partner , as in this case Legends, that helps develop the business, is essential”.

Finally, the consultant sees fewer opportunities outside of football in Spanish sport. It does appreciate them in other sectors within large facilities. “We think of amusement parks, aquariums, museums… All those large venues that ultimately share common characteristics with football, such as the sale of merchandising , hospitality , ticket sales and the management of a venue”. “We have a global expertise that we want to bring to Spain and that is not limited to sport, although for now the center of attention is the Bernabéu”.

WHO IS LEGENDS

The company defines itself as “a premium experience company specializing in providing holistic solutions for sports and entertainment organizations and venues.” Among its business lines, six verticals stand out: sales, retail (both e-commerce and stores), technological solutions for sports venues, hospitality, consulting and strategic planning with clubs.

It was created in 2008 by the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL, with the idea of ​​managing the sponsorship and hospitality sales of both franchises. In 2021, Sixth Street took over the majority shareholding in an operation that valued 100% of the capital at 1,350 million dollars (1,281 million euros), which was a boost at the worst moment for the company in the midst of the health crisis of the Covid-19 that led to the closure of the stadiums and the brake on investments in new sports venues.

Until the signing of his agreement with Madrid, the jewel in the crown in the world of football was the Tottenham Hostpur stadium. The home of the Spurs since 2019 has become a venue capable of generating experiences for fans throughout the year beyond football games. It also has agreements at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester City and Old Trafford with United, and other venues in the United States for teams such as the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, the University of Notre Dame and other organizations such as Wimbledon and the UFC.

Via Forbes

The New York Yankees are in the market for a company to serve as its jersey patch sponsor beginning in the 2023 season, the first time Major League Baseball will allow teams to sell space on their uniform sleeves.

Via Forbes

Via Sportico

 

Via Financial Times

Via Sportico

Via SportBusiness

Via Forbes

Via SportTechie

Via BBC

Leicester City Football Club have formally submitted plans for the expansion of the King Power Stadium.

The club confirmed they had applied for permission from Leicester City Council following a public consultation in August and September.

It also wants to build a new hotel and business centre, a flagship fan store, an events arena and residential flats.

The council is expected to make a decision on the proposed development next year.

The club is seeking to expand the capacity of their ground by 8,000 seats to 40,000.

If approved, their ground would become the 10th largest among current Premier League sides.

The club said more than 1,000 jobs would be created during the construction period, with another 1,000 permanent positions across facilities on the site.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: “The club extends its thanks to its external project team – including project managers Legends International; planning and development consultants Turley; and architects KSS – for their ongoing contributions, and Leicester City Council for its participation and consideration for the project to this stage.

“Having now shared our proposals with a diverse range of stakeholders in the city, the club’s belief in the project’s transformational potential has been strengthened.”

Since revealing the plans, Leicester have purchased the site previously owned by energy company E.On on Raw Dykes Road close to the stadium.

The club said that site does not form part of the current application, but is essentially an additional asset for any future developments.

Via Sportico

Atlanta’s College Football Hall of Fame has agreed to an “all-inclusive” multi-year partnership with Legends—the sports hospitality, sponsorship and sales consultancy and experiential agency—to manage operations and fan experience at the Hall.

Legends will work across every major facet of the Hall of Fame’s business, managing services including sponsorship sales, ticketing, hospitality, merchandise and activation of its global tourism network.

“We’ve kind of been running solo for quite a while, and we’ve had success, but knowing the resources that we can take advantage of with Legends—a global company—to help us really meet some lofty goals that we have and continue to grow [is huge],” Kimberly Beaudin, president and CEO of the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame, said in an interview.

Beaudin said the Hall’s attendance has steadily increased each year since it relocated to Atlanta from South Bend, Ind., in 2014. In addition to ticket salesand some ancillary income from merchandise sales, private event revenues and sponsor dollars were among the Hall of Fame’s top revenue streams prior to the pandemic.

“Like any live event venue or attraction, we’ve had our share of challenges in the last 18 months with all of our revenue streams pretty much decimated for a period of time due to COVID,” Beaudin said. “We’re seeing attendance getting pretty close to 2019 levels and some positive movement on the events side, but that’s really going to be the last thing to come back. So we’re excited to have Legends’ expertise in all of this as we continue to [position] the Hall as the premier Hall of Fame in the country.”

A shrine to college football’s greatest, the non-profit Hall of Fame houses both artifacts and interactive, experiential multimedia exhibits. With 50,000 square feet of event space and a newly constructed on-site podcast studio, home of SEC football podcast The JBoy Show, which was acquired by Colin Cowherd’s The Volume in September, the venue itself has potential, not to mention the market it’s in.

“Football is certainly one of the pillars when you look at sports entertainment, and so when we think about the College Football Hall of Fame, we think about it right up there with the iconic brands that are in our sphere,” said Mike Tomon, co-president and COO of Legends. “Our business is focused on premium experiences wherever people congregate. When you look at the proposition of the College Football Hall of Fame, that’s ultimately it…. It’s a great place for partners and sponsors to be engaged.”

The Hall, which falls under the National Football Foundation’s umbrella, counts Chick-Fil-A, Atlanta’s Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Coca-Cola, Kia Motors, Allstate and The Home Depot, among others,  as current corporate sponsors.

The Hall is one of many properties Legends works with in Atlanta. The consultancy signed a partnership with Georgia Tech in late 2020, taking over the athletic department’s multi-media rights from Learfield IMG College and bringing all of the Yellow Jackets’ revenue streams under a single umbrella. Legends has also worked with the Atlanta Falcons and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as well as the Hawks’ State Farm Arena and the NBA club’s Emory Sports Medicine Complex.

Legends, co-founded in 2008 by the New York Yankees and Jones Concessions LP, an affiliate of the Dallas Cowboys, was valued at $1.35 billion earlier this year, when private equity firm Sixth Street purchased majority ownership of the company. Sixth Street now owns 51% of Legends, while the Cowboys and Yankees each own just over 20%, and an undisclosed investor holds the rest.

Via SportBusiness

Legends, the United States-based premium experiences company, has bulked up its international presence further with the selection of two executives to lead key European markets.

The company named Martin Jennings as managing director of Legends’ operations in the United Kingdom, as well as head of global planning for Legends’ international business. Jennings joined Legends International in 2018 and had been senior vice president of project development. 

Legends also has named former Sportfive executive Jens König as managing director of central Europe. König – who will manage Legends’ operations in the area from Hamburg, Germany – had been Sportfive’s senior vice president and head of global business development.

The moves come after global investment firm Sixth Street earlier this year acquired majority control of Legends, with the deal containing a clear mission to grow the company’s international profile.

To that end, further managing director hires are also being planned for France, Italy, and Spain, and those managing directors will collectively comprise an international operating committee.

Andrew Hampel, previously president of Legends International, is now transitioning to a new role as senior advisor beginning in October.

“We have established a world-class foundation in the international market, and are poised for extraordinary growth,” said Mike Tomon, Legends co-president and chief operating officer. “To accelerate this growth, and to continue to deliver at the highest level for our clients, we are excited to launch an enhanced operations model led by two native-born, world-class experts in Martin and Jens. 

“This strategic approach not only represents the recognition of the uniqueness of each regional business environment, but also highlights our commitment to continue to invest in significant infrastructure across our unique 360-degree platform,” Tomon said.

Tomon, a longtime Legends executive, was recently named the company’s first co-president along with Curt McClellan, who comes to the operations from a prior role as executive in residence for KSL Capital Partners.

“As we ramp back up at a rapid pace, we are positioning our company to more effectively execute our long-term growth strategy and must match that with the right leadership and structure to support our teams and clients, ensuring that we can sustain and elevate the world-class service we deliver to partners,” said Shervin Mirhashemi, Legends chief executive.

Legends continues to have a sizable presence in numerous key sectors of the sports industry, including concessions, hospitality, naming rights and sponsorship sales and valuation, ticketing, merchandising, fundraising, and venue technology.

Via The Stadium Business

English Premier League football club Leicester City has today (Wednesday) announced that it plans to expand King Power Stadium’s capacity to 40,000, as well as introduce a mixed-use development that will feature a new arena.

Leicester said initial plans for the project will be shared next month, as the club’s Thai owners, King Power International, press on with long-held ambitions to enhance facilities.

King Power Stadium opened in 2002 and has a current capacity of around 32,300. Current proposals for the site include the addition of 8,000 seats in the East Stand – which, if approved, would take King Power Stadium’s capacity to 40,000 – along with a wider proposal for a mixed-use destination.

This development would include a multi-purpose event and entertainment arena, new club megastore, 220-room hotel, club and commercial office space, a residential tower, and a new multi-storey car park.

The unveiling of initial plans next month will be followed by a period of public consultation throughout the summer and early autumn. Leicester City chairman, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, said: “The unveiling of these plans represents a significant milestone in the long history of Leicester City Football Club, and one that we hope will continue to put our supporters and our community at the heart of its long-term future.

“Through the consultation with our fans, our local community, businesses and stakeholders, we hope to achieve something that we can all be proud of for years to come. It’s these conversations that will help us communicate our vision to the people at its heart and take onboard the views of our community to help shape it.

“While this vision is in its early stages, I know the prospect of additional capacity for more Leicester City supporters in King Power Stadium, has long been anticipated by us all, particularly after seven near sold-out Premier League seasons.

“The plans to build on the club’s recent growth – with a stadium expansion as part of an exciting wider site development – is a wonderful demonstration of the shared ambition of both the football club and the city of Leicester.

“It is a project with the potential to generate enormous social value, starting with a substantial number of additional jobs for people in the region. We will be working with our partners and contractors to ensure this is a central consideration from construction through to long-term operation.”

Today’s announcement comes after Legends International was appointed by Leicester in August 2019 to carry out market research that was intended to underpin plans for the proposed expansion of King Power Stadium.

Sir Peter Soulsby, Mayor of Leicester, said: “These are ambitious plans that reflect the club’s ongoing commitment to the city and constant desire to build on its incredible achievements. LCFC has always been at the heart of our city, but thanks to the vision of the greatly-missed Khun Vichai, and his son Khun Top, it is now an integral part of our community that contributes to city life in so many ways.

“There is obviously a great deal of consultation to be done, including through the planning process, but these are really exciting proposals. The development would be very good news for the city as well as for the club, creating new jobs and a sought-after destination for visitors, locals and tourists.”

Via Sportico

Legends Global Partnerships has announced Chris Foy will join its team in a newly created executive vice president role. Foy will be tasked with Legends’ global partnership sales, collegiate partnerships, and venue and facility naming rights.

Foy previously was the president and founder of Impression Sports & Entertainment, a national sports sponsorship agency he launched in 2011. There he worked to market clients like the Fiesta Bowl Association, USA Swimming, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the New Orleans Pelicans and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Before launching Impression, Foy was the managing partner of General Sports Alliances, where he worked with the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals.

Foy spoke admiringly of his new company’s trajectory. “You can see very clearly that these guys are building a great culture, and that’s something that I wanted to be a part of,” he said in an interview. “When you look the incredible people that they have under the company and the cohesive drive that they have, it was something that really aligned well with me. As I look to take the next step in my career there couldn’t have been a better place to look at than Legends.”

 

President of Legends Global Partnerships Chris Hibbs said Foy’s experience, particularly with college sports, will serve him well. “Chris is going to bring his expertise with doing deals with brands but also new business,” Hibbs said in an interview. “I think he’s going to bring some ideas, and he’ll do that across our entire portfolio.”

While collegiate partnerships are a small part of Legends’ business, Hibbs said, he believes there will be chances to expand upon them. “We’re getting into the collegiate partnership space at an interesting time where some of the dynamics are changing,” he said. “Chris has a bunch of experience there.”

Foy emphasized what he thinks will makes Legends Global Partnerships special. “What I think is overlooked is the amount of attention we give to our clients,” he said. “I think continuing to build rapport with our clients is going to be critical and continuing to deliver results to them is going to be a priority across the entire staff and division.”

Via EaterLA

More details are emerging about the upcoming Jon & Vinny collaborations at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, home of both the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. Stadium officials recently announced the star duo as a kind of chefs in residence, working collaboratively with concessions company Legends on menus that will be available across the stadium.

The overall program, known as LA Eats, will be loosely constructed around four different menus, each named for a street or area within greater Los Angeles. First up is the Fairfax, harkening to Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s spiritual LA home, where their award-winning restaurants Animal, Jon & Vinny’s, and (nearby) Son of a Gun reside. The new Fairfax stadium menu “is a sub, deli, cheeseburger concept,” mixing everything from chicken salad subs to fried ‘ripper’ hot dogs and a burger-sub hybrid featuring elongated patties of beef on griddled rolls (seriously, it looks wild). A promo video for the Fairfax menu can be found below.

The Fairfax menu, which also includes vegan chili and a jalapeño cheddar sausage, among other options, represents one quarter of the full LA Eats menu. SoFi Stadium reps say the plan is to drop new announcements about the upcoming menus each week. Shook and Dotolo collaborated on menus throughout the stadium at each concession area, and will feature different themes based on local streets and areas. Next up is the San Vicente Boulevard menu.

As for the stadium overall, there’s still much to uncover about the food — including a different vendor setup at the box seat and VIP levels — both inside and out. Beyond the walls of the NFL stadium, built by billionaire Stan Kroenke, there are further plans to build an entire nightlife and hospitality community, with sit-down restaurants for pre-game meals, hotels, retail, and more. And while the Hollywood Park site project has been delayed by a full year as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently said that all counties would likely ‘fully reopen’ for business (including full-scale in person live events) by June 15, paving the way for a big year at SoFi Stadium, at least. As for the smaller longtime businesses around the stadium in Inglewood, that remains to be seen.

Via Los Angeles Times

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, owners of Animal, Son of a Gun and the Jon and Vinny’s restaurants, are working on the food lineup for SoFi Stadium, the 3.1-million-square-foot, indoor-outdoor sports and entertainment complex in Inglewood that is home to the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers.

“Most stadiums, the approach is, ‘Hey, let’s go get Domino’s to pay us to put a concession stand in our stadium,‘” Shook said. “The approach here is ‘Hey, we are going to build one of the nicest kitchens we’ve been in, underground in the basement, and we’re going to produce all the food that goes to the concession stands.‘”

Shook and Dotolo are acting as culinary consultants to help with menu development and product sourcing at the stadium, which can seat 70,000 to 100,000 people, depending on the setup. They’re working with executive chef Robert Biebrich and vice president of culinary innovation Gretchen Beaumarchais of Legends, the hospitality company that will operate the stadium’s culinary program. Legends also handles the concessions at Angel Stadium and a number of other venues around the country.

The James Beard award-winning chefs are used to cooking for a crowd. Dotolo and Shook operate a successful catering and events company called Caramelized Productions, and they also partnered with Delta Air Lines in 2019 to create dishes for select Delta One flights.

While they wouldn’t discuss specific stadium menu items just yet, they did share that they worked with the Legends team to create four concepts for the 42 concession stands. The idea is to offer re-imagined versions of stadium classics. Hot dogs, cheeseburgers and chicken tenders were all mentioned during our conversation.

“There’s going to be hot dogs, because it’s a stadium,” Shook said. “We tasted probably 50 different hot dogs.”

Shook said they narrowed down the choices to the top 10 and then made some calls to ensure that producers could handle the volume needed for a stadium of this size. He and Dotolo then tested buns, toppings and all the other components of the menu items.

Scaling items made it almost impossible to use select producers. But some were able to make it work.

“We were able to bring in DiNapoli tomatoes, the ones we use at Jon and Vinny’s,” Dotolo said.

The concession stands will feature glass windows that offer a view into their kitchens. They are also strategically placed to offer views of the field and the videoboard, a screen with 70,000 square feet of digital LED that will show whatever event is happening at the time.

