Sports dealmaker Ravitch leaving Goldman

Sports and media investment banker Joe Ravitch is leaving Goldman Sachs in the next few months.

Ravitch most recently handled the pending sale of the San Diego Padres. He has had a hand in many of the biggest sports transactions of the last several years, including the Pittsburgh Steelers’ equity sale, the funding of the YES Network and the creation of NBA China.

In an e-mail, Ravitch said he has no formal plans, an indication that as Wall Street contracts, sports and media specialists may find it difficult to hold on.

Goldman, though, will still have a strong sports presence. The bank already has an executive who handles stadium financing, Greg Carey, and Ravitch is not the only one with a tight relationship with the New York Yankees, one of Goldman’s top sports clients.

“Joe is a great friend of ours. He was one of the guys, with Jerry Cardinale, who was there in the beginning when we created the YES Network,” said Yankees President Randy Levine.

Cardinale, like Ravitch, is a Goldman managing director. Cardinale also advised on the creation of the Yankees’ concession partnership with the Dallas Cowboys, Legends Hospitality.

— Daniel Kaplan