sports-entertainment
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True North Brought Back Winnipeg's Jets. Now It Wants to Fix the Blocks Around Them.
The company spent decades turning hockey demand into an arena, a franchise and a downtown ecosystem. Its next test is harder: converting a tired shopping mall into a C$650 million mix of healthcare, housing and public life.
Tom’s Watch Bar Stopped Turning Tables and Built a $100 Million Business Around Fans Who Won’t Leave
The founders thought they were building an upscale diner. Then a Monday Night Football crowd refused to go home - and revealed a better business hiding in plain sight.
The Billionaire Quietly Rebuilding Charleston, One Hotel and Tennis Court at a Time
Ben Navarro made his fortune lending to Americans the banks turned away. Now his family office is spending it on hotels, tennis stadiums and schools in one Southern city - and treating Charleston itself as the portfolio.
Consello Is Building a Boardroom Without Walls
The young firm pairs former operators, athletes and dealmakers with an investment arm - a model designed to turn introductions and advice into measurable corporate action.
The Dallas Mavericks Are Building a Business Bigger Than Basketball
Dallas has one NBA team, but the company behind it now sells far more than a seat and a score. Its next act connects local television, direct streaming, hospitality, retail and a proposed 104-acre arena district.
The Blue Jackets Built a Hockey Town. Now They Have to Win It.
Columbus has proved it will show up - 94,751 fans did so at Ohio Stadium. The Blue Jackets' harder business is turning civic affection, a loud cannon and a deep local network into the durable habit of winning.
Atlanta's Hawks Learned to Sell More Than Basketball
The box score is only the front door. Behind it sits an Atlanta entertainment business that sells belonging - through basketball, concerts, commerce, civic programs and one very busy downtown arena.
The WNBA's 30-Year Overnight Success
After decades of proving the audience existed, women's professional basketball has entered its infrastructure era. The WNBA is adding cities, screens and revenue-sharing at the same time - and learning how to turn attention into an institution.
The Shark Tank Is Becoming a $500 Million Bet on Hockey's Next Generation
San Jose is rebuilding more than an NHL roster. With a generational young star, a lease through 2051 and a sweeping arena overhaul, the Sharks are trying to turn a hockey club into the Bay Area's most durable live-entertainment habit.
The Miami HEAT Turned Two Words Into a Business System
Miami sells basketball, tickets, media, merchandise and access. The unusual part is the operating doctrine behind all of it - a thirty-year effort to turn standards, conditioning and a sense of place into a product fans can recognize.
The Padres Turned a Ballpark Into San Diego's Town Square
San Diego has no other team in the four traditional major leagues. The Padres have turned that scarcity - and a downtown ballpark that refuses to sit idle - into a year-round business with record crowds, bilingual reach and unfinished ambitions.
DraftKings Inc.
DraftKings began with a baseball contest built in a spare bedroom. Fourteen years later, it is a $6 billion test of how deeply a betting interface can be woven into the way America watches sports.
Pro Padel League
Pro Padel League (PPL) is North America's premier professional padel league, founded in 2023 by CEO Mike Dorfman. It runs a city-based franchise model of 10 teams across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, each fielding both men's and women's sides, with a season of multi-city events culminating in the City's Cup Finals. Backed by a $15M Series A led by Charlotte Hornets governor Rick Schnall, PPL is building the commercial and broadcast infrastructure to capitalize on padel's rapid growth in the American market.
Professional Fighters League
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is a global mixed martial arts organization that reinvented the sport with a sports-season structure - a regular season, playoffs, and a championship where fighters compete for real money instead of matchmaker whim. Founded in 2017 by venture capitalist Donn Davis, PFL broadcasts to 160+ countries, has expanded into regional leagues across Europe, Africa, MENA and the Pacific, acquired rival Bellator MMA in 2023, and signed marquee names like Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul. It positions itself as the credible global challenger to the UFC.
Combate Global
Combate Global is the leading Hispanic mixed martial arts promotion, founded in 2011 by UFC co-creator Campbell McLaren. Built around the conviction that Latino fight fans were underserved, it produces live events, reality television and streaming content showcasing emerging Hispanic fighters, broadcasting across the United States, Latin America and Spanish-speaking markets worldwide.
Michael Gilson
Michael Gilson is the CEO of Conversica, the San Francisco-based conversational AI company behind over 1.5 billion automated customer conversations. Appointed in April 2025, he has repositioned Conversica as 'The Conversation Company,' expanding its AI agent platform from sales automation into automotive data intelligence, sports and entertainment ticketing, and enterprise customer lifecycle management. A Princeton graduate with a background spanning enterprise SaaS, media technology at Telestream, and data analytics at Wiser Solutions, Gilson brings operator instincts to a company that pioneered AI-to-human conversation at scale.