Doc O'Connor, co-founder of Arctos Sports Partners, explains the multi-asset platform acquired when investing in professional sports franchises.
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“These are legal monopolies that exist inside and have geographic exclusivity in most cases, except those cities where there's more than one franchise in a given league, but they're given very clear geographic parameters within which to operate, and it gives an owner essentially a call option on a host of ancillary businesses from media, To real estate, to hospitality, and so forth.”
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More from Doc O'Connor
Opinion
Customer experience matters more to team economics than winning in MLB
“In baseball, in hockey, and in Major League Soccer, winning is probably more important, but even in those circumstances, winning and losing is less important, I believe, than the customer experience.”
Doc O'ConnorDec 6, 2021▶ 51:58Ian Charles & Doc O'Connor – Investing in Sports Teams at Arctos Sports Partners (Capital Allocators, EP.225)
AssertionSupported
The losing Knicks led NBA revenues until the Warriors' new arena
“The garden was at capacity, or certainly near capacity, and we sat atop the revenue food chain for the entire time until the Golden State Warriors came along and beat us in many revenue categories with their new arena”
Doc O'ConnorDec 6, 2021▶ 53:07Ian Charles & Doc O'Connor – Investing in Sports Teams at Arctos Sports Partners (Capital Allocators, EP.225)
AssertionSupported
Modern collective bargaining agreements have lowered the relative cost of player talent
“More rational collective bargaining agreements have brought the general cost of talent, which is the single cost Largest cost center for any sports enterprise down over time.”
Doc O'ConnorDec 6, 2021▶ 22:10Ian Charles & Doc O'Connor – Investing in Sports Teams at Arctos Sports Partners (Capital Allocators, EP.225)
Insight
Investing in sports teams is fundamentally a content and IP play
“Ultimately, I believe this is all a content business. We are investing in the content that is generated by these teams and leagues, franchises, and all that derives from that content, including hard assets, like venues, like marks and logos, media content, etc…”
Doc O'ConnorDec 6, 2021▶ 25:09Ian Charles & Doc O'Connor – Investing in Sports Teams at Arctos Sports Partners (Capital Allocators, EP.225)
Insight
Value created for a sports league benefits all rival franchise owners
“But remember Ted, in addition to being intense competitors on the field, on the court, on the ice, whatever it is, more importantly, they're all partners. So if Arctos or any entity for that matter can bring value to the league, it's a value to all 30 or 32 te…”
Doc O'ConnorDec 6, 2021▶ 50:48Ian Charles & Doc O'Connor – Investing in Sports Teams at Arctos Sports Partners (Capital Allocators, EP.225)
Insight
Owning venues and ancillary real estate insulates sports teams from losing
“If you own your arena, if you own your venue, if you own a bunch of the ancillary assets, winning and losing becomes less important.”
Doc O'ConnorDec 6, 2021▶ 52:32Ian Charles & Doc O'Connor – Investing in Sports Teams at Arctos Sports Partners (Capital Allocators, EP.225)
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