SBJ Unpacks: NHL teams finding innovative uses for growth fund

Tonight in Unpacks: Since 2013, the NHL’s Industry Growth Fund has helped teams promote hockey in their markets, often through youth-focused programs. But tech initiatives are increasingly playing a larger role in how teams are using those funds, as SBJ’s Alex Silverman reports in this week’s magazine.

Also tonight:

• Learfield finalizing sale to private equity firm
• NBA completes best three-year attendance stretch
• Preakness Stakes closes in on historic shift
• Op-ed: How entertainment will redefine development

Listen to SBJ’s most popular podcast, Morning Buzzcast, where Josh Carpenter discusses an upcoming shift coming for the Preakness Stakes, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s comments at Monday night’s draft, Learfield falling under private equity’s umbrella and more.

Even after three decades with an NHL team, Anaheim Ducks CMO Merit Tully still views Orange County as an emerging hockey market in which fan acquisition requires a stronger push than in the sport’s traditional hotbeds. It’s exactly the type of challenge the NHL’s Industry Growth Fund was designed to address.

The IGF was introduced in the collective-bargaining agreement signed by the NHL and NHLPA in 2013 with the stated purpose of helping “lower-grossing clubs that may need supplemental support to allow them to make long-term improvements in their revenue generating potential and operational efficiency.”

While the program’s broad mandate has always allowed a range of uses, early IGF-backed projects largely focused on increasing youth participation. That is beginning to change, as teams such as the Ducks tap the fund for a broader range of fan engagement and marketing efforts.

“As you look at the IGF, I think the league has looked at alternative ways to have people become fans of the sport,” Tully said. “It doesn’t just have to be with a stick in hand or a stick and ball outside. There are other ways that people can find passion for the game.”

This season, the team has rolled out an augmented reality activation allowing visitors to its skating rinks and community events to pose virtually for photos with Ducks players or the team’s recognizable mascot, Wild Wing.

Users stand in front of a unit with a large touchscreen and 4K camera, which the Ducks purchased from Baltimore-based Balti Virtual along with a two-year software license. They then enter their email address and phone number to receive their image, adding them to the team’s marketing database.

Since its introduction, the NHL and NHLPA have jointly distributed more than $240 million through the Industry Growth Fund. Funding was initially set at $20 million per year and has since increased to $30 million, with all 32 clubs contributing equally to the fund.

Grants are administered by a committee representing both sides. Teams can apply for up to three IGF grants during each two-year funding cycle, with projects from lower-revenue clubs mostly receiving priority. Individual grants generally range from $200,000 to $1 million, depending on a club’s revenue tier, the project’s potential to generate revenue or bolster brand value, and whether it can be scaled across other teams.

As of 2023, 58% of that total had been allocated to club-level projects, with the remainder supporting leaguewide initiatives such as learn-to-play programs, STEM education and women’s hockey.

Of the funding awarded to clubs, roughly 11% has been used for marketing initiatives involving mobile vehicles — such as gaming trucks — and digital apps. Rob Knesaurek, who serves as the NHL’s senior vice president for hockey development and industry growth, said the use of IGF grants for such efforts has emerged and surged within the past five years as the league and union expand their view of how the fund can be used.

“Instead of going and only talking to the youth programmer or the community person at a club, we started going into the marketing department, we went to the CMOs, we went to ticketing, we went to the president saying, ‘This IGF capital is to grow the game, and that’s how we want it to be utilized,’” Knesaurek said.

The Ducks’ AR activation is just one tech-forward project supported by the IGF in recent years.

The New Jersey Devils and Columbus Blue Jackets have used grants to launch esports programs. The Buffalo Sabres have implemented new arena entry technology. The Winnipeg Jets received one of the fund’s larger allocations to develop a mobile app centralizing team news, ticketing and a rewards program that Knesaurek said is now generating significant sponsorship revenue.

Marty Walsh, executive director of the NHLPA, said the program has “evolved into something bigger than the initial beginnings of it,” while stressing that its commitment to community and participation-based initiatives remains unchanged.

Just last week, for example, the fund allocated $2.5 million for the construction of a clubhouse for the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens that will feature a dedicated hockey space, as well as an undisclosed amount to the Philadelphia Flyers for a program in local public schools to support students’ physical well-being through in-class activity.

The league and union are now reviewing applications from clubs for the program’s sixth two-year cycle, and Knesaurek said teams are leaning further into innovation.

