Dan Gilbert
Bruin Sports Capital, the privately held international media, sports, marketing, and branded lifestyle company founded in 2014 by George Pyne, announced the creation of a venture capital group called Courtside Ventures, recently in a press release. George Pyne was a former member of the IMG Board of Directors before starting his entertainment investment firm Bruin Sports. Now in his new role as Founder and CEO, Mr. Pyne is teaming up with other big names in sports such as current owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers Dan Gilbert, and global advertising company WPP, to partner up on the Courtside Ventures program.
Courtside Ventures (@CourtsideVC) is going to focus its investment on the intersection of sports, technology, and media. According to the Courtside Ventures page, the group hopes to, “use its industry networks and deep domain knowledge to bring unparalleled value to its companies.”
From a financial standpoint, the venture company is looking to invest $35 million in capital. Company partners are hoping to earn returns on the technology use in sports, particularly as it relates to the media. Mr. Pyne bases his vision for the company on “the way people consume their passion points, which is changing from a media standpoint.” Mr. Pyne also mentioned, “If you’re a business and you’re in sports, you want to be in the middle of the change, or the world will pass you by.”
The creation of Courtside Ventures is what Mr. Pyne is calling the third platform of his Bruin Sports Capital company. The first platform that Bruin Sports invested in was the purchase of the NFL’s hospitality business. This newly independent unit is currently known as On Location Experiences. The second platform that Bruin Sports invested in was the purchase of a sports marketing agency called Engine Shop.
The third platform, Courtside Ventures, compliments the first two platforms by acting as an investment group for early-stage start-ups that can mesh with sports and entertainment. Some of the areas in technology that Courtside is interested in include virtual reality, data analytics, and e-sports ventures.
Due to the huge area for investment opportunities within the sports and media industries, Mr. Pyne and Courtside Ventures have asked Mr. Gilbert (an initial investor in Bruin Sports Capital) and WPP (the world’s biggest advertising company) to act as partners. The involvement of Mr. Pyne, Mr. Gilbert, and WPP working together will help Courtside Ventures stay on top of the sports tech start-up scene.
