Two former Turner Broadcasting execs, Robert Hope and Paul
Beckham, have purchased Whittle Events and the Silver Bullets
professional woman's baseball team. "Terms of the sale were not
disclosed, but Whittle Events had revenue of about $8M in the FY
ended June 30. The Silver Bullets generate about $3.5M
annually." Whittle Events also does Olympic marketing for Coca-
Cola, manages the Coors Light Silver Bullet promotion, and is
working with Mercedes Benz to develop a theme park. The company
will be renamed Hope-Beckham, Inc., and will move to Atlanta.
Hope started Whittle Events with Chris Whittle and launched the
Silver Bullets three years ago; he also served as VP of the
Braves and Hawks. Beckham served as senior finance officer,
chief administrative officer, and president of Turner Cable
Network Sales. Hope: "We cracked the code on how to make this
work" (Charles Haddad, ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 9/22).
CLUB MED: This morning's WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that
Hope and Beckham "are negotiating with investors -- including an
unnamed 'big cable TV-player' -- about starting a Mediterranean
Baseball League comprised of six to eight professional women's
baseball teams." They also say they are talking with television
networks about broadcasting deals (Anita Sharpe, WALL STREET
JOURNAL, 9/22).