“For a chef, it’s easy to get weird and funky,” Shook said. “One of the things we really try to keep in mind is out of the fans that come there, not everyone is going to be a chef. What are the items they are going to be looking for?”

Dotolo and Shook said they spent months working on R&D for menu items.

“One of the items that we were super stickler on was the chicken finger,” Shook said.

Via Columbus Business Journal

The scoreboard and other digital signage inside Columbus Crew SC’s new stadium will be powered by a public IT infrastructure company.

Vertiv is equipping the data center that will support the Crew’s administrative and game-related IT needs, as well as providing point-of-sale systems in the stadium, the entities announced Tuesday.

“We see a lot of ourselves in the Crew story, as a Columbus-headquartered, global organization leveraging our skills, passion and international reach to succeed at the highest levels,” said Gary Niederpruem, chief strategy and development officer at Vertiv, in a release.

Financial terms of the deal are not being released.

Vertiv will be known as a “founding partner” for the stadium, as well as its “official data center equipment provider.” Legends Global Partnerships represented the Crew in forming the partnership.

Steve Lyons, executive vice president and chief business officer, said in a release that Vertiv’s equipment is “critical to the operation of our sideboards, digital signage and point-of-sale systems and will elevate the entire match-day experience at our new stadium.”

“The Crew is committed to providing a best-in-class experience for our supporters,” Lyons said in a release.

Vertiv is projecting growth in 2021, after managing to keep sales roughly flat in 2020, Columbus Business First previously reported. The Columbus company went public last year with a $5.3 billion valuation. Vertiv, which has about 1,500 employees in Central Ohio out of 20,000 worldwide, projects 7% sales growth to $4.8 billion in 2021.

Via Sports Business Journal

The individuals selected for Sports Business Journal’s 22nd class of Forty Under 40 are not afraid to go big, whether it’s a blockbuster media rights deal, the launch of a bold new product, the opening of a dynamic stadium or a career move that opens new doors to success. They are not afraid to take risks, and the organizations across the sports business that they represent have benefited from their accomplishments.

SBJ, along with presenting partners Anheuser-Busch, MGM Resorts and TurnkeyZRG, are pleased to announce our annual list of 40 executives who will be recognized for excellence and innovation in their careers, all before the age of 40.  

Over the past four months, an editorial committee has reviewed, studied and discussed more than 400 nominees, resulting in the 40 named for the class of 2021. The committee considered career achievements; entrepreneurial zeal; best-in-class approach and technique; innovative practices that others follow; and leadership and impact within their organization and in their community.

One of the honorees, Charlotte FC President Nick Kelly, joins SBJ’s Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame as a three-time selection to the list. Kelly, who was vice president of partnerships, beer culture and community at Anheuser-Busch InBev before joining the MLS expansion club in February, was a member of the 2017 and 2020 Forty Under 40 classes.

All 40 executives will be featured in the June 28 issue of Sports Business Journal, where we will tell the stories of their career paths and successes. They also will be honored in-person at the Forty Under 40 gala tentatively scheduled for November in New York City. The 2020 Forty Under 40 class, whose awards ceremony in March 2020 was postponed by the coronavirus pandemic, also will be recognized that night.

FORTY UNDER 40 CLASS OF 2021

Scott Aronsky, Legends

Chara-Lynn Aguiar, ESPN

Will Ahmed, Whoop

Naz Aletaha, Riot Games

Jonathan Amoona, Winston & Strawn 

Chris Armstrong, Wasserman

Nana-Yaw Asamoah, National Football League

J Batt, University of Alabama 

Tim Bezbatchenko, Columbus Crew SC

Shelly Cayette, Cleveland Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 

Kyle Charters, Inner Circle Sports

Seth Cole, Turner Sports

Will Deng, National Football League

Brandon Doll, Las Vegas Raiders

Jayar Donlan, WWE

Stuart Duguid, IMG

Logan Gerken, Mortenson

Jason Glushon, Glushon Sports Management

Hannah Gordon, San Francisco 49ers

David Haber, National Basketball Association 

Nick Kelly, Charlotte FC

Matt Kramer, Creative Artists Agency

Jason Krochak, Proskauer 

Aaron LeValley, LA Kings and AEG Sports

TJ Lynch, Allied Sports

Jason Miller, Excel Sports Management

Evan Parker, The Athletic 

Ryan Petkoff, Hunt Sports Group

Paul Rabil, Premier Lacrosse League

Gabriel Rose, CBS Sports Digital

Casey Schwab, Altius Sports Partners

Michael Shane, Philadelphia Flyers and Wells Fargo Center

Carrie Skillman, Scout Sports and Entertainment 

Jason Sondag, Chicago Cubs

Ania Sponaski, GMR Marketing

Malaika Underwood, OneTeam Partners

Scott Warfield, PGA Tour 

Zack Weiner, Overtime

Jarod Were, National Hockey League

Meka White Morris, Tappit

Via Sports Business Journal

The University of Miami has signed Legends to manage its corporate sponsorship program and the school’s marketing rights.   

The 10-year deal represents Legends’ second major property acquisition in the last four months and completes another major step into the marketing of college athletics. The firm landed Georgia Tech in December and also counts Notre Dame as a multimedia rights client. 

The Hurricanes previously had been with Learfield IMG College in a long-term relationship that went back to at least 2003. Miami’s deal started as a joint venture between Learfield and ISP Sports two decades ago and continued through ownership changes at both Learfield and ISP until the two companies eventually became Learfield IMG College two years ago. 

Terms of the new contract with Legends were not available. Miami, as a private institution, is not required to disclose financials. 

“We evaluated a number of different companies and Legends rose to the top,” Miami Athletic Director Blake James said. “With the energy created around this partnership, I think we’ll see a tremendous amount of growth, not just in our local market, but also nationally and globally.” 

The Hurricanes, who are preparing to have 100% of capacity available at Hard Rock Stadium once football starts, said Legends will have access to an array of revenue opportunities for the off-campus venue. There will be sponsorship and field signage assets, as well as myriad hospitality sales, an area that Legends knows well. 

Mike Behan, Legends’ vice president of collegiate partnerships, said the firm already has plans to launch a sales and engagement center that will be based in south Miami. He described it as a preview center where Legends can tell the story of the university to prospective sponsors, similar to what the company has created in some pro team markets. 

“We’re looking to bring that approach to our multimedia rights,” Behan said. “We want to be able to describe Miami to partners in a way that hasn’t been done in the past.” 

Behan took the lead for Legends on winning this deal. James had Deputy AD and CFO Jason Layton running point for the Hurricanes. 

Legends’ work in Florida extends to Orlando as well, where it is selling naming rights for the Magic’s NBA arena.

Via BBC News

 

Everton FC’s plans for a new 52,000-seater stadium have been unanimously approved by city councillors.

The club said the Bramley-Moore Dock site will be a “world-class addition” to the city’s waterfront and hopes to host games there in 2024.

The £500m scheme which it’s claimed will create 15,000 jobs will now go to the government for the final say.

Outline plans for a series of community-led developments at Everton’s Goodison Park site were also approved.

Historic England had objected to the new stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock saying it could harm the city’s heritage but this was dismissed by the city’s planning committee.

The Premier League club, which has been at Goodison Park since 1892, said it had been looking for a new home for 25 years due to limitations at its current home.

The development would be the “most inclusive and sustainable” stadium in the UK and would “preserve the area’s heritage”, Everton’s chief executive officer Prof Denise Barrett-Baxendale told the meeting.

She said it was a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to regenerate one of the city’s most deprived areas, creating thousands of jobs and be a “key part in the region’s post-pandemic recovery plan”.

Under the plans, the 52,888-seater ground could host up to four pop concerts a year as well as weddings, funerals, Christmas parties and conferences.

And the club’s current Goodison Park site is to be converted to “high-quality, affordable housing, a health centre, retail and leisure spaces and a youth enterprise zone” for the Walton community.

By BBC Merseyside political reporter Claire Hamilton

“I’ve got shivers down my spine. First the derby and then this – what a week!”

Everton fans have a lot to celebrate. After a 25-year search, a new stadium could be on the horizon.

That famous horizon – Liverpool’s waterfront – is a World Heritage site. It’s been on UNESCO’s “in danger” list since plans for tall buildings were first mooted in 2012.

Those skyscrapers haven’t materialised, and this stadium might beat them to it.

The planning committee had to decide whether the public benefit of the new stadium outweighed the harm to the heritage assets of the site… and they decided that they did.

The Secretary of State will now decide whether to overturn or uphold the committee’s decision, and the UNESCO World Heritage status will be reviewed later this year.

Club chairman Bill Kenwright said: “Whilst today is just one more step in our long journey, it is a very important one.

“It’s been a good week for Everton and Evertonians.”

Historic England said that while it supports Everton’s need for a “state-of-the-art” stadium and the benefits it could bring, it advised the council to refuse the application.

In a statement, it said the plan to infill the dock would “fundamentally change its historic character” and result in “substantial harm” to the significance of the Grade II listed dock.

It added it could also damage the waterfront’s World Heritage Site status.

The club said it had committed to spending £55m in preserving and celebrating the heritage assets as well as creating a heritage centre around the currently derelict Hydraulic Tower.

Green party group leader councillor Tom Crone had raised concerns about the environmental impact of the scheme.

He said he felt “reasonably reassured” with the club promising alternative forms of transport but added that would like to see “good footpaths” to the stadium.

The proposals will now be referred to the Secretary for State of Housing, Communities and Local Government for consideration.

Via SportBusiness Finance Weekly

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Shervin Mirhashemi, president and chief executive of Legends. Eric and Chris also discuss the recent boom in sports collectibles and trading cards, as well as the rising interest of private equity in sports agencies.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Via Forbes

Legends has been ranked #175 out of 500 midsize companies on the 2021 America’s Best Midsize Employers list by Forbes, which rank the top companies who have risen to the occasion, adapting in ways that benefit both their customers and employees. Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to compile our list by surveying 50,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees. Participants were asked to rate their willingness to recommend their own employers to friends and family, and to nominate organizations other than their own. The final list ranks the 500 midsize employers that received the most recommendations.

Via Sportico

Super Bowl attendees spent a record amount on concessions and merchandise during Sunday’s big blowout, according to stadium operations company Legends, which worked with the NFL to manage the unprecedented experience this year.

Fans spent an average of $212 in the stadium, dropping $132 on food and drinks and $80 on merchandise, both Super Bowl records, Legends announced. The average spend was up nearly 40% over fans’ average spend five years ago in Super Bowl 50. Among the crowd of 24,835 were more than 7,000 vaccinated health care workers.

Buccaneers fans likely gobbled up souvenirs as Tampa Bay cruised to a 31-9 victory. Raymond James Stadium’s concessions, meanwhile, were set up to be contactless, thanks in part to a partnership with Visa. Many fans also walked into the game with $255 gift cards as a replacement for the lack of pregame festivities offered this weekend. Inside, T-shirts went for $45 while beers could be had for $13 to $15, with some prices marked down, like the “fan-friendly” $5 hot dog, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

“We’ve invested heavily in innovating the guest experience so that fans feel safe, confident and comfortable engaging with food, merchandise and other stadium amenities, all of which helped contribute to the record-breaking sales,” Legends Hospitality president Dan Smith said in an email.

It probably helped the average sales numbers that 2,000 attendees came from the stadium’s luxury suites. Ticket prices for the game were roughly in line with recent averages. Last-minute tickets went for a median of $8,300, compared to $8,500 last year.

The bump in in-stadium spending was not expected to correlate with a typical boom for the local economy, as COVID-19 dampened expectations despite a team playing a Super Bowl at home for the first time.

In 2019, Legends won the chance to manage event merchandise at key NFL events, including the Super Bowl and NFL Draft. Previously, the NFL was reportedly impressed by Legends’s work with the Cowboys, Browns, Titans, Rams and Chargers. The company was co-founded in 2008 by the Yankees and the Cowboys affiliate, Jones Concessions LP.

Via Sport Business

Premium experiences company Legends is actively targeting an aggressive international expansion plan now that its transaction for global investment firm Sixth Street to take majority control is now complete.

The deal, valuing Legends at a reported $1.35bn (€1.12bn) including debt, that was announced last month has officially closed. And with that completion, Legends after nearly 13 years of operation is broadening its ambitions. 

The company already holds some key relationships outside of its United States base, notably a broad-based pact with Spanish giant Real Madrid that saw the subsequent hire of Victoria Hawksley to lead international retail operations. 

But Legends is now thinking even bigger, particularly as it looks ahead to a period beyond the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and a point when full attendance at stadiums and arenas is again possible.

“When we do come back, we want to be really well positioned to continue growing our international business and have that be a bigger and bigger part of our overall pie,” said Shervin Mirhashemi, Legends president and chief executive. “The fact that Sixth Street has that experience, has that presence internationally, certainly in the pan-European market as well as other locations around the world, it fits exactly our vision of where the business is and is going toward in the future. There’s going to be immense focus on our behalf to make sure that international business becomes a bigger piece of what we do.

“Given that we are a global platform and are focused on these unique experiences for global brands, Sixth Street really fits our DNA, and their experience on that global stage is really going to serve us well,” he said. 

That targeted geographic expansion thematically continues a functional growth for Legends. The company started mainly as a concessions and hospitality outfit but over the years has expanded into numerous areas of sports and entertainment operations including naming rights and sponsorship sales and valuation, ticketing, merchandising, fundraising, and venue technology.

In the latest deal, Sixth Street will have a 51 per cent equity stake in Legends, with founding partners the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball and the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys holding minority positions. But even as those teams’ relative stakes have shifted, their involvement in the Legends business will not, Mirhashemi said.

“They’re going to be very much involved in the business going forward,” Mirhashemi said. “They’ve rolled their equity and they feel even more bullish about the business on a go-forward basis.”

The raising of as much as $500m in debt that was detailed shortly after the Sixth Street investment was announced has also closed, Mirhashemi said, and was part of the same overall recapitalization of the Legends. 

The existing Legends management team that includes Mirhashemi and chief operating officer Mike Tomon will remain in place.

Via Sportico

Private equity firm Sixth Street is said to be buying a controlling share of Legends, the sports hospitality, sponsorship and sales consultancy co-founded by the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys, according to people familiar with the sale.

The deal values Legends at $1.35 billion, said the people, who were granted anonymity because the terms are private. Sixth Street will own 51% following the close of the transaction. The Yankees and Cowboys will split the rest.

The deal should help accelerate Legends’s long-term growth. It also comes at a critical time. After nearly 12 months of pandemic-disrupted seasons, matches and tours, the sports and entertainment industries are starting to prepare for life after COVID-19. The new business reality could upend stadium construction, merchandise sales, concessions and ticketing, all areas of focus for Legends.

New Mountain Capital—which in 2017 bought roughly a third of Legends in a deal that valued the company at more than $700 million—is exiting as part of the Sixth Street transaction. The current Legends management team, which includes CEO Shervin Mirhashemi and COO Mike Tomon, will remain in place.

Sixth Street, which has $50 billion under management, was founded in 2009 as an arm of TPG, a private equity firm part-owned by Seattle Kraken owner David Bonderman. The business was spun off of TPG last year, and Sixth Street immediately began raising money for its flagship fund, named TAO. The group raised $10 billion between April and the end of August, one of the largest pools of private equity ever gathered so quickly, according to the Wall Street Journal.

TAO is prioritizing assets that can grow double-digits annually and tend not to be subject to the moves of the broader stock market, according to a presentation given last summer. It also favors investments in which it is the only private equity owner—80% of the fund’s gains, according to that presentation, are from such companies.

