Legends is spinning off its sponsorship and naming-rights division with the launch of Legends Global Partnerships. The new division will pursue deals in the U.S. and abroad under the leadership of Chris Hibbs, who was appointed president of the unit.
Legends Global Partnerships is leveraging the recent naming-rights deals Legends secured for the Los Angeles Rams’ and Chargers’ SoFi Stadium, the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium and LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium, and its role as sponsorship and sales agent for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“It seemed like the right time to kind of let Legends Global Partnerships stand alone,” Hibbs said. “It’s an area of our industry that’s growing, and we think it’s becoming more and more important to owners, to properties, to real estate people; there’s a premium put on driving revenue at the ownership level.”
The slate of services from Legends Global Partnerships includes naming rights and other venue entitlement positions, jersey sponsorships, premier events, emerging entertainment platforms, and mixed-use real estate development.
The division will look for business opportunities that are not strictly in sports, Hibbs added. “It’s time to evolve from that sum,” he said. “We’re in entertainment marketing, and fan experience or guest experience, that can take a lot of different forms.”
Hibbs, who was Legends’ chief commercial officer for the company’s work on SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park’s 298-acre LA Sports and Entertainment District, said he will continue to work on the Rams-owned project into early 2021.
Joining Hibbs at Legends Global Partnerships will be other current company executives. Senior Vice President Matt Pope will focus on U.S. Olympic and Paralympic properties; senior VPs Doug Smoyer and Jamie Guin will move from Legends Global Sales to head up the division’s eastern and central U.S. partnership teams; Ben Martin, a VP for Legends’ Europe, Middle East and Africa division, will lead the division’s London office; and Kristin Condo was promoted to director and moved over from Legends Global Sales. Katy Chambers Mollica will lead the division’s sales team for LA 2028 and Team USA properties.
Legends’ services now span six divisions: Global Partnerships, Global Planning, Global Sales, Hospitality, Global Merchandise and Global Technology Solutions.