“We have seen things that are new to us that require us to go a little bit deeper and explore,” Knesaurek said. “Generally, the IGF is seeding capital for these new ideas. We’re encouraging them to bring these new ideas to light. It’s test capital, so if it works in one market, we can then expand it amongst other interested groups in the league.”

Private equity firm TPG is finalizing the purchase of Learfield to make it the majority owner of one of the most prominent multimedia rights and technology providers in college athletics, Sports Business Journal has learned.

Industry sources told SBJ the sale price is somewhere between $1.8B and $2B. Learfield and TPG declined to discuss terms of the deal, including specifics on any up-front cash infusion. The company’s EBITDA and the revenue multiple TPG is paying could not be determined.

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to standard approvals and closing conditions.

Current co-owner Charlesbank will remain on in a minority position, while Fortress Investment Group will exit as part of the sale.

Learfield has been engaged in high-level conversations around a potential sale for months, vetting options that ranged from doing nothing to taking on new capital from its current ownership or selling a controlling stake to a new ownership group, as it is now in the process of doing.

SBJ reported in November the company was weighing options, while engaging Moelis & Co. and Bank of America to assist in their explorations. Evercore served as lead financial advisor to TPG, with The Raine Group also advising. Ropes & Gray LLP and Mintz served as legal counsel. Learfield was advised by Moelis & Co. and BofA Securities, with Davis Polk as legal counsel.

“We started hearing from a number of prospective investors about 18 months ago,” Learfield CEO/President Cole Gahagan told SBJ. “We made the decision that based on the convergence of two factors — the company doing really well and investor interest being really high — it was the right time to start having conversations, which we opened midway through last year and could not have landed with a better partner than TPG.”

Gahagan and other top executives are set to remain at Learfield and there are no immediate management changes expected. Learfield is also not planning to sell individual pieces of its business, such as the Collegiate Licensing Company or ticketing platform Paciolan. The focus, instead, will be on accelerating business growth through TPG’s expertise as a business operator.

“We see what’s going on in college and were looking to find a highly diversified way of playing the growth that’s occurring in the industry,” said TPG Partner Peter McGoohan, who helped lead TPG’s acquisition, along with Business Unit Partner Kris Wong. “Learfield for us is a fantastic way to play that trend.”

Learfield has long been one of the most significant third-party providers in college sports, working with hundreds of schools across Division I, including prominent clients like Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech and USC.

The company’s business hinges on five key arms: multimedia rights, CLC (licensed merchandise), Paciolan (ticketing platform and services), Sidearm Sports (official athletic websites and mobile apps) and Amplify (ticket and seat business).

Gahagan and Learfield’s executive team have stressed in recent years the company has expanded beyond its traditional multimedia rights business and made it more immune to the current challenges facing the college sports business. That includes bolstering its efforts in the media and technology space through increased offerings via its Compass NIL platform and content creation.

“The fact that we’ve made these investments has now put Learfield and its partners in the position to maximize those opportunities,” Gahagan said. “Our intention is to leverage this new partnership with TPG, the capital we’re putting on the balance sheet to build on top of those investments the same way that we did over the last four or five years to stay ahead of the needs and the opportunities in college athletics.”

There have been multiple iterations of what is now Learfield over its 50-plus-year history in college athletics. The current structure was created through a 2018 merger with IMG College, a company formed in 2007 via acquisitions involving Host Communications and The Collegiate Licensing Company.

More recently, Learfield completed a $1.1B recapitalization in September 2023 that cut its debt load nearly in half to about $500M and added $150M in new equity. The company posted record financial performance following the recapitalization and is currently generating around $1.2B in revenue.

Learfield has also made significant moves over the last year, including moving into a new headquarters in the Dallas suburbs and reshuffling its sports properties division leadership in April 2025.

TPG itself has a close relationship with Learfield and the sports world. The company was among four finalists to purchase Learfield during its 2016 sale that also included Atairos, New Mountain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners (Atairos eventually acquired the company at the time).

TPG also previously owned CAA, selling its stake in the company in 2023. It currently backs Initial Group, which acquired Silver Tribe Media — a Los Angeles-based digital media outfit that counts Omaha Productions, and Taylor Lewan and Will Compton’s “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast among its clients — in December. TPG has also worked with PGA star Rory McIlroy, teaming up with his investment firm, Symphony Ventures, in May 2025 to create “TPG Sports.”

