Arthur Blank is among the investor roster.getty images
Philadelphia-based venture firm SeventySix Capital has closed an initial round of a fund that will focus on sports betting, esports and sports tech companies, attracting an investor roster that includes Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting and retired NFL running backs DeMarco Murray and Brian Westbrook.
The fund, expected to raise at least $50 million, comes on the heels of the sale earlier this year of three of the firm’s portfolio companies: Sports betting network VSiN to DraftKings, sportsbook operator Vigtory to FuboTV and digital media company Team Whistle to Eleven Sports. It is the firm’s second fund that will focus on these sectors.
Other investors in the fund include Buffalo Bills wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, Philadelphia Union captain and U.S. men’s national soccer team player Alejandro Bedoya and retired New England Patriots running back James Develin, along with Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.
“There is absolutely an appetite right now for anyone and everyone in sports to want to have access to what we might call the next thing in sports,” said Wayne Kimmel, managing partner of SeventySix Capital. “They’re looking for exposure to the innovative new sports betting startups and esports startups and sports tech startups. All of those. Whatever is next, they want to be in it. They believe, as we do, that there are going to be some extraordinary opportunities in those areas over these next 10 years.”
SeventySix Capital expects to announce investments in at least three new portfolio companies in the coming weeks.
Its current portfolio includes U.S. Integrity, Swish Analytics, C360, Diamond Kinetics, Maestro, Shot Tracker, Forte and Play By Play.
