MainGate reacted quickly to increased demand at the Rugby World Cup.getty images
Call it a 2020 vision. The new year will see Legends Hospitality reorganize into separate vertical organizations in a streamlining move. We’ve long felt the company has great pieces, including a sales function armed with inventory counting the NFL’s newest stadiums in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, as well as hospitality and concession services, project management and venue merchandise sales, augmented by the acquisition of MainGate in 2019.
Of course, any sports agency with the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys in its ownership and DNA has considerable political influence. Still, its impressive component parts, at times, have seemed less than cohesive when considered in tandem. In an attempt to remedy that, Legends is beefing up its verticals, starting with on-site merch sales. What will now be called Legends Global Merchandising will include the production and distribution capabilities of MainGate and be headquartered out of MainGate’s hometown of Indianapolis.
Moroknek
MainGate President and CEO Dave Moroknek, who will head the division, said the new structure will provide more cohesive servicing of the NFL teams that work with the company — including the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans — along with Legends’ recently secured merchandising rights for NFL jewel events, like the draft and the Super Bowl. There will be around 350 employees in the newly reorganized division.
“The idea is for us to be focused on specific business lines every day, and grow the business globally and strategically with a better use of all of our resources, especially our vertical capabilities,” said Moroknek. Competing against a company with the reach and scale of Fanatics, Moroknek added that he wants his group to be “the nimble player that can get things to market first.”
Smith
Dan Smith, Legends Hospitality president, echoed that sentiment: “With our history, we look at everything through the sports teams ownership lens and we think this will bring that thinking to bear in the merchandise world.”
Moroknek said that other than expanding business relationships with existing customers, he sees opportunities overseas and at home, in the collegiate market. Asked for an example of synergy thus far, he noted that during the recent Rugby World Cup in Japan, demand exceeded supply. Accordingly, the company produced 8,000 T-shirts in Indianapolis and shipped them to Japan while the market was hot. “Even with some duties and shipping we did fine,” he said.
■ NEW INTERSECTION: Talent representation and marketing agency Independent Sports & Entertainment, Los Angeles, is expanding its property sales and brand consulting capabilities with the acquisition of Intersect Partners, a small Atlanta agency specializing largely in collegiate marketing. With the acquisition, Intersect’s partnership team of Owen Shull and Scott Malaga will now head the properties division at ISE. Shull brings more than 20 years of collegiate sales and marketing experience to the new position, including recent titles at Learfield IMG College, and CRO for the Peach Bowl. Malaga’s prior agency jobs included stops at The Marketing Arm, Learfield Sports, MKTG, and Intersport.
Intersect was founded in 2016 and its clients have included the WNBA Atlanta Dream, for its jersey sponsorship; the MLS Chicago Fire; as a local sponsorship sales agency for the College Football Playoff National Championship; selling digital media for Cox Media Group; the PGA Tour Champions; and a number of colleges and collegiate sports properties.
ISE, majority owned by Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle, launched its properties division in 2018 with the hiring of former Omnigon and Cox Media Group sales executive Jake Stone, who’s now ISE’s chief revenue officer. As co-heads of ISE properties, Shull and Malaga will report to Stone.
ISE has around 60 employees and reps more than 200 professional athletes across MLB, the NBA, and the NFL.
Terry Lefton can be reached at tlefton@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