The company will invest in Learfield through TPG Capital, its U.S. and European private equity platform, and TPG Sports.

“We’ve looked at the business multiple times and, for us, this time represents the most compelling period, when you think about the ongoing needs universities have to grow revenue and support student athletes,” McGoohan said. “Learfield is very well positioned to help its university partners continue to grow.”

That Learfield is being sold to a private equity firm comes amid a push by outside investors to dig into the college sports space. The Big Ten previously engaged in lengthy discussions with UC Investments around a potential $2.4B cash infusion, while the Big 12 has had advanced discussions on a deal with RedBird Capital over the last six months.

Utah became the first school to close an individual private equity deal through its agreement with Otro Capital that could generate in the neighborhood of $500M for the school.

The purchase of Learfield is seen as a potential play by TPG to further ingrain itself in college sports in a more wholesale way, giving it access to Learfield’s hundreds of clients, rather than piecing together deals school by school.

The space TPG now enters is evolving rapidly. Learfield, Playfly, JMI Sports and a handful of others remain major players in the multimedia rights business, though a growing number of schools have brought elements of those operations in-house.

How significantly that shift will impact the traditional MMR model is a longer-term question. However, Learfield has adapted to the market in recent years, shifting away from massive guarantees to more revenue split-centric deals that create upside for the company and schools with less downside risk.

Learfield has also been a key resource for athletic departments leaning on third-party providers to assist with outside NIL dollars. With what’s essentially become a “soft” cap for player compensation developed through the House settlement, schools are looking to drive more uncapped revenue through NIL and sponsorship activations.

“The structure of the company and the mission remains the same,” Gahagan said of Learfield’s future. “The opportunity set ahead of us is more expansive than it otherwise would’ve been because we’re bringing such a robust partner in TPG to the table and adding capital to the balance sheet at the same time.”

NBA teams collectively drew more than 22.18 million fans and averaged 18,108 in attendance at their home arenas this past season, the third straight campaign for those key metrics.

The league’s regular-season games have drawn a total of just less than 67 million over the past three seasons.

NBA arenas also filled to 97% capacity for the fourth time ever.

Eleven teams sold out every game (the Mavericks finished at more than 100% capacity for the season, thanks to several games with strong standing-room sales, but did not sell out every home date). The Heat has the longest sellout streak in the league, having sold out all their home games for 14 consecutive seasons (minus the two pandemic-impacted seasons), and the Celtics have sold out every game since the 2021-22 season.

The Spurs were a hot commodity wherever they played this season. The team averaged 18,703 at Frost Bank Center, its primary home since it opened in 2002, up 15.5% compared to the 2024-25 season. Additionally, the club has sold out all eight games it has played at the Moody Center in Austin, where it has played two home games in each of the past four seasons. Austin is about 90 minutes northeast of San Antonio.

The Hornets enjoyed a 9% bump following a $245M arena renovation, and the Clippers saw a 6.4% year-over-year increase. The Grizzlies had the most precipitous drop (down 7.9%), going from 16,660 per game to 15,339. The Wizards recorded the league’s lowest average attendance for the second straight season and filled a league-low 80.4% of their available seats.

Including three neutral-site games played outside the United States and Canada (see chart), plus three NBA Emirates Cup games at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, nearly 22.3 million fans attended an NBA game this season. The league does not count semifinals and final of the Emirates Cup in its regular-season totals.

The Preakness Stakes could have a new spot on the racing calendar and a new broadcast home beginning in 2027, sources told SBJ.

The second leg of the Triple Crown is set to make a historic shift to one week later in May, the sources said, and interest around media rights is picking up. The race is heading into its final year with NBC Sports.

The Preakness, which started in 1873, has consistently been run two weeks after the Kentucky Derby since 1950. The Derby’s traditional spot on the first Saturday in May would remain unchanged, but the revised schedule would allow for three weeks between the races, likely meaning more Derby entrants would race at Pimlico.

The sources said whether the Belmont Stakes — traditionally run three weeks after the Preakness — would also shift a week could depend on who wins the media rights to the Preakness.

NBC Sports, Fox Sports, Amazon and Netflix have shown interest in the Preakness rights, the sources said, with NBC highly interested in retaining them. NBC, which has had the event since 2001, could look to offer broadcast network exposure for the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. That Friday event has previously been on cable TV or streamed on Peacock. NBC, which is locked into a long-term deal for the Kentucky Derby through 2032, has shown flexibility in what it can do with the overall weekend of a Triple Crown race by bringing this year’s Kentucky Oaks to prime-time broadcast TV on that Friday night.