The firm likely sees Legends as capable of growing fast enough to produce at least a 13% internal rate of return each year—the average for the TAO fund over its lifetime—without being correlated to stocks, a feature of sports-team related investments generally. And while most private equity investments are made with an eye toward cashing out in three, five or 10 years, TAO’s philosophy is more open-ended, an approach that should satisfy Legends’s long-term horizon.

Legends was co-founded in 2008 by the Yankees and Jones Concessions LP, an affiliate of the Cowboys. The company started primarily as a concession and hospitality service, but over time expanded its offerings to include sponsorship valuations, naming rights sales, hospitality, ticketing, fundraising, e-commerce and merchandising.

The company works with a number of teams, venues and entertainment companies, such as Liverpool FC, the University of Notre Dame, Ohio State University, UFC, the Cleveland Browns, Wimbledon and SoFi Stadium. It is also the sponsorship sales agent for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Moelis & Company and Herrick & Feinstein advised Legends on the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter. Sixth Street was advised by Ropes & Gray and Goldman Sachs. (Goldman was a founding Legends investor but sold its stake in 2012.)

(This story has been corrected and updated to show when Goldman sold its stake in Legends in the last paragraph.)

via Financial Times 

 

The private investment group Sixth Street Partners is nearing a deal to take a majority stake in Legends Hospitality, the sports and entertainment company co-owned by New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys, that would value the group at $1.35bn, according to people briefed on the discussions.

The deal, which could be announced as soon as Monday night, would give Sixth Street a majority ownership of the company, which offers services including stadium concessions, naming rights and merchandise sales for a variety of professional and college sports teams. Baseball team Yankees and American football’s Cowboys would continue their involvement in the company, the people said.

The transaction underscores the influx of private capital into the realm of professional sports during the pandemic, as leagues and teams look to shore up financing as they contend with depressed or nonexistent ticket sales and associated concessions. 

News of the deal was earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal. 

The Legends deal by Sixth Street Partners, which has more than $50bn in assets under management, is its latest investment into an industry hard-hit by pandemic restrictions. In April the firm joined Silver Lake in raising $1bn in debt and equity for Airbnb, the short-term accommodations platform. In addition to Legends’ businesses for sport franchises, whose clients include the University of Notre Dame and Spain’s Real Madrid, the company also provides sales and experience planning at attractions including London’s View from the Shard and the One World Observatory at New York’s World Trade Center. 

Sports leagues across the US and around the world have been hamstrung by the surging Covid-19 pandemic, particularly Major League Baseball, which relied on ticket sales and stadium concessions for almost 40 per cent of its revenues in 2019. 

At the same time, valuations of clubs have only accelerated over the past year. In October the hedge fund titan Steve Cohen bought baseball team New York Mets for more than $2.4bn, a North American record. Last month Qualtrics founder Ryan Smith finalised a purchase of basketball team Utah Jazz for more than $1.6bn, according to a person familiar with the deal, up from the $24m paid by the previous owners in the mid-1980s. 

In recent months private capital has been undeterred by pandemic distress and encouraged by steady or increasing appreciation of sports assets, seeking investments in the industry in anticipation of an eventual return to normalcy. “People are going to want to go to sports events, they’re going to want to go to concerts — whether that’s six months from now or 12 months from now, it’s going to come back at some point,” said one of the people briefed on the Legends deal.

Via Sports Business Journal

Georgia Tech has signed one of the most comprehensive rights partnerships in college sports in a long-term deal with Legends.

In a rare move, the Yellow Jackets combined their traditional multimedia rights, which includes corporate sponsorship, with ticket sales and marketing, premium seating sales, fundraising, events, hospitality and e-commerce. They are all included in the arrangement with Legends, with the hope of exceeding the school’s estimated $6 million per year received from its current multimedia rights deal with Learfield IMG College.

“All of their revenue streams are going to be flowing in the same direction now,” said Michael Behan, Legends’ vice president of sales. “It’s probably a first-of-its-kind deal in college sports.”

The Yellow Jackets previously outsourced the rights to different partners. In addition to the Learfield deal for multimedia rights, The Aspire Group had ticketing, Fanatics handled e-commerce and Georgia Tech managed seating and events in-house.

Now, all of those revenue-generating functions will be under one umbrella with Legends, which is making an aggressive push into the college rights space with more deals expected to be announced soon. Financial terms with Georgia Tech were not released. The Learfield deal is in its final year, with Legends assuming the rights on July 1, 2021. The structure of the Legends deal is believed to be a guarantee plus revenue sharing on its sales.

Chicago-based Navigate consulted with Georgia Tech’s athletic department on the deal.

“Timing is everything, and it’s really exciting to know that we’re going to have a partner like Legends developing a revenue strategy with us as we’re coming out of COVID,” Georgia Tech Athletic Director Todd Stansbury said.

Stansbury, a Tech alum who played linebacker on the football team, wasn’t convinced that this was the best time to take Tech’s multimedia rights to market. But the school’s contract with Learfield IMG College was near an end, and the Yellow Jackets had to make a move, pandemic or not.

Stansbury was pleasantly surprised by the response from the marketplace. Seven companies submitted bids for the Yellow Jackets’ rights, some of which included a guarantee while others were straight revenue-share.

“COVID complicated matters,” Stansbury said. “This is not the kind of decision you want to make from Zoom calls, but that’s what we had to do. Now we can pull all of our revenue levers at once and have them working in conjunction.”

It remains to be seen what kind of revenue increase Legends can generate for the Jackets. Two clear challenges are programming more events at Bobby Dodd Stadium and creating more premium spaces at the stadium, which was built in 1913.

Georgia Tech has sold all of its football premium seating and needs more inventory. CSL, Legends’ project planning business, will review the fan experience at Tech’s football and basketball venues.

“The financial implications of COVID on the schools are well-documented,” Behan said. “Schools are willing to step back and have conversations about revenue and reimagining how they’re going to do that.”

Stansbury’s senior leadership team of Deputy AD Mark Rountree, Senior Associate AD Ayo Taylor-Dixon and CFO Marvin Lewis were involved in the negotiations. Legends also has a joint venture with JMI Sports at Notre Dame for multimedia rights.

Via SportsPro Media

The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Detroit Pistons have appointed experiential services agency Legends to operate their ecommerce merchandising.

The agreement has already led to the launch of Pistons313shop.com as the new official team merchandise website for the Pistons.

As well as featuring designer apparel and official NBA team-licensed gear, the site will also serve as the merchandise home for the Motor City Cruise, the Pistons’ NBA G League affiliate, and the club’s NBA 2K League esports outfit, Pistons Gaming Team.

In conjunction with the launch of the online store, the Pistons also unveiled new ‘313’ and ‘DET’ logo treatments as part of a new fashionable lifestyle-inspired line of off-court apparel called ‘DETail Threads’. Sold exclusively on Pistons313shop.com, the private label offering focuses on unique silhouettes and designs that celebrate the city, team and history of the franchise.

In partnering with Legends, the Pistons will look to lean on the company’s strategic relationships with high quality and boutique vendors to help broaden selection and increase value for consumers.

Legends already has a number of high-profile partnerships in sport, including with Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid, who appointed the agency in July to manage their vast retail operation.

“We are pleased to partner with Legends on the creation of a new merchandising partnership that will deliver fans unparalleled selection with an easy and reliable online shopping experience,” said Mike Zavodsky, chief business officer for the Detroit Pistons.

“Our DETail Threads private label and new ‘313’ and ‘DET’ logo treatments provide fans a directional glimpse of our merchandising future and how we intend to utilise the power of Legends’ global expertise to diversify the look and feel of our team apparel offerings.”

Dave Moroknek, president of Legends Global Merchandise, added: “It was important for us to deliver exclusive merchandise that is true to Detroit, which offers a unique way for fans to support their teams.

“We put an emphasis on making the site easy to navigate and are thrilled with the end product. It’s been rewarding to work with the Pistons organisation and can’t wait to tip-off this partnership.”

Via Liverpool FC

A traffic-free drive from Melwood to Kirkby takes around 15 minutes.

But the journey completed by Liverpool Football Club this month – to bring together first team and Academy operations on the latter site, with the new AXA Training Centre – was one of wide-ranging global research, development and collaboration over more than four years.

The Reds’ new day-to-day home represents the final product of the many inter-connected requirements and ideas, as well as multiple sources of design inspiration, that have fed into the huge undertaking.

Ultimately, one vision lay at the heart of the whole process: to provide a world-class, industry-leading base for Liverpool’s current and long-term ambitions.

“Since I have been at Liverpool there has been a desire for us to all be on the same site,” sporting director Michael Edwards told Liverpoolfc.com. “To be honest, I think many people before me wanted the same thing and now we have been lucky enough to deliver that.

“The other key reason was to make sure that we were giving our players and staff up-to-date, world-class facilities.

“Melwood is a great place to work, with some great memories for all those people that have worked there, but we needed more space and the chance to include all the things our players and staff need to fulfil their roles on a daily basis.”

The result is a 9,200sqm base that features three full-size pitches, goalkeeping and warm-up areas, and state-of-the-art indoor facilities including two gyms, a sports hall, pool, hydrotherapy complex and specialist sports rehabilitation suites.

Jürgen Klopp, his staff and the players officially move into the AXA Training Centre today, bringing an end to the Reds’ 70-year stay at Melwood and settling into an environment crafted to continue their success.

Work towards the new training ground began to gather pace back in mid-2016, when initial plans were drawn up by the contracted architects, KSS, and subsequently presented to Edwards shortly after his appointment as the club’s first-ever sporting director.

Melwood, the club’s training home since 1950, was still headquarters for the steady revolution being overseen by Klopp and his backroom team, a hub of analysis, preparation, problem-solving and togetherness. A place for commiseration and celebration.

But the West Derby complex was simply too small to accommodate the needs of a first-team set-up growing in size and expanding its objectives. The Reds would have to move.

KSS soon presented blueprints to the club for feedback but a decision was taken to shelve those original plans in favour of relaunching the design project anew, for two key reasons.

Firstly, it was deemed imperative for the architects to engage more closely with the various departments at Melwood and – given the new base would be their working environment to maximise – understand their specific needs from a football perspective.

Secondly, the club wanted to conduct a benchmarking review of training ground innovations and best practices in this country, across Europe and in the United States.

There was a hurdle, though: time. An alternative plan would have to be produced within three months. Research began quickly.

Edwards and Academy director Alex Inglethorpe travelled to Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur’s training grounds – the other two bases in England designed by KSS, which had been completed in 2014 and 2012 respectively – for a first-hand look at what was possible and improvable in conjunction with the London-based company.

Liverpool liaised especially closely with Red Bull Salzburg, the champions of the Austrian Bundesliga for the past seven seasons and a club with a stellar reputation for recruiting and developing elite players, including the Reds’ own Naby Keita, Sadio Mane and Takumi Minamino.

During extensive conversations with senior staff, architects and designers at Salzburg, their much-admired facility in Liefering – the Red Bull Academy – made a hefty impression on the visitors from Merseyside and became a reference point for the look and feel of the AXA Training Centre.

Its abundant natural light, spacious corridors, open offices and use of glass, wood and concrete provided a template that was subsequently shaped and tweaked to Liverpool’s own culture and needs in Kirkby.

The Reds examined the approach of Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim, too, and conducted virtual tours of training centres in America across several sporting disciplines.

Back at home, meanwhile, KSS drilled into the detail at Melwood, regularly meeting with each of the departments that make up Liverpool’s football operation to compose a wish list for their future HQ. Their input was critical to the process, ensuring each space at the AXA Training Centre would be optimal for the people working within it.

A busy three months ended with a design concept established and after receiving planning approval for the development from Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, the club ‘broke ground’ at Kirkby to begin the building process in September 2018.

The next phase of the process was managed by Martin Jennings from the club’s capital projects department, as building contractors McLaughlin & Harvey set about creating Liverpool’s vision.

“There have been so many people on site that you wonder how they are all managed and sequenced to make sure the build runs smoothly,” explained Edwards.

“That’s where Martin Jennings comes in really, I have a huge amount of respect for the job he has done in making sure the reality matches the plans. It’s not easy to balance so many stakeholders and to hit their expectations, especially when a few of them are trying to win football matches at the same time.”

Jennings’ primary link at Melwood was David Woodfine, an ex-naval officer and former head of analysis at West Ham United who joined the Reds as scouting co-ordinator.

In recent years, however, Woodfine’s efficiency in organisation and planning was identified as an ideal fit for wider football projects, too. So, when the vast challenge of moving the entire first-team squad and staff from one site to a completely new one arose, he was the man to handle it.

The pair worked tirelessly with KSS to turn drawings on a page into the structural reality of a training centre not only fit to house the world champions now, but futureproofed for the generations to follow them.

For full article, please visit Liverpool FC.

Via License Global

 

Legends has announced the appointment of Tom Tregelles to the new role of vice president, international e-commerce.

In the role, Tregelles will be responsible for oversight of the end-to-end customer journey for Legends’ rapidly expanding global e-commerce platform including the seamless customer journey, targeted digital marketing, real time data segmentation and strategies, as well as key e-commerce partnerships to support the omnichannel visions for partners.

Specializing in customer-centric digital transformation, Tregelles brings a holistic view to Legends’ growing global retail team.  He joins Legends from Frasers Group PLC, formerly Sports Direct International PLC, the largest sports goods retailer in the U.K. He was most recently group head, digital at the company.

During his time with Frasers Group, Tregelles worked across several brands including Sports Direct, Flannels and House of Fraser, where he achieved triple digit growth and record online revenues. Earlier in his career, Tregelles held a variety of digital and marketing roles with Orlebar Brown, Arcadia Group’s Topshop Topman brand and Jack Wills.

Tregelles is a graduate of Oxford Brookes University. Based in Legends’ corporate office in London, he will report to Victoria Hawksley, vice president, international retail.

Via Construction Enquirer

Gateshead Council has approved plans for the development of a £260m arena-led regeneration scheme.

Main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine will now start site enabling work before the end of the year with construction expected to commence in March 2021 and the new complex open in 2023.

The scheme sits on the NewcastleGateshead waterfront at Gateshead Quays and includes a world class arena, purpose built conference and exhibition centre, restaurants, a dual branded hotel and large areas of outdoor realm and performance space.

Venue management company ASM Global will operate the campus, which includes a 12,500 capacity, 29,000 sqm arena and over 7,000 sqm of flexible event space.

The plans by HOK Architects were submitted by Gateshead Council’s development partner Ask:PATRIZIA.

Councillor Martin Gannon, Gateshead Council Leader said: “This project is transformational, and today’s decision signals confidence in the North East.

“Newcastle Gateshead Quays will be a global leader in entertainment, leisure, and hospitality but most importantly it is about creating new employment and training opportunities for thousands at a time when they are badly needed.

“Despite the current challenges, we need to remember the worth of the events industry. We look forward to opening the venue late 2023.”

Speaking on behalf of the Ask:PATRIZIA partnership John Hughes, managing director of Ask Real Estate said: “We have brought together a world-class team of designers, architects and operators to deliver this scheme which will be one of Europe’s key cultural locations.

“We look forward to now starting construction work and bringing these superb public facilities to life.“

The project team also includes: Project Manager and Contract Administrator, Legends International; Lichfields, Planning Consultants; Landscape Architects, Planit:IE; Gardiner and Theobald, QS; ARUP, structural engineers/ M&E and Vectos for transport planning.

Via FC Barcelona

The vice-president for finance and real estate and head of the Espai Barça project, Jordi Moix, used his speech to present the financial results for the 2019/20 season and to also deliver an explanation of the current status of the Espai Barça project and the plan to finance its construction. This innovative financial operation remains in force despite the effects of the pandemic, and is fully adapted to the club’s needs, respects the red lines set out in the referendum and means that the Espai Barça can be financed by the sale of part of the rights to the future incremental revenue that the project is expected to generate when it is finished.

