SBJ Power Up: A 10-figure investor rising in sports tech

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Utah sports owner Smith, Accel’s Sweeney start sports tech fund

Jazz and Utah Hockey Club owner Ryan Smith and Accel partner Ryan Sweeney have co-founded Halo Experience Company (HXCO), an investment firm specializing in tech startups operating within sports and entertainment, SBJ’s Joe Lemire reports.

HXCO is raising up to $1B with a goal of supporting about two-dozen portfolio companies through each round of their growth trajectories, just as Sweeney’s Accel did for Smith’s Qualtrics.

Smith and Sweeney are the general partners of the new joint venture, which will operate independently of Accel, Qualtrics and Smith Entertainment Group but will receive some support from Accel, whose tech investing history also includes Facebook, Crowdstrike, Dropbox, Slack, Spotify and Squarespace.

ScorePlay to support MLS clubs

The MLS is partnering with digital content management platform ScorePlay to enhance the league’s content distribution for its 30 clubs.

The collaboration helps to create a shared workspace for clubs that automates the tagging of assets, making those sortable based on athletes and partners for quick search and usage.

ScorePlay has more than 200 international clients, with connections to more than 50 U.S. teams, FIBA and the LPGA. In February, the startup announced a Series A funding round of $13 million.

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Orlando City Council approves LED display upgrades for Kia Center

The Kia Center is ramping up work tied to $226M in upgrades as the Orlando City Council on Monday approved negotiating with ANC Sports Enterprise for turn-key LED display upgrades, according to the Orlando Business Sentinel. The terms for the two-year contract include $9.66M for equipment and more, as well as seven one-year options. Upgrades will include the LEDs on the center scoreboard, other screens and lit signage.

City of Orlando spokesperson Andrea Otero said that the upgrades would begin this summer and be completed prior to new seasons for the Magic and the ECHL's Orlando Solar Bears in the fall.