Night racing would likely not be in the cards for the Black-Eyed Susan, however, as Pimlico does not have lights. “It’s a day that is available for growth,” said Bill Knauf, GM for the Maryland Jockey Club, which now operates Pimlico and the Preakness. “It’s going to be interesting to watch how the Oaks responds this year with their switch to a later schedule. … [The Black-Eyed Susan is] already a very strong day as it relates to the entire wagering landscape and, of course, the prestige of the day. And so we’re certainly going to look to continue to grow it, not only on the media side, but also participation on-site wise as well.”

Work to be done

Fox, which took rights to the Belmont Stakes from NBC a few years ago, also has a strong interest in getting the Preakness, sources told me. Fox’s rights for the Belmont run through 2030, and the company also has a relationship with Belmont operator NYRA for its NYRA Bets business.

Sources told me that should Fox get the Preakness, the network would endorse moving the Belmont Stakes back a week, thus giving three weeks between each race (there are currently only three between the Preakness and Belmont). Should the Preakness land elsewhere, the sources noted it would not be a foregone conclusion that NYRA would move the Belmont back a week.

Sources told SBJ that the MJC has not had formal conversations yet with the other Triple Crown operators about a potential date change.

FanDuel TV’s loss could be opportunity for others

Late last month, news broke that the FanDuel TV linear network, which started back in 1999 as TVG and has focused on thoroughbred betting, was to be phased out over the next 20 months. That channel carried a number of races throughout the year, including races from Pimlico.

NBC Sports, Fox Sports, Amazon or Netflix could present new streaming options for such races, and in some cases, linear TV solutions. Of the roughly 55 thoroughbred racetracks in North America, about 35,000 horse races are run every year. Within those 55 tracks, there are probably fewer than 10 at the highest level of the sport (tracks like Saratoga, Belmont, Churchill, Keeneland, Del Mar and likely the soon-to-be-renovated Pimlico).

Sources said the MJC was being open with media partners about broadcast needs for Pimlico’s full slate of 120 days of racing and how other races like the Maryland Millions could be better promoted.

Looking across the broader landscape of premium tracks, sources tell SBJ that Fox would have a high level of interest in adding programming from many of them to complement the 900 to 1,000 hours of programming it already annually has through the NYRA deal. The aggregation of such rights, sources noted, could lead to the creation of a new OTT product that could be sold to distributors.

When people hear the term “mixed-use real estate,” they might think of an apartment building with retail shops on the ground floor, or an office park featuring a hotel and a few restaurants. Lately, a new type of mixed-use development is gaining momentum across the U.S.: the entertainment or “lifestyle” district. Entertainment districts that are anchored by major venues consistently outperform market fundamentals, and JLL predicts that these properties will grow to represent 30% of national office inventory by 2040 (compared to 4% now). Mixed-use developments anchored by arenas and stadiums are key drivers of this trend.

What defines an entertainment district?

An entertainment district is one variation within a category of mixed-use development also known as lifestyle office markets. These developments are characterized by attributes including:

• Moderate density
• Convenient transit options
• Diverse, high-end property types
• Desirable amenities
• Walkability
• Community engagement
• 24/7 activity

The popularity of these modern mixed-use developments reflects post-pandemic demographic shifts and a growing desire for live-work-play environments among residents of urban and suburban settings. Lifestyle districts offer people places to engage with others and establish a sense of community beyond their homes and workplaces.

The numbers back up the trend: According to a recent report, office properties in lifestyle office markets command a 32% rent premium over other Class A office space. Sports and entertainment venues, waterfront locations and green space are among the top amenities enhancing rent premiums. Entertainment districts also support increased attendance at sports venues — even when the home team isn’t on a winning streak.

In addition, offices in lifestyle districts fill up twice as fast (90% leased in two years compared with four years for traditional developments), and they have lower vacancy rates than the overall office market (12.5% compared to 22.5%). Investors are taking note: Institutional capital allocation to office properties in lifestyle office markets accounted for more than 8% of institutional office acquisition volume nationwide in 2024.

Developers and investors seeking premium returns should recognize that building exceptional brick-and-mortar properties with desirable amenities doesn’t guarantee success. A superlative approach to property management and as well as cohesive operations, elevated placemaking and activation activities are critical to achieving the desired outcomes for these projects.