This operation will be conducted in association with Goldman Sachs, a world leader in investment banking that in recent years has been directly involved in financing the infrastructure of 45 stadiums around the world with more than $20 billion, and other local and international financial institutions that are also interested in participating in this operation.

 FINANCING PLAN FOR ESPAI BARÇA

The conditions for the new financing plan consider that the aggregate amount of the agreement is 815 million euros (725 for investment and to pay for the work and 90 million for capitalizable interest over the five years of work plus the initial financial costs).

The duration of the contract would be 30 years (5 years of construction and 25 years of management), and the payment period would be 25 years from the 2024/25 season, when the project is completed. As for the interest rate, the estimated annual cost would be 3-4% for an annual interest repayment plus amortization with the incremental income estimated at $50 million annually.

The formula for the operation is technically a sale of a part of the rights to collect the additional revenue from the Espai Barça generated by the club to an instrumental vehicle managed by Goldman Sachs. The club would return the investment over those 30 years in the form of 50 million a year that it would obtain from the 150 million extraordinary revenue that it would earn from the Espai Barça. The remaining 100 million in revenue would be used for the club’s regular activities and to boost its competitiveness.

The incremental 150 million would come from the new assets created via Espai Barça, such as the title rights to the stadium and new sponsorship deals (50 million), VIP boxes and seats (50 million) and new visitors to the new museum, greater revenue from ticketing due to the expanded capacity, new catering, venue hire and parking (50 million).

Moix pointed out that when the Espai Barça referendum was approved in 2014, the budget for the project was 600 million euros that was to be paid with 200 million of the club’s own funds, 200 million from a sponsor whose trade name would be attached to that of the Camp Nou (title rights) and 200 million from a bank loan. In the original funding plan, the club undertook not to cross three red lines: the work would not cost the members anything, payment could never jeopardise the sporting side of the club and the club’s assets would never be mortgaged as collateral.

Evolution of construction costs

The construction costs have risen since 2014 from 600 million to 725 million. The initial budget included the complete remodelling of the future Camp Nou, the construction of a new Palau Blaugrana for 10,000 spectators, with a Petit Palau for 2,000, an Ice Rink for 500, as well as the Barça Campus.

The investment in the construction of the Espai Barça has evolved over the years with the addition of new costs that have arisen from developments to the project and the agreement with the City Council and municipal groups for a urban modification plan (MPGM) amounting to 50 million, plus compensations to the City Council in the form of 49,000 m2 of tertiary office buildings and hotels. The rest of the increase in costs is due to modifications to the projected facilities, such as a new Palau Blaugrana for 15,000 rather than 10,000 spectators (60 million), and certain investments in the future Camp Nou to improve services and thereby achieve further incremental revenue, such as improvements to the museum and a new adventure experience (15 million).

Improved business plan and incremental revenue

The key to this finance plan lies in improving the Espai Barça business plan and the incremental income that the project will generate once the Camp Nou is finished. While in 2014 the project was expected to provide incremental revenue of 50 million euros a year, in 2020 an expert consultant in the valuation of commercial assets associated to stadiums, ISG Legends, estimated that Barça will earn more than 150 million additional euros each season thanks to Espai Barça, from the 2024/2025 season onwards. The construction process was also audited by a highly prestigious international real estate consultant in the sector, JLL, which expressed absolute confidence in the management of the project and its schedule. 

The club’s commitments

However, FC Barcelona assumes a series of commitments that must be met, such as always playing at the Camp Nou, competing in one of world’s top five football leagues, complying with financial Fair Play, having a guaranteed maximum price stipulated in the construction contract to avoid deviations from the budget and the right for banks to hire a commercial consultant if the club does not generate the expected incremental revenue to return the investment.

Another of the great advantages of this finance plan is that the club will be able to use 100 of the 150 million annual increments that the Espai Barça will generate for ordinary usage after using the remaining 50 million for the repayment of the finance structure. This income can be invested in making the club stronger and more competitive, and will allow Barça to compensate for the increase in income that other rival clubs in Europe are already benefitting from due to the improvements made to their own stadiums.

In addition, through this operation the club would be protecting its current revenue, by not offering as a guarantee amounts received from contracts that it has already signed, such as TV rights and shirt sponsorship, nor the ownership of its assets or the transfer of their management.

Moreover, the risk is borne by the funds. If the planned incremental income is not generated there is no possibility of any claim against the club. The fund could hire a commercial consultant to monitor the sale of the new assets.

These are two of the differences between this operation and what has been done by other leading clubs to finance their stadiums.

In short, with this new financing plan, the three red lines of the 2014 referendum are not crossed, the club’s current assets are not used as guarantees (land and facilities, stadium ticketing, TV rights and sponsorships), there is greater flexibility for reaching the best title rights agreement when the Camp Nou is finished, the risk is assumed by the financial institutions and banks, and finally, it boosts competitiveness as the 100 million euros a year in incremental revenue can be allocated to other uses.

Construction status and schedule

Jordi Moix also spoke about the status of the current project, now that the Estadi Johan Cruyff Stadium is complete, an application has been made to Barcelona City Council for a license for the future Camp Nou and with the tender for the project in progress. Work on phase 1 of the exterior development (Avinguda Joan XXIII and the Cemetery) has begun together with preliminary studies of the car park, and work is also underway on the Barça Campus project and the interior development plan in liaison with the City Council and local residents.

The draft project for the new Palau Blaugrana for 15,000 spectators and the preliminary design of the Petit Palau, Ice Rink and coach park is to be executed in two phases due to the impact of metro Line 9. The club hopes to bring the draft for the new Palau Blaugrana forward in order for the design and license application phase to be completed by the end of 2021, and thus be able to physically construct the new Palau Blaugrana between 2022 and 2023.

All of this work is being carried out in parallel with the fulfilment of the club’s sustainability goals, for which the Espai Barça project has already been awarded DNGB Gold Standard pre-certification.

As for the revised timetable, it is envisaged that this new finance plan, which still need to be approved by the club members, should be submitted to a referendum towards the end of the first half of 2021 before work can begin on the stadium next summer. Given that there shall be presidential elections next March, Jordi Moix will offer candidates who so wish the chance to receive an in-depth explanation of the project and the new finance plan so that a referendum can be called in sufficient time for work to be able to commence in the summer and thus comply with the planned schedule.

Denise Taylor points to her ability to unify people from different backgrounds on one team to enhance products or services in sports and entertainment technology as her biggest career accomplishment.

“Whether it’s an ownership group, a team, a fan, a guest, a developer, a project manager, it’s ultimately about bringing those groups together to drive to a much more impactful service or product or fan experience,” said Taylor, president of global technology solutions at Legends. “I think that has just continued to evolve over my 25-year career, and I think that’s something in today’s day and age continues to be a skill set that is so hugely required.” 

One of the few women to hold the title of chief information officer at a major American company, Taylor has had previous careers stops at AEG, NBCUniversal and Universal Music Group. Before joining Legends in January, she was global CIO for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.

Taylor is working with Legends’ clients on initiatives in the COVID-19 era that will deliver live events on digital platforms to fans — events that the company hopes will rival the experience of attending a live game. Some of these experiences include designing and ordering team merchandise to food and beverage delivery. 

Taylor is also working on Legends’ esports efforts to create immersive experiences that connect stars to fans over live broadcasts.

MORE ABOUT DENISE

Biggest work/life adjustment in quarantine: Fortunately, the adjustment with my son at home is nothing short of great — deeper quality time and commitment to each other — which is saying a lot about a senior boy in high school!    

Guilty pleasure: Reading tabloid magazines — a little longer at home now instead of the grocery line!

Woman in sports business I’d most like to meet: Serena Williams. The unparalleled impact she is having on women of all ages around the world is inspiring. =

Change I’d make related to women working in sports: I would start to educate and highlight at a much younger age the multitude of opportunities that exist in sports for woman. 

Sports can grow its role in the social justice movement by: Sports can be a huge platform for change. We are seeing athletes, organizations, teams, and leagues use their platform and voices to bring awareness to important issues.

Via Sports Business Journal’s 2020 SBJ Awards

 

Here is the full list of tonight’s winners:  

• Best in Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services: Legends

• Best in Digital Sports Media: Bleacher Report

• Best in Mobile Fan Experience: The Masters Tournament App, produced by Augusta National and IBM  

• Best in Sports Social Media: Louisiana State University  

• Best in Sports Technology: Mixed Reality Baltimore Raven

• Best in Sports Media: CBS Sports

• Sports Event of the Year: 2019 NFL Draft

• Sports Breakthrough of the Year: Premier Lacrosse League  

• Sports Sponsor of the Year: Visa

• Athletic Director of the Year: Scott Stricklin, University of Florida

• Best in Sports Event and Experiential Marketing: Bespoke Sports & Entertainment  

• Best in Talent Representation: Wasserman

• Best in Corporate Consulting, Marketing and Client Services: Octagon  

• Sports Facility of the Year: Chase Center

• Sports Team of the Year: St. Louis Blues

• Sports League of the Year: Major League Soccer

• Sports Executive of the Year: Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN  

• Celebration of Service Award: Team IMPACT

• Lifetime Achievement: Larry Tanenbaum

Via SportsBusiness

Legends has hired veteran sports merchandising executive Victoria Hawksley to a newly created role of vice president of international retail, where she will lead global merchandise operations and strategy for the growing segment of the premium experiences company.

Hawksley, previously head of retail and visitor attractions for the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur, will lead Legends’ efforts in this area, including in-venue retail, ecommerce, brick-and-mortar stores, and custom merchandise.

She will be based in Madrid, Spain, where her first major project will be executing the newly developed omnichannel retail program for La Liga’s Real Madrid, an expansive initiative that will include the revamp of several official club stores, the development of a new flagship megastore, and the rollout of a new online shop.

“I see a huge opportunity to merge the expertise and capabilities of Legends Global Merchandise division, with the insights and local expertise that Legends has in markets across Europe and Asia, to develop customized strategies,” Hawksley said.

Hawksley spent 14 years at Tottenham Hoptsur, where she oversaw the club’s set of visitor attractions for its new stadium that opened early last year.

The international retail operations have been a quickly developing area for Legends, whose historical base has been primarily in American premium seat sales and concessions.

“Legends has significantly grown our international footprint during the past few years, and we are fortunate to add Victoria to our leadership team in Europe as we continue to invest in our global merchandise vertical,” said Andrew Hampel, president of Legends International.

Via Sports Business Journal

As SoFi and Allegiant stadiums prepare to open, the depth of work by Legends on the projects has fully come into focus, including previously undisclosed details about the company’s involvement at SoFi on retail, technology and its food and beverage program. 

With Allegiant Stadium announcing that no fans will be allowed at Las Vegas Raiders games this season, and SoFi Stadium announcing the same at least at the start, the extent of Legends’ work won’t be fully functioning as expected. Still, the projects gave Legends the opportunity to demonstrate the depth of its expertise.

Legends President and CEO Shervin Mirhashemi said the company was involved in both projects early on from a feasibility and planning standpoint. Later, he said, “we then were engaged with each one of those projects separately, it was really about activating our full 360 capabilities to work on two iconic, state-of-the-art NFL projects, arguably two of the greatest stadiums in the world at the exact same time.” 

Legends’ involvement with SoFi Stadium was more extensive compared to its work on Allegiant, which was primarily focused on partnerships and its naming-rights deals, and a sold-out personal seat license campaign that garnered the Raiders $549 million in revenue ahead of the 2020 NFL season.

Legends is also handling the Rams’ and Chargers’ PSL campaign, which has generated more revenue than Allegiant’s thus far, but the venue’s reported sales targets have been less than expected, according to previous reports. 

At SoFi, Legends handled the stadium’s $30 million-a-year naming-rights deal and project management of the adjacent 300-acre Hollywood Park entertainment district, which will have a performance venue, retail and office space, residential units and green spaces. 

SoFi’s Stadium’s food and beverage program for premium and general concessions areas will be representative of Los Angeles’ diverse culinary offerings and will be inspired by the indoor and outdoor aesthetics of the aviation-inspired stadium.

“We’re going to be authentic to this vast culinary culture in Los Angeles that spans 18 to 19 million people across all walks of life,” Mirhashemi said. “So, I think what you’ll see ultimately when fans are allowed in there … you’ll see just this really unique, diverse, innovative approach to food and beverage.” 

Legends also plans to roll out a customized and immersive VIP tour program for SoFi Stadium. 

“That’s going to connect the applicable fan to their favorite team and go really behind the scenes of what this state-of-the-art stadium is all about,” Mirhashemi said. “So, how do you experience that venue from the perspective of the player, a broadcaster or potentially, and obviously, as a fan?” 

On the retail front, SoFi stadium will feature a 7,000-square-foot retail store catering to Rams and Chargers fans. “There will be two different floors and obviously we’ll have exclusive items that we’re going to have only specifically at that location for both the teams,” Mirhashemi said.

When it comes to the disappointment of not being able to showcase Legends’ work on SoFi and Allegiant stadiums because of the absence of fans, Mirhashemi is still excited for the future. 

“I would say life is a marathon, it’s not a sprint, and these venues weren’t built for 2020 only, they were built to be pillars of their respective communities and really examples of what the art-of-the-possible is,” he said. “They will have their moments to open, and hopefully, that’s going to be sooner than later in the next few months.”

Congratulations to Denise Taylor, Legends’ President of Global Technology Solutions, on being selected for @SBJSBD‘s 2020 class of “Game Changers: Women in Sports Business.”

 

Via Sports Business Journal

 

Leader. Innovator. Trailblazer. Change agent. Rock star.

These are just a few ways the 50 women selected for Sports Business Journal’s 2020 class of “Game Changers: Women in Sports Business” have been described. They represent every sector across sports business from teams and leagues, to agencies and sponsors, to technology companies and media outlets. 

Together, they make up the 10th class of Game Changers. SBJ will profile each of these women and offer a glimpse into their lives away from work in a special section on Oct. 19.   

In 2011, SBJ created Game Changers to “tell the stories of women in the sports business — women with broad, deep, and varied responsibilities and oversight who contribute to the success of the industry in multiple ways.” The 392 women honored in all 10 classes of Game Changers follow in the progressive heritage of their colleagues who have been part of SBJ’s Lifetime Achievement, Champions and Forty Under 40 programs — women such as Billie Jean King, Val Ackerman and Bea Perez. 

In 2013, SBJ launched an annual one-day conference in New York City to recognize the Game Changers honorees and examine the key issues facing women in sports. Over the years, the conference became one of the most successful and dynamic events on our calendar. This year, while we will not be able to gather in person, we are conducting the conference virtually on Oct. 27, with plans to honor the 2020 class and for a full day of content and networking. 

For more information or to register for the virtual conference, visit www.game-changers-conference.com.

Our goal today remains the same as in the inaugural year of Game Changers: to honor women — some you might know, others you might be reading about for the first time — who offer new solutions, ideas and perspectives that will change the sports business in the years to come.

