Delaware North has partnered with CAA Sports to help expand its business and make greater inroads into the esports space.
The three-year agreement, signed earlier this year, covers all aspects of Delaware North operations in sports and entertainment, travel, parks and resorts, and gaming and airports, said Todd Merry, Delaware North’s chief marketing officer.
CAA Sports will work with Delaware North on sponsorship sales and media rights for a variety of properties, including the valuation of assets tied to Splyce, the esports franchise Delaware North invested in this past February.
On its own, CAA Sports has relationships in the esports community and CAA Ventures, part of its parent company, has a financial stake in multiple esports brands and technology. The agency’s investment bank, Evolution Media Capital, filled an adviser’s role for BAMTech’s $300 million streaming rights deal with Riot Games, a West Coast game maker, for the rights to distribute “League of Legends” content through mobile applications.
In addition, Delaware North is interested in compiling data representing the commercial value of all impressions across its entire roster of business, including sports and entertainment.
“We do a half-billion transactions every year,” Merry said.
For Buffalo-based Delaware North, it’s the first time in the firm’s 102-year history that it has hired an outside agency to help grow revenue, according to Rick Abramson, Delaware North’s chief operating officer.
“We’ve always been kind of the brand behind the brand [in concessions] and this will help us get more exposure,” he said. “They have relationships across the globe.”
Abramson will manage the relationship on behalf of Delaware North, teaming with Paul Danforth, part of CAA Sports’ global sponsorship sales group in New York.
Delaware North Chairman Jeremy Jacobs came up with the idea to join forces with CAA after conversations with his close friend, Chris Koch, president and CEO of New Era Cap Co., another Buffalo firm. In 2016, New Era signed a deal with CAA to assist in a number of marketing efforts.
As part of their due diligence, Delaware North officials, including Abramson, Merry and Amy Latimer, president of TD Garden in Boston, visited CAA’s offices in New York, London and Los Angeles. They met with Danforth and Howie Nuchow, co-head of CAA Sports, among others.
Their research included discussions with CAA clients, including celebrity chefs that are part of CAA Premium Experience, the firm’s hospitality group that sells premium ticket packages for the Super Bowl and other major events.
“This industry is changing all the time and you just can’t sit still anymore,” Merry said.