As demand for lifestyle office market space grows, proposals for mixed-use projects anchored by sports and entertainment are picking up steam around the U.S. Projects are in development with the NFL’s Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears; MLB’s Kansas City Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks; MLS’s Chicago Fire Football Club; the South Philly Sports Complex and other teams and venues throughout the world of professional and collegiate sports.

The Battery in Atlanta pioneered the modern entertainment district

MLB features two historic stadiums integrated directly in urban neighborhoods: Boston’s Fenway Park and Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Built in the early 20th century, these ballparks became relics of a bygone era as stadiums migrated outside of urban cores with the construction of freeways and development of suburbs.

In 2016, the Atlanta Braves opted for a different approach. When their lease expired, they purchased more than 60 acres of greenfield suburban land just outside of Atlanta city limits and built not only a new ballpark but also an entire master-planned development anchored by a new stadium and concert venue with more than 1 million square feet of commercial space, more than 500 residential units and a 406-key hotel.

That new entertainment district, dubbed The Battery, offers a mix of densities and commercial spaces that support a vibrant ecosystem 365 days a year — not just when the Braves are playing at home. The Battery’s residential component has a 1.7% higher occupancy rate than the submarket, and its office and retail spaces are over 99% leased.

Integrating operations early is key to a successful mixed-use development

OCVibe, the 100-acre mixed-use development designed around the Honda Center arena (home to the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks), brings the entertainment district trend to Southern California. OCVibe features diverse dining and nightlife, cutting-edge office space and 20 acres of parks and public plazas to complement the Honda Center’s sports and entertainment experiences. The completed development also will include a 2,500-unit apartment community and two on-site hotels.

Mixed-use developments such as The Battery and OCVibe illustrate an important component of developing and managing a successful entertainment district: These projects demand sophisticated operations and property management expertise. Incorporating that expertise early in the development process is emerging as a best practice.

Incorporating advisory and thought leadership with operations before breaking ground can help validate predicted operating expenses in advance of that stage of delivery. It also creates a functional review of the planned built environment, which can uncover critical insights and “a-ha moments” before construction is complete. Finally, in a stadium, bringing the optimal customer and fan experience to life is a key priority. In an entertainment district, that experience needs to integrate cohesively with the other components of the development. Achieving early stakeholder alignment around a vision statement that tells a consistent, compelling story and provides directional guidance for every aspect of the project’s operations is critically important. Involving operations and property management early in the development process helps ensure that alignment.

The future of the entertainment district

Consumer and tenant preferences are increasingly shifting toward the experiences and amenities offered by entertainment districts — especially sports-anchored lifestyle districts. For example, JLL predicts that by 2040, at least half of MLB organizations will announce plans to develop a new stadium or perform a major redevelopment of their existing venue. As developers and owners take cues from projects such as The Battery and OCVibe, this dynamic trend is gaining momentum, expanding to other national, collegiate, and youth sports leagues and non-sports entertainment venues.

Sam Schaefer is CEO, global property management, at JLL.

• A little over a month after Geico signed UConn G Azzi Fudd to its first female athlete endorsement deal, the insurance company became a sponsor of the Wings after the club drafted her Monday night, reports SBJ’s Tom Friend.
• WME Basketball led all agencies with three clients selected in the first round, including two in the top five, of the 2026 WNBA Draft, notes SBJ’s Irving Mejia-Hilario.
• The Team (formerly Wasserman) is launching an executive search/leadership advisory practice with Amy Segal in charge of the new unit, writes SBJ’s Terry Lefton.
• Elevate appointed Willie DiBlasi as chief operating officer as it expands to new markets, reports SBJ’s Grace Kut, and he’ll continue his duties as CFO.
• The MLS Players Association exercised an option in 2025 to increase its equity stake in OneTeam Partners by $5.1 million, while also making an initial $1 million investment in the firm’s global licensing business, reports SBJ’s Alex Silverman and Chris Smith.
• WWE launched an annual membership program called “Club WWE” that will give fans exclusive access to a variety of perks, writes SBJ’s Na’Andre Emerson. The membership fee was not disclosed.
• NBC Sports will carry 17 matches from this year’s fourth edition of The Soccer Tournament (TST) across NBC, Peacock and NBCSN, the first live broadcast of the 7-on-7 event in the U.S., notes Silverman.