Major League Baseball and CAA Sports have signed a long-term agreement to make CAA Premium Experience the league’s official event and hospitality partner.
Starting with next month’s MLB All-Star Week in San Diego, CAA Premium Experience will package and customize fan experiences and travel to MLB events, including spring training and the World Series.
It is the first hospitality partner for baseball, said Noah Garden, MLB executive vice president of business. The deal came after MLB executives discussed for years the idea of providing a one-stop solution for fans who wanted to travel to baseball’s marquee events.
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CAA Premium Experience will offer experiences for the All-Star Game and other MLB events.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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“This was really very fan-focused for us,” Garden said. “So by partnering with somebody like this, it brings fans closer to the game, allows them to enjoy the city that they are visiting — that really was the primary focus.”
Although CAA Sports and MLB did not reveal financial details, it is expected they will split the profits on any hospitality packages sold. CAA Premium Experience is offering more than 500 packages for the All-Star festivities.
The deal marks another sign of the growing sophistication and focus on high-end hospitality. The NFL repositioned its On Location business last year through a partnership with private equity companies Bruin Sports Capital and RedBird Capital Partners, and under the leadership of CEO John Collins, it has publicly stated its desire to target other high-profile events outside of the NFL. Meanwhile, the NBA works with QuintEvents as an official hospitality partner and the NHL works with PrimeSport.
Garden said MLB did not make a formal request for proposals, but did talk to other hospitality companies before selecting CAA Premium Experience. He did not name the other companies.
MLB has done business with CAA Sports on sales and sponsorship deals over the years, and Garden said the league was impressed with CAA Premium Experience, the hospitality division that CAA Sports created by buying and combining three hospitality companies.
“In talking with them, they have a deep vision and a deep understanding of the space,” Garden said.
CAA Sports created CAA Premium Experience in June 2015 by acquiring Beyond Sports & Entertainment and Goviva, and combining those companies with the former Inside Sports & Entertainment Group. CAA Sports had acquired Inside SEG in 2014.
Talks with MLB about a potential partnership began soon after the announcement of CAA Premium Experience, CAA Sports co-head Michael Levine said. “For us this is definitely a landmark moment and is exactly what we hoped we would get to do when we put these companies together,” he said.
The agreement does not preclude CAA Premium Experience from forming partnerships with other leagues or sports properties, Levine said.
MLB’s All-Star Game and the festivities surrounding it move to a different city each year. Because the event takes place in the summer, the packages could ultimately provide not just access to the game and related activities but also to other attractions in the host city for families on summer vacations.
Having a hospitality partner will help fans looking to travel to MLB’s fall events, including the MLB playoffs and the World Series, as well, Garden said.
“The night after teams clinch and they are moving on, there is generally a frenzy to get tickets and hotel rooms and flights for fans, so the idea to be able to make one phone call and be able to get everything in one place is going to be a service for them, for sure,” Garden said.
