We provide global sports business solutions, addressing a broad range of issues and opportunities faced by the sports and entertainment industries.
Accomplishments & Innovations
Lead negotiator in obtaining $155 million of non-recourse debt to develop the Rose Quarter in Portland, Oregon. Cited as "Deal of the Year" by Institutional Investor.
Sold largest naming rights agreement in Minor League Baseball history to Portland General Electric.
Developed Euroleague Ticketing Program, which has led to increase in ticketing income to individual clubs by as much as 250%.
Oversaw program to generate contractually-obligated income over $25 million annually to the Rose Garden Arena.
Led campaign that brought the Basketball Tournament of the Americas to Portland in 1991, the first-ever appearance of the USA “Dream Team.”
Raised $8 million of equity and over $24 million of non-recourse debt to purchase three minor league teams and renovate PGE Park.
Negotiated public/private partnership with the City of Portland, resulting in a City contribution of $33 million to the renovation of PGE Park.
Completed “Good Neighbor Agreement,” obtaining support of a large residential district surrounding PGE Park.
Crafted a new business model for European professional basketball, leading to the pending launch of Euroleague Properties, which will bring Euroleague’s commercial assets, television sales, sponsorships and licensing in-house.
Re-branding; new trademarks.
New economic model for the Euroleague Final Four. First-ever award of the Final Four to a world-class destination market and venue (not hosted by a Euroleague club).
Implementation of numerous changes to the Bylaws and historic practices to accommodate business objectives.
Assisted companies affiliated with the Trail Blazers with acquisition of Ticketmaster Corporation, the world’s largest provider of ticket-related services.
President of a group of companies vertically integrated with the Trail Blazers—Aegean Development (real estate), Cutting Edge Concepts (food & beverage services), Razor Sharp Productions (event promotions) and Oregon Arena Corporation (arena development & operations).
Engineered and led corporate culture overhaul at the Trail Blazers, from a small business of 42 employees, driven by traditional sports-related revenues, to a mid-sized business of 220 employees, driven by entertainment-related revenues (bookings, food & beverage, real estate, television and radio production, special events, premium seating, sponsorships, advertising, ticketing, etc.).
Obtained multi-year exclusive contract with the Port of Portland to sell all advertising in Portland International Airport, contributing six-figure annual profits to the Trail Blazers.
Rose Garden’s “Media Totems,” a concept featured in USA Today, generated four sponsorships for a sum greater than the value of the naming rights, allowing us to preserve the entitlement asset for future growth.
Rose Garden’s “FoodTV,” brought interactive and changeable menu screens to an arena for the first time, allowing the menu and pricing mix to change according to the demographic make-up of each event and allowing our in-house food & beverage company, Cutting Edge Concepts, to merchandise the menu utilizing television imagery.
PGE Park’s “Widmer Brothers” on-field bar and grill converted a “dead zone” along the right field line into a lively and vibrant scene for young adults, generating hundreds of additional paid ticket sales for each game from a group that was not there for the baseball! Gate admission was positioned as a cover charge to enter the bar.
PGE Park’s transit program, resulting in free bus and light rail service for all ticket-holders, accomplished multiple business objectives relating to insufficient parking, public relations, governmental relations and increased ticket sales.
The Trail Blazers’ “Guaranteed Savings Plan”converted the vast majority of the season ticket accounts, (which already accounted for approximately 90% of all ticket sales in the 21,000 seat Rose Garden), to five-year contracts, at an average annual price increase of 7.5%. This approach made a substantial contribution to achieving lender obligations of contractually-obligated income to debt service at a continuous ratio over 2:1. In addition, it locked-in a substantial increase that was well in excess of inflation and NBA averages, while at the same time providng the customer with long-term savings and price certainty, which was positioned as a substantial benefit.
Worldwide on-line ticketing for the Euroleague Final Four represents a major breakthrough in Europe, where all fans will now have equal access to purchase tickets to Euroleague’s championship event. In the past, the majority of tickets were held until two weeks prior to the games, after all teams were qualified.
