Ares Management Corporation’s Post

This is the inevitable outcome for exclusive franchise soccer clubs: the novelty of teams like Atlanta United has faded, resulting in dwindling attendance. Once Messi departs and the World Cup hype subsides, this trend will likely define the future of U.S. soccer. The over-commercialization of privatized soccer, along with ludicrous billion-dollar franchise valuations, highlights an industry that is fundamentally misguided. It’s built on shaky ground by individuals who lack a genuine understanding of the sport, prioritizing profit over passion and community. This approach is unsustainable and threatens to undermine the very essence of soccer in America.

Can rugby crack the US? 🤔 Mercado Libre founder Marcos Galperin says yes…and backed it up with the $7m purchase of Major League Rugby expansion franchise Miami Sharks in 2023 🚀 In a world of 9 & 10 figure franchise valuations, $7m for a team in a major US city on the crest of a pink sporting wave seems pretty appealing. The 2031 Rugby World Cup will be hosted in the US. It’s time to build a community that will sustain the legacy of this ephemeral but golden occasion. Establishing a renowned domestic league? That's a start. So what made this investment too good to pass? It's a love of rugby (which Marcos says has been more influential on his career than his education at Wharton & Stanford!) mixed with great business opportunity. Hardly surprising that the root of it takes us back to the beautifully capitalist/socialist US franchise league structure. The most established leagues and their open systems continue to struggle to prove their viability as business and entertainment products. MLR’s opportunity is now 🔥 Business of Sport (Links in comments👇) #Rugby #MiamiSharks #MarcosGalperin #MajorLeagueRugby #sportsindustry

Check out my latest article for BVM Sports!

Enough of this Bobby Bonilla Day Nonsense orchestrated by people who ignore the facts. Fact #1" That buyout allowed the Mets to obtain Mike Hampton who won the NLCS 2000 MVP en route to a Mets league championship. Fact #2: Losing Mike Hampton to free agency gave the Mets a compensatory draft pick which became David Wright. In essence, that buyout (in addition to giving the Mets interest saved for making payments long-term) got them pitching piece they needed to beat the Cards in NLCS and gave them the best third basemen in franchise history. As usual, people never mention these 2 important facts when talking about it. As the Gordon Gekko character in Wall Street said, "Those are the facts---the rest of it is conversation.:

Looking to build your own field of soccer dreams? Consider the booming business of small-sided soccer, with venues catering to players of all ages. If you feel like you missed out on that pickleball trend or maybe even golf simulator trend, this is something that's really up and coming in this whole micro-sport category. Once you dig into the numbers, you’ll likely like it better than other sports facilities. In fact, the franchise discloses the Profit and Loss statements for their existing corporate locations. In the world of franchises in my portfolio, this is a little bit larger of an investment and will vary depending upon where you develop the turf. You’ll need a million dollars in net worth and about $500,000 in liquid capital to look into this brand. Keep in mind that I have other soccer concepts and other franchises that are available at a lower price point as well. If you want to learn more, I encourage you to come to my question and answer session that is coming up. Just visit www.bizbuysell.com to register. #ownyourpathforward #SoccerDreams #SmallSidedSoccer #FieldOfOpportunity

Why is the meeting today between IPL & team owners so important? We could see a bunch of franchises and players take a call on their futures depending on retentions and agreed purse sizes. We could see teams that are on the verge of offloading equity decide how does the potential sale work out for them given the increase or decrease in expenses and savings We could see the path being paved for many on field dynamics with the impact player rule decision and the RTM decision. Massive day for us all in the IPL, let’s see how this goes. #ipl #cricket #sports

Our experts have valued professional sports franchises including but not limited to those in the NFL, NHL, NBA, and Triple-A MLB. These valuations and fairness opinions are generally performed for teams in relation to estate planning, recapitalizations, and other corporate planning purposes. For more information contact our Sports Valuation Group Leader Kevin Kane, CFA, ASA! #sports #business #valuationservices #NFL #NHL #MLB #NBA

SA Rugby: Boks not for sale! SA Rugby have provided further clarity on the state of negotiations with preferred equity partner Ackerley Sports Group (ASG), while addressing concerns raised by the four franchises. In an official statement released on Wednesday afternoon, SA Rugby provided answers to some of the major questions surrounding the potential equity deal with ASG. This comes after the four main franchises – the Vodacom Bulls, Sharks, DHL Stormers and Lions – reportedly penned a collective letter to SA Rugby expressing concern over the deal with the shelf company. The company is an expansion of family-owned investment firm named Ackerley Partners, who have stakes in several Seattle-based sporting franchises, including MLR’s Seattle Seawolves. It recently purchased a minority stake in English football team Leeds United. In the statement, SA Rugby confirmed that the deal cannot be signed off without the approval of the governing body’s member unions, “the sport’s shareholders”. “Once a proposed final structure for the new company and its relationship with the existing SA Rugby structure has been finalised a series of workshops and information sessions will be undertaken to allow member unions to fully interrogate the deal,” the statement read. “That structure is still a work in progress.” While concerns have been raised about the impact that the deal could have on the Springboks, SA Rugby assured that “all national teams will retain their existing management and ownership models”. “As national institutions, the Springboks and SA Rugby are not transferable to private equity,” the statement said. “This strategy is about harnessing our commercial rights in partnership with an organisation, creating a separate entity dedicated to elevating our commercial profile. #rugby #privateequity https://lnkd.in/dNi43Qr4