 

Introducing the 2020 class of
Game Changers: Women in Sports Business

 

DENISE TAYLOR

President, Global Technology Solutions

Legends

 

AMY AZZI

Senior Director of Sponsorships

T-Mobile

 

HEIDI BROWNING

Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

National Hockey League

 

VICTORIA BRUMFIELD

Chief of Staff

USA Triathlon

 

DIANA BUSINO

Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer

Turnkey Search

 

MICHELLE BYRON

Vice President, Partnership Marketing

NASCAR

 

GRACE CALHOUN

Director of Athletics and Recreation

University of Pennsylvania

 

JENNIFER CARROLL

Senior Vice President, Talent and Culture

Major League Soccer

 

KAREEDA CHONES-AGUAM

Vice President of Business Strategy and Management

Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum

 

KARI COHEN

General Counsel

New York Red Bulls

 

JONI COMSTOCK

Senior Vice President of Championships

NCAA

 

ALEXANDRA DELL

Senior Vice President, Media

SportFive

 

LAUREN DIENES-MIDDLEN

Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel – IP

WWE

 

CHRISTINE DORFLER

Chief Financial Officer, NBC Sports Group

NBCUniversal

 

DANIELLE DU TOIT

President, SeatGeek Enterprise

SeatGeek

 

MELISSA DUHAIME

Director, Sports Marketing

PepsiCo Beverages North America

 

LAURI EBERHART

Founding Member and Attorney

Apollo Sports & Entertainment Law Group

 

JENÉ ELZIE

Chief Growth Officer

Athletes First Partners

 

JILL FREDERICKSON

Senior Vice President, Production and Content Strategy

ESPN

 

COLLEEN GARRITY

Senior Vice President and Head of Basketball Marketing

Excel Sports Management

 

JORDAN HARNSBERGER

Chief of Staff

CAA Sports

 

KAT HARWOOD

Sports Consulting Lead

Deloitte Consulting

 

MOLLY HIGGINS

Vice President of Community Affairs and Engagement

Los Angeles Rams

 

CHINA JUDE

Senior Associate Athletics Director for Administration and Senior Woman Administrator

University of Wyoming

 

DONNA JULIAN

Executive Vice President and Spectrum Center General Manager

Hornets Sports & Entertainment

 

ERIN KANE

Vice President, Player Agent

Octagon

 

DANI RYLAN KEARNEY

Founder and Commissioner

National Women’s Hockey League

 

ANGELINA LAWTON

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Sportsdigita

 

RAQUEL LIBMAN

Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Miami Heat and AmericanAirlines Arena

 

BLAIR LISTINO

Chief Financial Officer, Philadelphia Flyers and Wells Fargo Center

Comcast Spectacor

 

NICOLE LYNN

Sports Agent and Attorney

Young Money APAA Sports

 

LILIAHN MAJEED

Senior Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion

National Basketball Association

 

BERNADETTE MCDONALD

Senior Vice President, Broadcasting

Major League Baseball

 

JEN MILLET

Senior Vice President of Marketing

Golden State Warriors and Chase Center

 

JILL MONAGHAN

Senior Project Designer

Generator Studio

 

BELICIA MONTGOMERY

Director, Diversity and Inclusion

Minor League Baseball

 

JESSICA MUIR

Director, Brand Partnerships and Amplification

Comcast

 

PATTI PHILLIPS

Chief Executive Officer

Women Leaders in College Sports

 

SHELLEY PISARRA

Executive Vice President, Global Insights

Wasserman

 

STEFANIE RAPP

Chief Revenue Officer

Bleacher Report

 

NAOMI RODRIGUEZ

Vice President, External Affairs and Community Relations

Los Angeles Dodgers 

 

SHOSHANA SALMON

Director, Traffic, Broadcast Operations

CBS Sports

 

KRISTINE SCHROEDER

Chief People and Culture Officer

Learfield IMG College

 

KIM SHELTON

President, UK Sports and Campus Marketing

JMI Sports

 

DASHA SMITH

Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer

National Football League

 

JILL SPIEGEL

Senior Vice President, Merchandising and Planning

PGA Tour Superstore

 

GINA SPRENGER

Chief Strategic Retail Officer

Fanatics

 

SHIZUKA SUZUKI

Assistant Vice President, Sponsorships and Experiential Marketing

AT&T

 

VANESSA TAVERAS

Vice President, Properties

CSM Sport & Entertainment

 

DIONNA WIDDER

Chief Revenue Officer

Houston Dynamo, Houston Dash and BBVA Stadium

Via SportsBusiness Journal

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has signed Legends to handle sales and marketing of what’s expected to be a $100 million modernization of historic Michie Stadium.

The 96-year-old stadium has long represented what’s good about college football. The cadets, the setting along the waterfront, the awe-inspiring flyovers and the history combine to make an Army home game one of the sport’s bucket-list events.

If there was one shortcoming, however, it’s that Michie Stadium lacked most of the revenue-generating features, namely premium seating, that have become common in college athletics. The stadium renovation will largely rebuild the East stands along the Lusk Reservoir and create premium spaces for more than 2,000 fans with majestic views of the lake and the Hudson River in the distance.

Legends will take the lead on creating new premium experiences for Army fans while also tapping into the corporate hospitality opportunities that exist in the immediate area as well as in nearby New York City.

Mike Buddie, who is entering his second year as Army’s athletic director, projects that the new premium spaces could generate $3 million to $4 million annually in new revenue.

Mike Behan, Legends’ vice president for collegiate partnerships, has been talking to Army about the project since last year, and Legends recently completed a market analysis to identify the revenue potential.

“The opportunity to go to a game at West Point is really unique, but once you get in there, the hospitality options are very limited,” Behan said. “So this is a chance to become more relevant in that space. They’ll now have a hospitality platform to build stronger relationships with local businesses in addition to West Point fans.”

Army is in the fundraising stage of what it’s calling the Michie Stadium Preservation Project, which will totally renovate the East side. Philadelphia-based firm EwingCole is leading the design.

Within the updates, with a goal of completion for the  2024 season, will come a full complement of new premium spaces, including suites, club seats, loge boxes and ledge seating. Legends’ comprehensive deal with Army goes beyond the sales strategy and planning. The 12-year-old agency also will create a year-round hospitality and event program that will provide corporate opportunities to be on campus and experience different elements of the U.S. Military Academy that would fit into leadership retreats or team building.

“We’ve been compared to Wrigley Field, in terms of offering this timeless experience,” Buddie said.

Legends in the college space has selectively worked on blue-chip projects like event planning and sales strategy for stadium renovations at the Rose Bowl and Notre Dame.

Army represents another historically relevant challenge.

“We’re a national treasure, but we’re also a college campus,” Buddie said. “We’re balancing the need to provide an upgraded experience with what’s sacred. We think this design plan will do that.”

Via SportBusiness

Real Madrid has announced that it has entered into a new partnership with US-based merchandise solutions provider Legends, which will oversee and manage Los Blancos’ retail business as the club looks to boost its revenues.

The appointment of Legends is part of a wider revamp of Real Madrid’s retail and digital strategy, and will involve the relaunch of three official club stores in Madrid, a brand new online store, and a new flagship megastore on the site of the side’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

The stadium is currently undergoing a $590m (€525m) renovation, and the launch of the new club store will come as part of the venue’s reopening next season. Legends has outlined plans to open an interim store on the site until the new megastore is completed, saying that further details will be released in the coming weeks.

The official club stores in Barcelona and Mexico City will also be relaunched.

Legends says it will provide an “omnichannel” retail programme for the club, leveraging its expertise in merchandising, sales, partnerships, planning, technology and hospitality to boost merchandise and retail revenues. The new e-commerce platform will launch this week in eight different languages as Real Madrid looks to greater capitalise on its global popularity.

In 2019, Forbes valued Real Madrid at $4.24bn, making it the world’s most valuable football team, in a year in which the club was also ranked as the world’s most-followed football side on social media. The club itself claims that its official website is the most-visited football team homepage on the internet.

Despite this, Real Madrid has struggled to maximise its revenue potential from retail and merchandise. Its revenue from store sales, which includes online and in-store purchases, stood at €24.3m for the 2018-19 season, the most recent for which figures are available, slightly down on the figure of €26.5m in the previous campaign. By contrast, Manchester United claimed retail and merchandising revenues of £102m for 2018-19, while for the same period, Real Madrid’s Spanish rivals Barcelona listed turnover of €61.5m for its wholly-owned Barça Licensing & Merchandising subsidiary.

Legends has worked in an advisory capacity with Real Madrid since 2018, and replaces licensed sports merchandise company Fanatics as the club’s retail partner. Fanatics took up that position after acquiring Global Merchandising, previously a subsidiary of Real Madrid’s long-standing kit provider Adidas, in 2019. At that time, Real Madrid renegotiated its agreements with Fanatics, and regained control over its own retail operations on June 30 this year, leaving it free to sign the new partnership with Legends.

Legends is part-owned by Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and the National Football League side the Dallas Cowboys – the only two sporting properties in the world valued higher than Real Madrid by Forbes.

Over the past several weeks we have all witnessed the heartbreaking acts of racial inequality and injustice that have taken place in our country including the death of George Floyd at the hands of those who took an oath to serve and protect. This unfortunately is not new, for black people and people of color these unconscionable acts are all too familiar. We have heard the cries for change and accountability, and we stand with the black community in the movement and push to ensure that black lives matter. We don’t have all the answers, but we will seek to have the important conversations with our internal team members and our community and take action.

As an extension of Legends’ Diversity & Inclusion platform, this week we’ve launched our Community & Social Impact Circles, an internal program designed to harness the power of our team members’ collective voices and our platform to create change in the communities in which we work and live.

These circles are smaller format discussions that will provide all of our team members with a safe space to share and learn together and have the difficult and much-needed conversations about what is happening in society and throughout our communities. Additionally, one-to-one engagement with the Legends Diversity & Inclusion Team and Executive Team is available for all members, with a Legends Day of Service in the works.

From top to bottom, we’re committed to participating in these important conversations and initiatives as we contribute our collective resources for positive change and unity.

Via SportsBusiness Journal

 

Legends is adding a venue safety consultancy to its suite of hospitality, concessions, project management and merchandise sales services.

 

It’s the latest move in the sports venue industry to expand hygiene programs and provide best practices to ease the concerns of fans and employees once they are allowed to return to live events.

 

The Legends Venue Reintegration Platform offers the company’s clients and the sports industry as a whole a comprehensive program that will help protect guests and employees, said Legends President and CEO Shervin Mirhashemi. Legends will offer the same program to nonsports facilities such as office and retail buildings, and attractions.

 

Along with medical and government experts, Legends’ platform will bring in hospital-grade hygiene experts, professional vendors and operational expertise to assess a venue’s readiness to host fans and other guests.

 

Advisory partners include representatives from the International Association of Venue Managers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some of the assessment partners include Venue Solutions Group, Environmental Infection Prevention and CrowdRx. On the cashless and contactless payment front,  vendors include FreedomPay, Square, Ingenico, Clover, Apply Pay, Google Pay, Tap to Pay, Zippin, ReadyCredit, Tapin2 and Appetize.

 

The move to develop structure and resources across venue safety has understandably accelerated in the past eight weeks. Tim Leiweke’s Oak View Group has plans for a new division to make certain that venues are sanitized properly. ASM Global also has launched a similar initiative and the Houston Texans have posted a position for a facility hygiene coordinator.

 

The Legends platform has two phases. 

 

“There’s an initial assessment and planning portion, which we call phase one of the analysis, that’s a two-to-four week process, which is very customized and involves over 150 checklist items to assess and ultimately provide a plan of what that venue or event needs to safely conduct business in this new COVID environment,” Mirhashemi said. “The second phase is based on those recommendations, we have solutions with various different vendor options, with different paths that will address each one of those over 150 checklist items.”

 

Mirhashemi noted the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees — which own Legends — were using the platform in preparation for the eventual return of live sports. He said Legends will charge a one time consulting fee that will be customized for the specific client. 

 

Some of the hypothetical recommendations Legends may make include providing branded personal protective equipment to fans, a revised ticketing and manifest process, a policy addressing season-ticket holders if venues have to reduce capacity, a plan for a contactless and cashless environment, an app-managed safety checklist for employees, and revised food and beverage and merchandising operations.
 

“We’re addressing that entire journey, for both the employee as well as the fan, from the time they leave their home, to the time they return, which includes egress, ingress changes to the event and venue, and new hospital-grade cleaning and hygiene options on how they need to go about cleaning that venue or that event,” Mirhashemi said.

via Insider Media

New images have been revealed for the landmark Gateshead Quays scheme as Ask:PATRIZIA submit full proposals for the £260m plan.

The 80,000 sq ft development, which will host international conferences and exhibitions as well as music and cultural events, is situated on the NewcastleGateshead Quayside, directly in front the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

The scheme will include a 12,500-capacity arena, an international conference and exhibition centre, a dual branded hotel, restaurants, and extensive areas of public realm.

It is expected to add more than 1,000 jobs and £29 million GVA per annum to the regional economy.  The council will be submitting a planning application later this year for a multi-storey car park on Baltic Quarter to service the development.

Ask:PATRIZIA is a joint venture between Ask Real Estate and PATRIZIA AG, the pan-European real estate investment partner, for the development of Gateshead Quayside.

Global architect, HOK is designing the overall masterplan for the site, with the project team also including Legends International, Lichfields, Gardiner and Theobald, QS, ARUP, M&E and Vectos.

John Hughes, managing director of Ask Real Estate, said: “We have undertaken a  programme of public consultation with local stakeholders and neighbours which has informed our plans for Gateshead Quays and we are pleased that we are now able to take this through to the final stage of the planning process.

“Our appointed contractors Sir Robert McAlpine have been engaging with the technical teams and with the arena operator ASM Global and we have signed-off stage 2 designs for what will be a world-class events destination.

“We are hopeful that the scheme will achieve full planning consent later this year and look forward to delivering this superb facility for the North East as soon as possible.”

The hotel operator is expected to be revealed in the coming weeks and the new complex is set to open 2023.

As the world has changed since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March, Legends has worked closely with partners to give back to communities in need.

Legends has donated tens of thousands of pounds of food to nonprofits, food banks, and other community partners. Additionally, Legends has donated merchandise, masks, supplies, and hygiene kits to various organisations in need. In support of game-day workers and other seasonal employees whose jobs have been impacted, Legends has made significant contributions to various funds that assist these staff members.

 

LEGENDS IN THE NEWS:

• NFL Draft-A-Thon Partners (21/04)
• Browns Launch ‘Hats Off to Our Heroes’ Fund to Benefit COVID-19 Community Leaders (16/04)
• FC Dallas and Toyota Partner to Feed North Texas Volunteers (19/03)
• LAFC Teams With Partners To Donate Food To Local Charity (17/03)
• Kings Donate Prepared and Perishable Food to Help Needy During Coronavirus Crisis (13/03)

Via ClevelandBrowns.com

 

 

The Browns today launched the “Hats Off to Our Heroes” Fund, which will focus on aiding health care professionals, first responders, educational professionals and other groups who are pivotal in the community year round and are valiantly serving as role models in the face of significant adversity due to COVID-19.

 

For a significant period of time, the Browns will commit 100 percent of the team’s net proceeds from 2020 Browns jersey sales at FirstEnergy Stadium’s Pro Shop, in partnership with Legends, and online through Fanatics to the “Hats Off To Our Heroes” Fund beginning Wednesday, April 15, when the team will share its new uniforms on ClevelandBrowns.com and its social media platforms.

 

“When finalizing our uniform announcement, we realized we had an incredible opportunity to further our support of heroes battling COVID-19 on the front lines for our entire community,” said Executive Vice President JW Johnson. “We hope the excitement surrounding the new uniforms can help make a significant impact through the ‘Hats Off to Our Heroes’ Fund, and we greatly appreciate the support from our fans, retail partners and team to make this special way to give back to those leaders possible.”

 

In addition, team members, partners and fans can contribute directly to the “Hats Off to Our Heroes” Fund at www.clevelandbrowns.com/COVID-19, which also features community resources and information relevant to coronavirus.

 

An extension of the “Hats Off to Our Heroes” Honor Row hosted during all Browns home games, the team is recognizing and assisting COVID-19 heroes by supporting those who have selflessly taken on burdens in their personal and professional lives to benefit the community. The “Hats Off to Our Heroes” Honor Row program was created following the 9/11 tragedy to salute service members and first responders in the local community.

