Field Notes: 4 People Moves, 3 Announcements, 2 Things Worth Your Time, and 1 Stat That Matters in the Sports Economy.
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4 People Moves
Harry Arnett returns to Callaway as Chief Brand Officer. His first run (2012 to 2019) saw a bump in Callaway’s US club share and reclaim the #1 spot. From 2019 to 2026, he served as co-founder (alongside Mark Wahlberg) and CEO of MUNICIPAL. With Topgolf off the books after a sale to Leonard Green earlier this year, Callaway is a golf equipment company again.
Chris Zaber joins TMRW Sports as SVP of Ticketing & Venue Experience, a newly created role, after serving as CRO of the Washington Nationals. He’ll be in charge of ticketing and memberships across TGL, WTGL, and the upcoming NFL TMRW Pro Flag League. TMRW doubled its valuation to $1 billion in September.
Mike Kenney joins Capacity Sports Group as Chief Revenue Officer after running Ripken Baseball and spending over a decade at the Harlem Globetrotters. Capacity was formed in January as a result of the Prep Baseball and Bullpen Mergeer and has since hired a COO and an SVP of M&A. youth sports consolidation continues apace.
Ted Towne joins the Pittsburgh Penguins as CFO following nearly two decades in various roles with the Nationals. He took the Nats CFO job in 2022 to get the club ready for a sale, serving as the point person for potential investors. The Lerner Family officially pulled the team off the market in February 2024.
Want to see more moves? Check out The Portal >
3 Announcements
General Atlantic and NFL's 32 Equity Announce Global Strategic Partnership | General Atlantic
In Green Fees, I flagged that 32 Equity was shopping for a partner to scale the league’s under-the-radar venture arm. General Atlantic won it, with club approval at the October meeting in New York. In the same room, NFL owners approved Arctos’ 7.5% stake in the Falcons and Jean Eric Salata’s 2.1% of the Dolphins at a valuation of more than $12.5 billion.
Back in Beast Mode, I wrote that media runs in cycles: bundle, unbundle, re-bundle. Here’s the re-bundle. Every local Hawks game now streams for Prime members across five states, about $54 for the deason vs. $100 to $200+ for most local team streams, with Gray Media keeping free over-the-air games in Georgia. The Hawks are one of 13 teams left without a home after Main Street Sports Group collapsed in April.
Walter bought the Sparks for around $10 million in 2014 (CBS Sports) and is now reportedly asking $700 million+, team and new practice facility included. That price is more than double the $300 million WNBA record. It's also more cash toward the loans his companies are paying down after selling his Lakers Chelsea stakes.
Via New York Post
2 Things Worth Your Time
Since October 2022 the S&P is up 118% and the Nasdaq 162%, while the average team across the big five North American men's leagues is up 103%. Zooming out, the average NFL team has compounded at 14.2% per year since 1996, versus 8.4% for the S&P. In the last 4 years, MLB (+37%) and MLS (+32%) are the laggards.
Bucks President Josh Glessing on NBA Expansion, Team Valuations, and Life After Giannis | CNBC Sport
I featured Glessing in Niche Better Have My Money as an under-40 NBA president who thinks like an investor. This 30-minute conversation covers why teams have become more liquid, how a small market wins with free TV and the Deer District, and his call that Las Vegas and Seattle expansion fees could top $10 billion and $7 billion.
1 Stat That Matters
Pull of the Week
A few standouts include f*cklivgolf.com, ihatelivgolf.com, golf-frauds.org, and terroristgolfleague.com.
ICYMI:
Last week’s Under The Number with Brett Johnson, CEO of Benevolent Capital:
Last week’s essay, Brick Stacking:
BONUS: Check out the latest installment of Clubhouse with Dominyck Bullard (Athletiverse), Matthew Jester (CNC Partners), friend of the pod Mackenzie Chapman (359 Capital), and me:
I publish Field Notes every other Tuesday.
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– Brent
