So! What a day – the deal could be closed and Real Salt Lake could finally be out of purgatory, which we’ve been cast into for well over a year.
Dell Loy Hansen said he would sell Real Salt Lake as early as August 2020 – do you remember that? It was long ago. We’ve been affiliated with various owner groups since then, and it hasn’t landed anywhere right – until now.
Some of you are probably here to find out who David Blitzer is. Some of you already know but are curious who else is involved. Some of you already know everything I am about to write. I’ll try to at least make it fun, just for you guys.
Let’s dive into the who’s who here.
Who is David Blitzer?
The new owner of Real Salt Lake (uh, investor-operator, in MLS terms) and the club’s most important representative in the league, Sportico said today. But it is much more than that.
He is a longtime executive at Blackstone Group where he is Global Head of Tactical Opportunities. (The Blackstone Group is not involved, or at least has not been reported to be involved in the purchase.) The Blackstone Group, a private equity group with assets valued at $ 26 billion, was recognized by the United Nations for its Increase criticizes the global housing crisis.
He is also involved in a number of other owner groups in many sports. Let’s talk about it.
What else does speed camera have?
There are several groups involved here, so let’s start with the football-specific stocks.
Through Bolt Football Holdings, Blitzer is a partner or full owner of the English club Crystal Palace FC, the German club FC Augsburg, the Dutch club ADO Den Haag and the Belgian club Waasland-Beveren. Bolt includes Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad on his board of directors. It is not yet known whether Bolt will be involved in the sale.
With Josh Harris, Blitzer is also a partner of Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA and the New Jersey Devils of the NHL, among other properties. Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment was not reported to be participating in this particular sale. They also hold a small stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He is also a major investor in Major League Lacrosse through Bolt Ventures and Harris Blitzer.
It is also rumored that Blitzer is taking a minority stake in the Cleveland Guardians.
What about Najafi and Moorad?
First, note that we don’t yet know if Bolt Football Holdings is involved here, and we don’t know if Najafi and Moorad are also involved.
Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad have separate interests in MSP Sports Capital alongside Sharon Hwang. Both are longtime Arizona private equity investors, with Najafi being a partner in the Phoenix Suns and Moorad the former CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres. This group has a significant stake in McLaren F1 Racing.
Again, just to emphasize, we don’t know if Bolt Football Holdings or Bolt Ventures are involved.
Who is an Arctos partner?
Another group mentioned in the Sportico report is Arctos Partners, and I’m not sure I’ve heard this before. Here’s what we know about them, at least from an initial reading of the effort.
Arctos consists of:
- Ian H. Charles, formerly Landmark Partners and Cogent Partners
- David J. O’Connor, former President and CEO of Madison Square Garden Company, owner of the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers
- Chad M. Hutchinson, a former professional athlete who switched from baseball (he played for the St. Louis Cardinals) to football (for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears) and former executive director of Sixth Street
- Joseph S. Nasr, former managing director of Stellus Capital Management
- Robyn S. Slutzky, former co-head of private equity due diligence at JPMorgans Private Bank
- Jordan L. Solomon, former executive vice president of Madison Square Garden Company
Who else could be involved?
Great question! We have long heard that club ownership will have a local component. The reporting is not specific on this and would certainly be detailed in a press release whenever it occurs.