 

Since April 2017, the team has donated 100 percent of its net proceeds from all sales within the stadium’s Pro Shop to benefit Browns Give Back’s commitment to education and youth football.

 

Fans who purchase a new jersey directly from the FirstEnergy Pro Shop will also receive a 30 percent coupon by mail for future use at the location once it reopens (full details to be listed on coupon). To place an order from the FirstEnergy Stadium Pro Shop, call 440-824-3427 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Monday-Friday. The Pro Shop will also host special call-in hours this week from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Wednesday (April 15) and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday (April 18-19). In-store purchases are currently unavailable in adherence to all policies and social distancing best practices related to COVID-19.

via FC Dallas

FC Dallas and Toyota are taking care of those who are taking care of the community by delivering meals to the volunteers at Frisco FastPacs, an organization that provides meals for students in the Frisco Independent School District today.

The donated meals were originally intended for upcoming FC Dallas matches at Toyota Stadium. Because of the suspension of MLS play and the growing need for resources and volunteers, FC Dallas and Toyota recognized the need to help the volunteers who are providing such a vital service in our community. Legends Hospitality chefs worked to prepare and package the meals.

“We’re proud to work with Legends Hospitality and the food and beverage team at Toyota Stadium to provide these meals to the volunteers who are tirelessly working to ensure that FISD students do not go hungry during this unprecedented time,” said FC Dallas Foundation Manager Brooke Leverette.

Frisco FastPacs is a service that delivers weekend meals to all 72 Frisco Independent School District campuses, serving more than 1,000 children, to ensure they do not go hungry when school is not in session. Following FISD’s response to extend spring break until Friday, March 20 due to COVID-19, Frisco FastPacs is currently working with the district and Lovepacs Frisco to provide meals to those students in need at six different middle schools.

“Mr. Rogers always said that in scary times, we should look for the helpers,” said Frisco Fastpacs Executive Director Heather Canterbury. “Our Fastpacs volunteers have stepped up unbelievably to be those helpers in in this crisis. To have FC Dallas and Toyota take care of our people so they can keep taking care of these kids means everything.”

Via LAFC

LAFC is continuing to be a force for good in the community during a difficult time. On Tuesday, the Club teamed with partners Legends and the LAFC Foundation to donate fresh fruits and vegetables to local community partner Union Rescue Mission.

“We wanted to support our local community during this time of hardship and need,” said LAFC Director of Community Relations Aida Morrow. “Union Rescue Mission focuses on helping men, women, and children experiencing homelessness. As a force for good in our local community, we wanted to align with an organization that is working to make a difference in our city.”

The food donated to the mission was originally purchased for LAFC’s upcoming matches at Banc of California Stadium. Due to the suspension of the MLS season and the urgent need for such supplies, the Club and its partners felt donating the perishable goods would be the greatest help to the surrounding community.

“Union Rescue Mission is based in downtown LA and speaks true of LAFC’s goal to positively impact the heart of Los Angeles,” Morrow said. “Throughout our growing partnership, LAFC has donated food and clothing, served food at URM’s events, and thrown a holiday party for their residents.

“We want to continue that partnership with the help of Legends and the LAFC Foundation by supporting Union Rescue Mission’s ongoing efforts to care for the homeless population in and around downtown Los Angeles.”

For more information on Union Rescue Mission and how you can help, visit www.urm.org. And for more community information, including the latest COVID-19 news, tips to stay safe, and updates from state and local officials, go to publichealth.lacounty.gov or bookmark lafc.com/covid-19.

Article via SportBusiness

US-based sport and entertainment agency Legends has created a global partnerships division led by industry veteran Chris Hibbs, president of the new unit.

Legends Global Partnerships will offer consulting services in areas such as naming rights and venue entitlement positions, jersey sponsorships, premier events, emerging entertainment platforms, universities, and mixed-use real estate developments.

Hibbs, who joined Legends in 2016, most recently served as chief commercial officer for Legends’ representation of SoFi Stadium – the future home of the National Football League’s Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams – and Hollywood Park. Legends and Hibbs will continue to work on the project into early 2021. SoFi Stadium will open July 2020.

Hibbs said: “Legends’ experience with recent partnership executions at SoFi Stadium, Banc of California Stadium/LAFC, and Allegiant Stadium are a good preview of where we see this division headed.”

The new division includes existing Legends personnel such as senior vice-president Matt Pope, who will help lead the global partnership portfolio, with an emphasis on US Olympic & Paralympic Properties (USOPP) – the commercial joint venture between the LA 2028 Organising Committee and the US Olympic Committee.

Senior vice-presidents Doug Smoyer and Jamie Guin, formerly of the Legends Global Sales team, will lead the east and central partnerships teams, respectively. Kristen Condo has been promoted from the global sales unit into the new role of director. Ben Martin, Legends vice-president, EMEA, will lead partnership efforts  from London.

Last month, Legends and LA28 announced the appointment of Katy Chambers Mollica as the head of partnership sales USOPP.  Mollica will lead sales efforts for the LA 2028 and Team USA properties for the Legends Global Partnerships team, as part of Legends’ sponsorship representation of LA 2028.

Legends’ services now span six divisions operating worldwide: Global Partnerships, Global Planning, Global Sales, Hospitality, Global Merchandise, and Global Technology Solutions.

Article via TheStadiumBusiness

MGM Resorts International has said it will create “unique and world-class entertainment experiences” for Allegiant Stadium after signing on as the latest founding partner for the new home of NFL American football franchise the Las Vegas Raiders.

The global entertainment company will also serve as the official gaming partner of the Raiders and the official home of the team’s pre- and post-game party. MGM Resorts will have prominent signage throughout Allegiant Stadium year-round, including in-stadium branding and naming rights to the west VIP entry and drop off zone.

The partnership features entitlement of the MGM Club at Allegiant Stadium, an ultra-exclusive experience with a full-service premium bar, luxury lounge and upgraded stadium seating for game-viewing. MGM Resorts will provide exclusive fan experiences before and after Raiders home games throughout its portfolio of resorts.

MGM Resorts and the Raiders said they are also committed to collaborating on community outreach programs benefiting Southern Nevada. MGM Resorts chairman and CEO, Jim Murren, said: “Las Vegas is becoming one of the top sports destinations in the world, and this partnership is a natural fit of culture and vision. Together, we look forward to creating unique and world-class entertainment experiences for our guests and Raiders fans.”

Raiders president Marc Badain added: “MGM Resorts is an institution in the gaming and hospitality industry and the activations they have planned for Raider games and all events at Allegiant Stadium will bring their best-in-class expertise to the entertainment experience.”

Legends Global Partnerships represented the Raiders to secure the founding partnership with MGM Resorts as a part of their duties as the stadium’s official premium ticketing and sponsorships agency. Desert Ford Dealers and San Manuel Casino were named as founding partners of Allegiant Stadium in November and October, respectively. Las Vegas-based travel company Allegiant signed up as the naming-rights sponsor of the stadium in August.

It was revealed last week that the Raiders had sold all available personal seat licenses (PSLs) for their move to Allegiant Stadium, generating $228m (£174.7m/€205.2m) more than was originally projected. Stadium officials also maintained the new 65,000-seat venue will open on time on July 31 amid concerns over its roof.

Article via SportsPro

 

Hospitality, sales and experiential agency Legends has confirmed the appointment of Denise Taylor to lead its new global technology solutions division after as president.

 

Taylor was previously global chief information officer for premier shopping centre owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW). In her new role, she will oversee EDGE Experiential, Legends’ technology joint venture with Productive Edge and also focus on strategic direction, guest-facing technology and business development opportunities.

 

The new technology solutions division as a whole will serve Legends’ new and existing partners, focussing on data analytics, revenue generation strategies, in-venue technology design, digital and mobile solutions and technology consulting.

 

“Legends has a tremendous opportunity to further integrate technology into our client solutions,” said Taylor. “Our new division will focus on developing innovative strategies and utilising technology to create new business opportunities, enhance the guest experience, add value, and create solutions for partners across all of our verticals.”

Article via Sports Industry Group

Legends International has appointed Richard Seymour as Global Planning Director.

The former Head of Consulting, UK and Ireland, Nielsen, will work alongside Legends International SVP, Global Planning Richard Cheesman to manage the agency’s feasibility, data analytics and business planning.

The London-based international arm of the US agency, which develops and delivers commercial platforms for sports and leisure experiences, has worked on projects such as the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium as well as with Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid. Away from sport, it has also produced work such as The View from the Shard, the viewing deck of London’s tallest building.

Discussing his appointment, Seymour said: “I am tremendously excited to be joining Legends International and delivering best-in-class services to businesses in the sports, entertainment and attractions space as well as Legends International’s growing portfolio of long-term clients.

“Their clients are a who’s who of the greatest names in sport and I am delighted to be given the opportunity to join their fantastic team.”

Cheesman added: “Since the acquisition of International Stadia Group in 2016, the feasibility and business planning offering has more than doubled in size and scope.

“We are working with some of the top brands and teams in sport and continue to help them meet their growing aspirations. Richard’s passion and deep understanding of the sports landscape fits well within the Legends International business, and he will play a key role in ensuring we best utilise the wide array of data we have to provide high-value, actionable insight for clients.

“His proven track record in growing a team and dedication to high quality analytics, output and service will be a great asset for Legends International and our clients.”

via Planning & Building Control Today

Martin Jennings, senior vice president at Legends International, discusses how recent changes to safety design guidance for modern sports stadia are being applied in practice

Professional sports and the stadia they are played in are developing at an increasingly rapid pace. Fans expect more from their experiences on match days, and quite rightly expect to be kept safe and secure.

Changing fan behaviour and the development of safety and security threats and solutions have been key reasons for new design guidelines to be published for safety in stadia.  All stadia must adhere to new safety guidelines if they are to be licensed for use.

Premier League and English Football League grounds are all subject to licensing from the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA). The SGSA has oversight of Local Authorities in their duties in issuing Ground Safety Certificates and they also publish the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (more commonly known as the Green Guide).

Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds – the Green Guide

The Green Guide was revised in November 2018 to its sixth edition, which came 10 years after the publication of the fifth edition. The latest version was produced following extensive consultation with industry experts and Local Authority Licensing and Building Control Officers and introduced some significant changes.

Every club must hold a Ground Safety Certificate if they operate a designated sports ground in England, Scotland or Wales that holds more than 10,000 spectators, or a Premier League or Football League ground in England and Wales that holds more than 5,000 spectators.

This certificate is issued by the Local Authority in which the stadium resides, and it sets out the safety regime for the stadium and establishes its certified capacities, based on a range of physical and safety management factors.

In addition to updating physical and safety management factor standards, the updated version also introduced guidance on safety outside stadia, establishing the term Zone Ex to refer to the ‘last mile’ of the approach to a stadium by fans on their journey to watch a match.

Changes to stadium design standards

A year after its publication, the application of the guide to new and renovated stadium projects is becoming clear.

The majority of changes to stadium design standards have been welcomed, including the acknowledgement of the value of computer simulation crowd modelling in stadium design safety rather than outdated static calculation methods based on physical dimensions.

The introduction of rail seating is another architectural consideration that the new guide covers. It refers to seats that can improve safety where fans persistently stand on all-seated terraces and have successfully been installed by Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Glasgow Rangers and Wycombe Wanderers.

However, there are some areas where the new guide needs greater clarity, for example, the limitation of no more than 40 rows of seats being served by a radial gangway, which does not take account of where the vomitory that serves that gangway is placed on the terrace.  If the vomitory is at the very front of the terrace then a fan would have to climb a gangway of 40 rows to get to the back row, but if the vomitory is placed halfway up the terrace, the maximum gangway climb reduces to 20 rows.

The new guide also missed the opportunity to clarify some key design standards, such as the number of wheelchair and amenity seats that should be provided, instead referring to other published guides which lack clarity on such matters.

Although the introduction of guidance on Zone Ex is welcomed, the guide refers to its assessment and management being a ‘multi-agency’ responsibility, avoiding allocating responsibilities to the football club, Local Authority, Police and emergency services. In practice, this lack of clarity is hampering the application of the new guidance.

Stadium design and safety standards for the future

Whilst the sixth edition of the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds is not perfect, it is a substantial progression from the previous guide and positively addresses the majority of stadium design and safety standard changes over the last 10 years and in the foreseeable future.

This includes the options for Premier League and Championship clubs to consider whether safe standing should be allowed in the future (legislation banned this from those grounds following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989). However, for fan comfort and safety, my expectation is that the new rail seating solution adopted by several clubs is likely to become the de facto answer to terraces where fans persistently stand. Rail seating does not significantly increase the capacity over a fully seated stadium, but it does provide a safer environment for fans to stand.

The new guide also makes reference to the multi-use nature of sporting venues, which we see an increasing trend towards as clubs look to increase both the revenue and social value to the community that their facilities can provide. This multi-functional approach is key to the work we do for our sporting clients, where Legends becomes a trusted partner from the start of the journey in developing a new stadium or venue to its completion and operation.

Legends International’s understanding of the business model that underpins sports stadia, its technical knowledge of design and safety standards, and its operational and commercial expertise combine to provide a service for its clients, who include Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Fulham and several major European teams.

 

Martin Jennings

Senior vice president

Legends International

Twitter: @thelegendsway

via Off The Pitch

• Consultants from the US, who have worked with Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Spurs, explain how they help clubs to boost their revenues.
• A deep understanding of the needs and wants of fans and partners is the foundation of improving experiences and revenue generation on matchdays.
• Creating differentiated offerings for fans acknowledges that not all fans are the same and can help attract a more diverse group of people to the stadium.

Many consider The US to be at the forefront of developments in the business of stadium experiences. Legends is an agency which originated in the USA and has now expanded internationally.

This article is subscription-based. To read the full article please visit Off The Pitch.

via TheStadiumBusiness

Sir Robert McAlpine has been awarded the contract to build a new £260m (€303m/$334m) waterfront conference and events destination in Gateshead, UK.

The development on Gateshead Quays will feature a 12,500-capacity arena, as well as 6,300 square metres of conference and exhibition space, two hotels, bars, restaurants, car parking and “extensive areas of public realm”.

The contract was awarded to McAlpine by Ask:Patrizia, a joint venture between Gateshead Council, Ask Real Estate and investment development manager Patrizia.

The new complex is set to open in 2023 with a full planning application expected to be submitted early next year.

“The appointment of Sir Robert McAlpine brings us a huge step closer to delivering this world class events destination for the region and we’re glad to have them on board,” Gateshead Council’s chief executive, Sheena Ramsey, said.

“This development will act as a catalyst for renewed economic growth, maximising local employment, training and supply chain opportunities. This is about being ambitious for Gateshead, we need everyone in the borough to be able to fulfil their true potential and projects like this create the conditions for them to thrive.”

Last month, ASM Global was confirmed as the venue management provider for the arena, conference and exhibition centre.

HOK is responsible for designing the complex, which will be situated on the banks of the River Tyne.

It is estimated that the development will attract up to 300,000 new visitors to the region every year, boosting the economy by up to £30m annually.

Speaking on behalf of Ask:Patrizia, John Hughes, managing director of Ask Real Estate said: “Sir Robert McAlpine has a reputation for technical excellence and delivering complex developments safely, on time and within budget. We are looking forward to working with them to see this superb facility materialise.”

Via SportBusiness

Florent Coulon, vice-president, sales, at Legends International, examines the possibilities of where 5G technology can take us in the way we experience sport.

