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From the archives: Legends

FROM THE ARCHIVES: The following are excerpts from SportsBusiness Journal’s coverage of Legends.

The Yankees’ George Steinbrenner and Jones teamed to form Legends in 2008.
Photo by: BUSINESSWIRE

In a precedent-setting venture by two of the leading brands and families in sports, the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys have jointly launched a concessions company, which borrowed $100 million several weeks ago, sources close to the teams said.

The company, Legends Hospitality Management, is based in Newark, N.J., and counts private equity firms Goldman Sachs and CIC Partners as investors. The Yankees and Cowboys will each own a third, with Goldman owning most of the remainder. …

Legends will manage regular concessions, suite catering and team stores at the new Yankees and Cowboys stadiums, which are set to open next year at a cost of more than $1 billion each. Legends also will pursue accounts in the major leagues, college sports and abroad, the sources said.

The first-of-its-kind initiative between two of pro sports’ star teams is the idea of Gerry Cardinale, the Goldman managing director who helped create the Yankees’ regional sports channel, the YES Network, and brokered the return of Alex Rodriguez to the team last year.

Cardinale met Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and his son Stephen, the team’s chief operating officer, through a mutual friend who hosted them and their wives on a boat off of St. Barts in the Caribbean in February 2007.

On the boat, a source said, Jones spoke of his new stadium, and Cardinale brought the idea of pairing the two teams together back to the Yankees. …

The teams are known for their entrepreneurial bent, and the concessions business is now the latest iteration. The Yankees’ YES Network is a highly successful regional sports channel in which Goldman is an investor, and the Cowboys are the only NFL team to manage the distribution of its branded merchandise.

In fact, Goldman, sources say, viewed the two businesses similarly. The YES Network is built on the content of the team, while the concessions business is based on the content of the stadiums. The teams also see an opportunity to offer a higher standard of service than traditional third-party vendors offer.

Goldman’s Cardinale also viewed the two owners similarly. While George Steinbrenner has taken a backseat because of health reasons, Cardinale saw the same drive to build varied entertainment businesses off the back of the team in Jones as he did in Steinbrenner, a source said.

— Daniel Kaplan and Don Muret, Oct. 20, 2008

The joint venture established by the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees is expanding its business to sales training and installing customer relationship management systems while ramping up staff.

Legends Premium Services, a new division of Legends Hospitality Management, the company that runs stadium concessions and premium dining for the Cowboys and Yankees, has deals in place with six big league clubs for sales training. …

“When we started Legends in [October 2008] we wanted to make sure we took care of Yankee Stadium and Cowboys Stadium and build a hell of a food and beverage company, and I think we have,” said Mike Rawlings, Legends Hospitality Management’s CEO. “But it’s not going to be just [food]. The idea was we would be acquiring and starting new divisions and the first one is Legends Premium Sales. We have created a strategy around not just selling premium seats but being the expert in all that and bringing new capabilities in each one of those areas and picking up some accounts. This business is now up and running, and we expect very big things of it.”

— Don Muret, Jan. 10, 2011

In a move that could significantly alter the facility consulting and development space, three-year-old Legends Hospitality Management has acquired one of the leading sports research and venue marketing firms.

Legends, the joint venture involving the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Yankees and two private equity groups, has bought CSL International and CSL Marketing Group, which founder Bill Rhoda developed into major forces in facility development. The deal instantly gives Legends a dominant position among companies that help teams develop and market premium seating for their buildings. …

“They are combining two powerhouses in stadium development,” said Paraag Marathe, the San Francisco 49ers’ chief operating officer, who as point man for the team’s stadium project in Santa Clara has worked with both Legends and CSL. “It’s like having two Pro Bowl quarterbacks on the same team.”

— Don Muret, Nov. 21, 2011

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