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What are the major ownership structures/venture vehicles that own multiple professional and minor league sport team stadiums in the U.S?
Hello! Thank you for your question about the major ownership structures and venture vehicles that own multiple professional and minor league sports team stadiums in the US. The most useful sources I found to answer your question were the company websites and a Vice Sports article. The short version is AEG, SMG and Spectra are three major owners and/or managers of sports stadiums in the US. Below you will find a deep dive into my findings.
METHODOLOGY
I began researching by conducting advanced Internet searches using a variety of key words and query types. I sifted through information from trusted media sources, industry reports and corporate websites.
RESULTS
After extensive searching, I learned that some companies own and manage stadiums while others just manage them. An article on SportsVenue-Technology.com identifies 3 major companies in the US that own and/or manage professional and minor league sports stadiums as AEG, SMG (the two mentioned in the request) and Global Spectrum, now known as Spectra. The information I found shows AEG owns and manages stadiums and SMG and Spectra only manage. Overall, sports stadiums in the US tend to be owned by the city or county they are in, and they use these firms to manage the stadiums. For example, Ford Field where the Detroit Lions play football is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority.
Instances where a team owner also owns the stadium appears to be rare, and it is usually the only stadium they own so they are not major players in the multiple-stadium ownership sector. For example, Delaware North owns and operates Boston’s TD Gardens where the Bruins play. The Bruins are owned by Delaware North Chairman Jeremy Jacobs and the Boston Celtics.
A list of some of the stadiums AEG owns can be found here. A few of the notable ones are: Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, Oakland Area in Oakland, CA, Target Center in Minneapolis, MN and BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, TX. AEG also owns the O2 in London, England. SMG management sites include Everbank Field in Jacksonville, FL, Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA and Soldier Field in Chicago, IL. Among Spectra’s clients for their management services are Bonney Field in Sacramento, CA, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA and Avaya Stadium in San Jose, CA.
The average American is not crazy about their tax dollars being used build professional sports stadiums. 2014 data from Statista shows 45% of survey respondents disapproved strongly of this idea. Only 4% thought it was a really good idea.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, AEG, SMG and Spectra are three major owners and/or managers of sports stadiums in the US.
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