The rollout of 5G technology across Europe and the US is promising to transform fan engagement, offering rights-holders new ways to monetise their assets and presenting brands with the opportunity to become part of a team’s fabric by associating themselves with in-stadium activities rather than traditional sponsorship forms.

The US is often at the forefront of in-stadia entertainment and innovation, with the likes of the NFL, NBA and MLB, putting fans at the heart of the action and interacting with them via apps and offering special perks to those in attendance.

Approximately half of the NFL teams are currently deploying 5G in some capacity, but it remains in the early stages and often only certain parts of the venues can access the network.

Though changing rapidly, the market is still quite immature in the UK and Europe, with fans often spending little time inside stadia before or after the match. Reports have suggested that elite football clubs across Europe are working with network providers to see how they can utilise 5G in the long-term.

It is German Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg, however, who are setting the trend in Europe. Currently in the process of trialling their 5G app, Wolfsburg are focused on putting fans at the heart of the game and providing them with in-game features such as enhanced match statistics and player performance data.

With broadcast and over-the-top media providers giving fans at home in-depth coverage of every aspect of the matchday, teams need to give spectators a reason to attend the match and 5G will undoubtedly work alongside virtual reality and augmented reality to add value to the overall fan experience.

As well as offering fans real-time replays and other live match incentives, 5G could also provide spectators with information and data that improves their experience around the game.

An example of this would be using the technology to guide fans towards an area of the bar where there is a smaller queue during half time or using an app that allows spectators to place an order from their seat.

This would help to reduce waiting times in venues that will in turn help stadium owners to generate more revenue.

Recent research from network provider Vodafone revealed that more than three quarters of business leaders from sports organisations see improving fan engagement – and delivering new and innovative fan experiences – as key to future success, with 5G, more than any other technology, helping to drive change and enable such experiences.

As we have seen in the NFL, it’s very likely that we will see 5G technology being widely deployed and tested in US venues initially before it is fully rolled out across Europe and other territories.

This has been a trend for a number of years now, with the US often trying out new innovations in other areas that impact the fan experience, such as the Tunnel Club Premium Seating concept that has now been replicated by football clubs such as Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur.

Last month, the Dallas Cowboys launched their revolutionary ‘Pose with the Pros’ feature at AT&T Stadium as part of their 5G experiences for fans.

A video of fans posing to take their picture taken in the venue went viral and quickly showed the capabilities and opportunities that exist with this new technology.

Other features introduced by the Cowboys included a virtual game that involves dodging defensive robots, and an app that allows fans to record their own touchdown dance over a 3D video that looks like players are dancing right next to them.

Over time, these fan engagement activations are going to offer increased commercial opportunities for stadium owners, clubs and sponsors.

I do not think it will be long until we see brands associating their names with these experiential activations, as well as fans being rewarded with gifts and perks for unlocking certain levels or features on apps.

If you’re selling sponsorship for a stadium or a team then the introduction of 5G as part of an activation platform makes it a very compelling offer.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes to deploy 5G in UK stadia, with the majority of venues having been around for several decades and possibly unable to integrate the technology in their existing capacities.

For some fans, it is more commonplace to simply have a food and drinks experience, chat to their friends and watch the match, but if you want to appeal to different types of customers and drive attendance to your venue, then you need to look at developing elements that can be complementary to the match experience.

It will take time until we see the full extent of the capabilities that 5G will bring to stadia around the world, but the early signs have certainly been promising.

If you think of the leap from 3G to 4G technology as a day-to-day experience, then the gap has been massive, and we can now access content on our mobile devices and tablets instantly wherever we go.

As with all new technologies and innovations, I don’t think anyone can be entirely sure of where this will take us as consumers and brands, but 5G is here to stay and looks set to play an important role in shaping fan engagement over the coming years.

via SportsPro

Major League Baseball (MLB) has announced plans to open its first permanent US retail location next summer in New York City.

The 17,000 square-foot MLB Flagship Store will be spread over two floors and located on the Avenue of the Americas in the heart of Manhattan.

The store will sell officially licensed merchandise from all 30 MLB teams and authenticated game-used memorabilia, while it will also offer unique New York City products along with customisation options.

• MLB’s YouTube live streams average 1.2m views

“This new retail location in a busy area of Manhattan gives us another unique way to market our players and teams and help continue to grow the sport,” said Tony Petitti, MLB deputy commissioner, business and media.

MLB has enlisted hospitality, sales and experiential agency Legends to operate the store, while Legends Project Development has been tasked with overseeing the design and construction of the new space.

“Building an iconic retail footprint in the United States’ most dynamic city, celebrating America’s greatest pastime is a significant moment for our company,” added Legends president and chief executive Shervin Mirhashemi. “Off the strength of our deep experience in merchandise solutions, we are committed to creating an unparalleled shopping experience for baseball fans worldwide.”

via SportBusiness

World Rugby and the IMG agency have announced that the 2019 Rugby World Cup is set to break records for the tournament’s licensing programme, as the event prepares to commence in Japan tomorrow (Friday).

The first World Cup to be held in Asia will run through to November 2, with IMG having landed the contract to manage the global licensing and merchandising rights for the 2019 and 2023 competitions, along with a number of World Rugby’s other major tournaments, back in October 2017.

With IMG signing more than 45 local and international licensees for the 2019 World Cup, pre-tournament sales of the official online store have already outperformed those of the 2015 tournament’s in England by over 50 per cent.

The hundreds of official products – ranging from merchandise and apparel to unique lifestyle and traditional Japanese items – are also available in more than 70 stores run by IMG-appointed official on-site retailer Legends International, including a 1,000sqm megastore in the centre of Tokyo.

Products are being sold in more than 75 countries worldwide, with best-sellers including national team jerseys and caps, fan apparel, face towels, keyrings and pin badges. In apparel, Canterbury serves as the tournament’s branded sports outfitter. In addition to the core Canterbury range and co-branded national team jerseys, consumers are also offered the likes of branded and non-branded shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, rain ponchos, footwear and fashion accessories.

The available merchandise assortment also features a diverse range of collectibles and lifestyle goods that seek to reflect the unique culture of 2019’s host country, including traditional Japanese Jimbaori coats and KIMEKOJI dolls, as well as jewellery and toys featuring the tournament’s official mascot. Food licensing has been another distinctive component of the local offering with branded ice cream, confectionary, cookies, rice crackers and Shumai dumplings.

IMG president of licensing, Bruno Maglione, said: “Our objective from the start was to build a programme that celebrates the first Asian host country edition of this global tournament while also capitalising on the overall growth of the sport itself in traditional rugby markets and newer ones.

“Our Japan team and international offices have worked together to develop an extensive suite of products that captures the uniqueness of the host country, as well as providing typical sports merchandise for rugby’s growing legions of fans traveling or watching from their homes around the world.”

The six-week tournament is expected to draw a record 400,000 international visitors to Japan and will be the most digitally-engaged rugby event ever. World Rugby this week revealed that more than 96 per cent of tickets have been sold ahead of kick off.

World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper added: “Rugby World Cup 2019 will be a very special and global celebration of rugby and, these incredible sales demonstrate that it will not just be big in Japan, but is capturing the imagination of fans and new audiences globally.”

To read an in-depth feature on the Rugby World Cup licensing programme, including an interview with Mickael Andreo, vice-president, licensing at IMG, click here.

via ESPN

LOS ANGELES — SoFi Stadium is the name of the palatial new home of the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers.

The growing personal finance company formally known as Social Finance has reached a 20-year agreement for the naming rights to the multibillion-dollar stadium complex in Inglewood, California, the teams announced Sunday.

The deal was negotiated by Legends, which is owned by Jerry Jones, and it is expected to be the largest naming-rights deal in the NFL, passing the Dallas Cowboys‘ AT&T deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

SoFi Stadium is on schedule to open next summer in Hollywood Park ahead of the 2020 season for Los Angeles’ two NFL teams. One season later, the stadium will host the Super Bowl.

SoFi was founded only in 2011, but the Bay Area-based online lending startup has grown rapidly into a prominent financial-services business particularly successful among people refinancing student loan debt. Led by CEO Anthony Noto, a former NFL executive, and fresh off a $500 million round of equity financing led by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund in May, SoFi bought the naming rights to reap extraordinary exposure from the world’s most prominent new stadium.

“It was something that really took a while for us to convince them that we were the right partner, and really gain the confidence that we could make that long-term commitment,” Noto told The Associated Press. “We’re super excited to have got to this point. They’re building something that’s unprecedented, and I think the impact it could have [on SoFi] will be equally unprecedented.”

The 70,000-seat stadium is the centerpiece of a 298-acre complex developed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke and shared by owner Dean Spanos’ Chargers. Along with the 2022 Super Bowl, the arena also will host the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship, an annual college football bowl game, and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics.

With SoFi’s name out front, the entire complex will have a prominent role in the future of the NFL and the Los Angeles metroplex.

“It’s one of these forward-thinking companies,” Spanos told the AP. “It’s in the forefront of innovation in their industry. That’s something and somebody we want to be associated with as our stadium takes on that same sort of energy, because it’s something that nobody has ever done before. I think what Stan has built here and done here, in his creativity with this whole development, this probably is going to redefine this area of Los Angeles for the next century. It’s going to be something that LA is going to be very proud to have.”

Spanos and Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff are both pleased by the addition of a young, technologically savvy partner with the naming rights deal.

“When Stan started to imagine what sports and entertainment district at Hollywood Park to be, he wanted to find not only world-class partners, but innovative partners,” Demoff told the AP. “He wanted to bring someone unique to the table that hadn’t been there before, and I think SoFi is a terrific partner because under Anthony’s leadership, you can see their vision for financial technology, for changing banking and loans, and really that process of putting the customer first is very similar to what we want to do at the stadium. I think it’s a unique fit for what we believe will be the greatest stadium in the world.”

Kroenke and Demoff also were pleased by the compact, alliterative name for such an expansive project, Demoff said.

“SoFi Stadium — I’m a fan of alliteration, so I love it,” Demoff said. “That may be very 10th-grade English of me, but I think it’s a very natural-sounding name.”

Noto has a personal connection to the stadium and to its primary sport: The former Goldman Sachs partner also is the former chief financial officer of the NFL, and he worked on the league’s groundwork efforts a decade ago to return to the Los Angeles market. After he became the chief operating officer of Twitter in 2014, Noto worked on its agreement to stream NFL games on the platform.

“I really had a front-row seat on seeing the impact [the NFL] could have on a business like ours,” Noto said. “It’s a small component of our overall marketing budget and our overall spending budget, but the benefit we get from reallocating the investment into this from other things is magnitudes greater.”

SoFi recently has partnered with sports brands ranging from college basketball conference tournaments to the US Open tennis tournament and the X Games. Noto said SoFi aggregated the audiences that saw their combined sponsorship efforts in 2018 and came up with about 15 million unique viewers for the entire year.

That’s roughly the same amount of exposure they’ll get from one prime-time NFL game in SoFi Stadium, Noto said.

Noto praised his former boss, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, for this culmination of the league’s years of patient planning for a return to the nation’s second-largest market.

“It’s a result of Roger’s vision back in 2008 and ’09 when he established he wanted the LA market to be not just another stadium, but to be this iconic destination,” Noto said. “Stan and Dean are bringing it to life in a way that no one could truly comprehend when Roger laid out the vision.”

Along with the name, SoFi members will have their own lounge inside the stadium, and the company will stage additional events and seminars at the complex.

The money from a naming rights deal typically offsets construction costs, and Kroenke’s project is expected to cost more than $5 billion. The Hollywood Park project already sold separate naming rights last month to American Airlines for a year-round performance venue and stadium entrance area.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Via SportsPro

The National Football League’s (NFL) Oakland Raiders have named Amazon-owned live video streaming platform Twitch as the latest founding partner of their new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The deal, which starts in 2020 when the Raiders move to their new home, will see Twitch have a branded lounge in the lower level of the 65,000-seater stadium. The space will have streamer stations and viewing screens, while it will also host esports competitions and future Twitch events.

An official release added that the aim of the partnership is to make Las Vegas ‘the global hub for esports’.

• Oakland Raiders and Credit One Bank agree Allegiant Stadium partnership

“Being a founding partner at Allegiant Stadium is a perfect opportunity for Twitch to converge our passionate gaming and live esports community with the world of traditional sports,” said Sara Clemens, chief operating officer at Twitch. “As part of our long-term vision for multiplayer entertainment, we are excited to elevate the spectator experience at live events in the heart of the entertainment capital of the world.”

The deal with Twitch will also support the Raiders in their aim to stage 46 annual events at Allegiant Stadium. The venue is already slated to hold the 2020 and 2021 editions of US college sports’ Pac-12 Conference Football Championship Game, as well as the 2020 Las Vegas Bowl.

“We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Twitch as the official streaming platform of the Raiders and Allegiant Stadium,” added Raiders president, Marc Badain. “The Twitch Lounge will elevate the spectator experience for Raiders fans in a brand new way — bridging the connection between fans in the stadium and at home unlike ever before.”

The agreement, which was brokered by Legends Global Partnerships, the ticketing and sponsorships agency for Allegiant Stadium, is the latest founding partnership to be announced for the new venue.

Other founding partners of the stadium include financial services companies Credit One Bank and America First Credit Union, Wi-Fi and internet provider Cox Communications and American airline Allegiant, which took the naming rights to the venue.

via The Stadium Business

Legends International has been appointed by Leicester City to carry out “crucial” market research that will underpin plans for the proposed expansion of the English Premier League football club’s King Power Stadium.

The research process will establish a better understanding of supporters’ matchday routines and preferences, which will in turn assist the club in planning the development of fan-orientated facilities and services to enhance the experience for visitors.

The work will commence with supporter and consumer studies in the coming days, the club said. The multi-staged study will include all current season ticket-holders, combined with “focused market testing” to gauge interest in other possible offerings.

The club, which has upgraded its stadium lighting ahead of the start of the 2019-20 season this weekend, has long-held ambitions to increase the capacity of the 32,300-seat stadium.

“Comprehensive market research is an essential element of any development of this scale to ensure all decisions are supported by robust feedback and analysis,” the club’s chief executive, Susan Whelan, said. “We are delighted that process will now commence and will be led by the experience and expertise of Legends International.

“Rather than simply increasing capacity, our aim is to transform King Power Stadium into a world-class sporting and events destination, opening a range of options, now being explored as part of our longer-term development.

“Supporter and stakeholder insights will help us to sharpen our focus based on meaningful intelligence and will ensure that we deliver the best facilities for our fans, and for the city of Leicester.”

Legends’ sporting and events portfolio includes work commissioned by some of the biggest brands and most famous venues in the world.

via SportsPro

Experiential services agency Legends has been named the official retail partner and operator for this year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan.

The appointment, made by the international rugby union tournament’s licensing agent IMG, will see Legends operate 73 official merchandise stores across the country.

Each of the event’s 12 host cities will have retail stores at the venues and in their respective fanzones. The stores will sell merchandise featuring all 20 participating nations, as well as exclusive memorabilia for men, women and children, and a range of official licensed products.

World Rugby, the sport’s global governing body, has also revealed that the Rugby World Cup’s flagship 1,000 square metre megastore will open in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Odakyu Park on 22nd August.

• Scottish Rugby’s COO on the World Cup in Japan, Macron kits and taking the thistle global

World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper said: “The official merchandising programme is a Rugby World Cup success story and the opening of the flagship store in one of the world’s iconic and busiest locations further underscores why we believe that Japan 2019 will be a very special tournament for fans as we reach the 50 days to go milestone.”

Legends chief commercial officer Nick Price added: “We are excited to engage with the Rugby World Cup organisation as the next step in the expansion of our leading event retail offerings platform. The megastore and the other 73 locations will provide fans with the most convenient, rewarding, and memorable experience at a once in a lifetime event.”

