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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 U.S.. The most useful sources I found to answer your question were industry reports, corporate websites, and trusted media sites. The short version is that Spectra, SMG, and AEG, in that order, are the three major owners and/or managers of sports stadiums in the U.S.. Since you mentioned that you were planning to use this information to create a spreadsheet, I will include very specific data. Below you will find a deep dive into my findings.
THE TOP THREE PLAYERS
First, it is important to make a clarification. It is common for sports stadiums in the United States to be owned by their city or county, and firms like Spectra, SMG, and AEG are used to operate them. There are a few exceptions, but in general, that is the nature of the business. In the U.S., there are approximately 917 stadiums. Texas (151 stadiums), California (69 stadiums), and Pennsylvania (35 stadiums) contain the majority of these.
Coming in the first spot for this question is Spectra, a company that provides clients with solutions and services for hosting and entertainment. The range of their business includes sports facilities, convention centers, performing arts centers, state fairs, and other venues. They cover venue management, food services and hospitality, ticketing and fan engagement. In the U.S., they have 32 stadiums for which they provide at least one of these three services. Spectra's stadiums include:
- Arthur W. Perdue Stadium (NE)
- Avaya Stadium (SW)
- Banner Island Ballpark (SW)
- Bonney Field (NW)
- Citizens Bank Park (NE)
- Dan Law Field, Texas Tech University (SW)
- Fargodome (MW)
- Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium, Old Dominion University (SE),
- Harbor Park (SE)
- Hohokam Stadium (NW)
- Hughes Stadium, Colorado State University (MW)
- Isotopes Park (SW)
- John Walker Soccer Complex, Texas Tech University (SW)
- Jones AT&T Stadium, Texas Tech University (SW)
- Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (SE)
- MGM Park (SE)
- NBT Bank Stadium (NE)
- Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium (NE)
- Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (SW)
- Old Dominion University (SE)
- Palisades Credit Union Park (NE)
- Pensacola Bayfront Stadium (SE)
- Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field (NE)
- Prince George Stadium (NE)
- Ron Tonkin Field (NW)
- Salt River Fields at Talking Stick (SW)
- Sioux Falls Stadium (MW)
- Sloan Park (SW)
- Southwest University Park (SW)
- Talen Energy Stadium (NE)
- Werner Park (MW)
- Williams-Brice Stadium, University of South Carolina (SE)
Coming in the second spot is SMG. On their website, SMG states that they are the "gold standard" in public facility management, and that no municipality or outside management service can match the depth and range of their capabilities. SMG facilities are spread across Canada, Europe, and Latin America. In the U.S., they currently manage 14 stadiums:
- Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, FL)
- Chukchansi Park (Fresno, CA)
- EverBank Field (Jacksonville, FL)
- McLane Stadium (Waco, TX)
- Mercedez-Benz Superdome (New Orleans, LA)
- NRG Astrodome (Houston,TX)
- NRG Stadium (Houston,TX)
- Soldier Field (Chicago, IL)
- Stadium at Devon and Kedzie (Chicago, IL)
- Stockton Ballpark (Stockton, CA)
- U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis, MN)
- University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, AZ)
- Yulman Stadium (New Orleans, LA).
Over the years, SMG has managed convention centers, exhibition halls and trade centers, arenas, stadiums, performing arts centers, theaters, and specific-use venues. The services that they provide include sports and entertainment booking, convention center services, training programs, design and operations, naming rights, sponsorship, suites, premium seating, urban development, and sustainability.
At number three is AEG, a leading sports and entertainment presenter in the world. AEG owns, controls, and is affiliated with a collection of companies including over 100 of the World’s pre-eminent facilities. In the United States they have four stadiums:
O.co Coliseum (Oakland, CA), BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, TX), StubHub Center (Carson, CA), and the Toyota Stadium (Dallas, TX). The StubHub Center is an Official U.S. Olympic training site on the campus of California State University. It features elite facilities for soccer, tennis, track & field, track cycling, boxing, lacrosse, rugby, football and other sports. It also offers options for concerts and family shows, and is home to the LA Galaxy and Chivas USA MLS franchises. AEG is involved in many other ventures including, but not limited to, live-entertainment, as it is the largest producer of music festivals in North America.
SMALLER COMPANIES
Other companies that own and/or manage stadiums in the United states are Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), Pegula Sports and Entertainment, Olympia Entertainment, and Kroenke Sports Enterprises. MSE owns and operates the Verizon Center, which is the home of three professional sports teams, also owned by MSE, which include the NHL’s Washington Capitals, NBA’s Washington Wizards and WNBA’s Washington Mystics. MSE also manages the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, the state-of-the-art training facility for the Capitals, and George Mason University’s Patriot Center.
Pegula manages the KeyBank Center in Western New York, home to the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bandits. It is an indoor sports and entertainment complex, with a 19,070 seating capacity. Also, under their management is the New Era Field--home field of the Buffalo Bills--and the HARBORCENTER that serves the NHL.
Olympia Entertainment is getting ready to open a new stadium facility in Detroit called the Little Caesars Arena. It will consist of a mix of sports and entertainment venues, including six theatres and three multi-use sports venues. Olympia Entertainment operates three stadiums in total. Kroenke Sports Enterprise owns and operates Dick's Sporting Goods Park (Commerce City, CO) and the Pepsi Center (Denver, CO).
CONCLUSION
To recap, Spectra has the largest number of stadiums in the U.S. (32 stadiums). It is followed by SMG with 14 stadiums, and AEG with 4 stadiums. Other companies that have three stadiums or less are Monumental Sports & Entertainment (3 stadiums), Pegula Sports and Entertainment (3 stadiums), Olympia Entertainment (3 stadiums), and Kroenke Sports Enterprises (2 stadiums).
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