IMG secured the global licensing and merchandising rights for the 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cups back in October 2017.

The 2019 Rugby World Cup, the first to be staged in Asia, takes place from 20th September to 2nd November.

Via The Stadium Business

Legends have announced today the acquisition of MainGate LLC, the premier event retail and merchandise company. The Acquisition will Create a Robust Omni-Channel Retail and Ecommerce Platform to Streamline the Connection between Brands and Fans.

Founded more than 50 years ago, MainGate provides custom merchandise marketing solutions through event retail, team stores and e-commerce platforms. In addition, the company has custom design and production capability at its distribution center, headquartered in Indianapolis.

MainGate will integrate into Legends existing industry-leading hospitality experience division—led by veteran executive and President, Dan Smith. The focus will be on expanding Legends’ current retail merchandise business operations (pictured above) to offer partners a best-in-class experience. This full-service vertical platform including design, production, ecommerce, brand marketing, analytics, large scale live event, venue, and flagship store retail operations is built for the global stage, with base operations domestically as well as internationally.

Shervin Mirhashemi, President and CEO of Legends, said, “The MainGate acquisition represents another significant step in our ambition to build the most compelling, flexible and effective retail and e-commerce platform for our clients across the globe. MainGate’s capabilities across e-commerce, merchandising and retail event operations strategically align with our focus towards building a platform that delivers omnichannel retail services leveraging cutting-edge technology and robust data, to present our partners with the best option to successfully grow their business.”

MainGate’s current client work portfolio includes major professional sports leagues and teams across the NFL, NBA, NHL; collegiate properties and its governing body the NCAA; along with marquee motorsports names, such as National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and properties, such as International Speedway Corporation—a NASCAR property; and well-recognized media and consumer brands.

Dave Moroknek, President & CEO, MainGate stated, “Combining forces with Legends is a great opportunity for our employees, partners and customers and we look forward to bringing our shared expertise to a broader customer base where we can offer unique best-in-class services to realize their retail and merchandising needs. Through our current success with mutual clients, we are confident the market is looking for the end-to-end solution we deliver together.”

Via SportBusiness

Experiential services agency Legends has taken a significant step to expand its business operations by taking over Indianapolis-based event retail and merchandise company MainGate LLC. Financial terms were not disclosed.

MainGate – which provides custom merchandise marketing solutions through event retail, team stores and e-commerce platforms – will integrate into Legends’ hospitality division, which manages major sports brand retail and merchandise programs and e-commerce platforms.

MainGate’s current client work portfolio includes NFL, NBA and NHL teams, college teams and governing body the NCAA, and motorsport properties such as Nascar track owner International Speedway Corporation.

Via SportsBusiness Daily

The USWNT’s World Cup win is helping U.S. Soccer’s official website to multiyear highs when it comes to merchandise sales. The USSF’s online store, operated exclusively by official retail partner Legends, saw its best day of sales on Sunday in either ’18 or ’19, and numbers are also pacing ahead the same period in ’15, when the USWNT also won the World Cup.

The top seller has been the championship T-shirts, which U.S. Soccer worked with Nike on to have available as soon as the final whistle blew. The four-star jerseys are also doing well in pre-sales and will ship later this week. USSF Head of Marketing Mike Gressle said there was more product available overall to go out immediately after the final than there was after ’15.

Gressle also pointed to the early start time of Sunday’s game providing a nice post-match window for sales. Gameday sales on the site increased 350% over what they been pacing at throughout the tournament. Online sales are beating expectations, and Gressle believes they should stay steady for the rest of this month and throughout the fall during the USWNT’s victory tour that kicks off Aug. 3.

“We’re a little different than a normal sports league because the hot market doesn’t necessarily end when the parade’s over with,” he said. “We’ll have a nice opportunity for fans to interact with the team as they play across the U.S.”

GIVE IT SOME POP: U.S. Soccer partnered with Legends on a pop-up shop in downtown Chicago that contains the largest line of U.S. Soccer merchandise anywhere. It opened at the start of the World Cup and will stay open until July 15, with championship items available this week.

In addition to providing a retail space, the pop-up shop has interactive elements like a replica USWNT foosball table and a photobooth. “Overall, you see more branding elements that provide Instagram-able moments for that Gen Z target that we’re trying to communicate with and interact with,” Gressle said.

Via SportBusiness (UK)

Last month’s MLB London Series generated higher per-capita revenues than any other MLB international game, SportBusiness has learned.

Speaking at the SportBusiness Decision Makers Summit in London, Andrew Hampel, president of Legends International, said the two-day series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees was an unprecedented success in revenue terms, helping to underscore London’s reputation as a world-class host city.

Over 138,000 fans filled the London Stadium in Queen Elizabeth Park for the two sold-out matches, with roughly 30 per cent of fans traveling from the US and 70 per cent being local.

 

Hampel, whose Legends International held the retail concession for the series, praised the MLB for transforming the London Stadium into an authentic American ballpark, helping to drive revenues across the board.

“It was phenomenal, it felt like an American ballpark,” said Hampel. “You can’t just pick up a baseball diamond, with its physical size and sightlines, and plonk it down in any football ground.

“It worked at the London Stadium for precisely the same reason that it doesn’t work for football, because it’s got the physical size to accommodate it.

“Did it work for baseball? – absolutely. They did a brilliant job of bringing baseball to London.”

Hampel said he expects the MLB to return to London beyond its two-year spell at the London Stadium, following in the footsteps of the NFL. Though he warned that the MLB may struggle to export itself to other markets.

“As a platform it’s great, but they’ve got some real logistical issues about where they can take the sport.”

Via Washington Business Journal

The Observation Deck at CEB Tower has a new name to reflect what it is.

The View of D.C., as it is now called, remains the tallest destination inside the Beltway that is open to the public — until the Washington Monument reopens, likely in August. The Rosslyn observation deck offers unobstructed views of Greater Washington, from the nearby National Mall to the farthest reaches of the suburbs.

Graham Dunn, The View of D.C. general manager, said in a statement the formerly named CEB Tower has been rebranded as Central Place Tower, so “we felt it was the ideal time to refine our brand to better define and simplify the signature experience we provide.” CEB is now a subsidiary of Gartner Inc., but building owner JBG Smith Properties (NYSE: JBGS) apparently opted not to rename the 390-foot tower after Gartner (NYSE: IT).

The observation deck experience includes HoverDC, a simulated flight over the area, a bar, and weekly programming like yoga, food and beverage tastings, brunches and happy hours. The 12,000-square-foot attraction opened in June 2018 on the 31st and 32nd floors of the building.CEB

Tickets range from $21, if acquired online, for general admission, to $28 for admission with a glass of champagne, $10 for happy hours and $49 for weekend family four packs.

Via Associated Press

The stadium that will house Los Angeles’ NFL teams has reached another milestone with its opening less than 16 months away.

Officials with LA Stadium at Hollywood Park and representatives from the Rams and Chargers held a ceremony Monday to celebrate the completion last week of the outer shell for the canopy that sits above the stadium’s seating bowl, Champions Plaza and performance venue.

The steel roof shell is one of three parts of the canopy. The other two parts are the cables to keep the roof and suspended Oculus scoreboard in place and a single layer of ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluorethylene), which is a lightweight and transparent plastic. It was also used to construct the roof of US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, which hosted the 2018 Super Bowl and this year’s Final Four.

“Each time we come here it gets more and more real,” Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said. “When the NFL envisioned coming back to Los Angeles, this is what they had in mind — a two-team iconic stadium that anchors a sports and entertainment district.”

LA Sports and Entertainment District managing director Jason Gannon said the stadium is two-thirds complete. When it opens, the stadium will measure more than 3 million square feet and will be the largest in the NFL.

“I’ve seen a lot of NFL stadiums, but this is the largest. It’s grand but it’s befitting of Los Angeles,” said A.G. Spanos, the Chargers’ president of business operations. “You need a stadium to match the city.”

The seating capacity will be 70,240 but can be expanded to 100,000 for major events. It is already slated to host the Super Bowl in 2022, the College Football Playoff title game in 2023 and the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The Chargers have one more year at Dignity Health Sports Park and the Rams are going into their final season at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Both teams have started to bring their staff to the construction site on a regular basis to begin planning game presentation and other details.

Via SportsBusiness Daily

Eric Sudol grew up in a town of 1,500 in the cornfields of Iowa, part of a family of teachers. He figured that was his calling when he went off to a tiny college in the state.

In one way, Sudol did become a teacher, teaching sales to his staff, first at the Memphis Grizzlies and now at the Dallas Cowboys and Legends, where he sells sponsorships for AT&T Stadium, The Star in Frisco, Texas, and the under-construction Raiders stadium in Las Vegas.

“I always tell our sales team, it’s the last three to five minutes” of a pitch that is most important, he said. Why? Because that’s when the salesperson should detect red flags and know whether it’s worth pursuing the prospect.

“A lot of salespeople fall for the false prisoner of hope,” Sudol said. Sales reps can get taken in by the flash of a project and not see caution in the responses that might not make follow-ups worthwhile. A lot of time is wasted on those follow-ups, he explained. “I have a lot of comfort in letting go.”

Sudol quickly let go of his plans to teach when he was exposed to college. A five-sport athlete in high school, he decided sports business was for him. Coming from small-town Iowa, that could mean one thing: becoming the athletic director of the University of Iowa.

He enrolled in a sports management program at Ohio University, and like undergraduate school before, it similarly opened his eyes to more jobs in sports business than just Iowa’s AD.

He cold-called the Grizzlies because of the high concentration of Ohio graduates there and secured a summer internship. The team hired him soon after and he’s been selling ever since.

Sudol doesn’t rule out one day returning to Iowa, but for now, he has some sales prospects to go meet — and just maybe not call back.

Via The Big Spur/247Sports

The South Carolina athletics department announced last month that it is partnering with Legends, a group that specializes in planning, sales and hospitality with an emphasis in the realm of sports, to enhance the fan experience at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The first step was a survey asking for feedback to guide long-term decision-making for the future at the 80,000-plus seat venue. The goal is to develop ideas to make attending a Gamecocks football game a more attractive investment for the average fan and beyond.

The school has already pledged $21 million in work at Williams-Brice Stadium to be completed in 2020, which will predominately provide premium upgrade opportunities.

Legends is assisting with the already planned project, and going beyond that scope to design a plan to enhance the environment in the future.

“The challenge today is bringing in people to the ballpark and creating that type of environment, and also generate revenue to support your programs,” athletics director Ray Tanner told TheBigSpur.com in a one-on-one interview.

“Legends is taking a look at (the $21 million project), plus the future to what we need to do to create a fan experience at the highest level. They’ve done some really big projects, and they’ve been contracted to take a look at Williams-Brice and things we can do to make the fan experience as good as it possibly can be.”

South Carolina is one of the few colleges to partner with a company like Legends.

The Dallas Cowboys, Manchester City, New York Yankees and Atlanta Falcons are just a few of the professional sports teams that have partnered with Legends to create case studies for their organizations. Legends is a company that has worked primarily with professional sports teams with collegiate clients including Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

“I think we probably are (going the extra mile) because nothing stays the same,” Tanner said. “You’re either moving forward or going backwards, and we want to continue to move forward. We think that our programs, as they compete in the SEC and nationally, we’re in a good place. You always want to get better, we’re in a good place, but you don’t stay there. You have to continue to make investments and resources, opportunities for student-athletes, and you’ve got your donors and fan base. It all works together. Legends is the best in the business in taking a view of things you can do going forward to create the ultimate fan experience and also generate revenue.”

One of the major pieces of contention among the fan base seems to be concessions for the average fans. Turning on the radio talk shows, clicking on message board posts and general conversation seems to indicate a lack of satisfaction with the process and quality of concessions.

Tanner has heard the complaints about concessions and while he didn’t bring in Legends specifically to address those issues, it is a topic to discuss.

“Its not directly related but is it on the list, absolutely,” Tanner said. “Points of sale, things you do and the way you handle concessions, all those things – self-serve, grab stations – you’re always looking to grow and do things. Will alcohol be a part of the future? When? Those things, you have to take a look at. It’s important to continue to make progress. You can’t stay in the same space you’re in.”

Tanner is certainly willing to admit that not everything is perfect when it comes to fan experience at Williams-Brice Stadium, and that’s why Legends is coming in to make game days for Carolina football a more enjoyable experience.

The school is going the extra mile to make sure its fans are content with their experience.

Via SportsBusiness Journal

Shelby Jordan is an L.A. kind of guy. He grew up there and went to USC, where he played basketball.

And like other Hollywood stories, Jordan got his big break there.

“One of my dad’s good friends took me to a Lakers game, and we are sitting out on City View Terrace [restaurant] and he’s all like ‘I want to introduce you to somebody.’ It was Tim Leiweke,” said Jordan of the meeting in 2000 when he was a senior in college and realizing his basketball playing days were winding down.

After a little online research, Jordan learned that Leiweke was president and CEO of AEG at the time. “I literally peppered his assistant for the better part of three or four months. Phone calls, emails,” Jordan said.

That persistence turned into a meeting and a job with AEG.

Jordan shares a name with his father, a former NFL offensive lineman who won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Raiders and taught him the importance of humility and how success and personal development are enabled by others.

“At the end you may accomplish something, you may do something but usually not just because of you,” he said. “Someone along the way has helped you.”

While at AEG, Jordan worked on project management, financing and development of Dignity Health Sports Park, New York’s PlayStation Theater and hotel, entertainment, residential and other components of L.A. Live.

He moved to Legends in 2017 and was a senior project manager for LAFC’s $350 million Banc of California Stadium. He has been consulting on the new $150 million Class AAA baseball stadium in Las Vegas. It’s those L.A. projects and their economic impacts that appeal to Jordan.

“I’m doing something in my own backyard,” he said. “That’s really easy to get up and get motivated on a daily basis.”

2019 POWER PLAYERS: THE CULINARY INFLUENCE

Recognised by Sports Business Journal/Daily as 2019 Power Players: The Culinary Influence, Legends is thrilled to have five culinary leaders honored for spearheading Legends’ hospitality division, which features some of the best premium experiences in all of sports and entertainment.

From the article:

“The individuals highlighted in the following pages have demonstrated a vision to deliver across the entire range of fan experience, from creative menus and dining spaces, to ease of ordering and pickup, to local sourcing of ingredients. They are executives leading some of the largest food, beverage, hospitality and fan experience companies in the industry, consultants and designers offering a fresh perspective on the sports space, and some of the most gifted chefs and experts on cuisine.”

DAN SMITH
President, Legends Hospitality Division

RICHARD PORTEUS
Regional Vice President-East

CT NICE
Regional Vice President-Central

DAVID LIPPMAN
Regional Vice President-West

Smith, who worked in high school as a vendor at Yankee Stadium, leads Legends’ concessions and hospitality division, which recently added Raymond James Stadium in Tampa to its client list.

Lippman introduced diverse menus to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, including themed food items after Japanese star Shohei Ohtani joined the Angels, and partnered with local ethnic eateries and food truck operators at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.

At Yankee Stadium, Porteus opened new communal areas, a wine bar and grab-n-go spaces aimed at younger fans attending games for the social experiences.

At AT&T Stadium, Nice delivers for myriad special and mega events with expansive and diverse food and beverage needs.

ORAZIO LaMANNA
Regional Executive Chef

LaManna has overseen culinary and concessions and premium food operations at AT&T Stadium and helps engineer new menu items and pricing for Legends’ concessions arm. The Canadian-born chef earned high honors from the Culinary Institute of America and worked at high-end hotels including the Four Seasons in Ottawa. LaManna got his start in the food business as dishwasher at a hotel in Thunder Bay, Ontario, when he was 15.