Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry.

PERSONNEL

New Era Cap Announces Appointment of Steve Gallo to North American Leadership Role

New Era Cap LLC has hired senior sportswear executive Steve Gallo as general manager for North America after a global search. Gallo was most recently president of the recovery footwear brand OOFOS. Based out of the company’s Buffalo corporate headquarters, he will lead all product, marketing and commercial efforts in New Era Cap’s largest region, comprising the U.S. and Canada markets. With the appointment, New Era Cap fills an important role in its new strategic vision under co-presidents Jim Grundtisch and Jim Patterson. The company outlined its plans in fall 2022 with an initial focus on three strategic pillars—brand, e-commerce and apparel—which have each been identified as drivers of growth and customer expansion for New Era Cap. 

Michigan NIL Collective Taps Duncan Robinson, Tracy Wolfson to Advisory Board

Stadium and Main Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit NIL collective dedicated to the University of Michigan, introduced the collective’s official advisory board headlined by NBA player Duncan Robinson and lead CBS Sports sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson. The Michigan alumni, supporters and stakeholders will guide NIL efforts for athletes at the school. The advisory board was confirmed by the collective’s leadership team. The collective is led by Jamie Morris, Jackie Harris, Cabot Marks, Mike Amine and Barry Klarberg.

Greg Bobolo Named CRO of Tradable Bits

Greg Bobolo has been appointed chief revenue officer of Tradable Bits, which works with teams and leagues that include NBA, MLB, MLS, NHL, NASCAR, MLSE and AFL, as well as entertainment brands LiveNation and BMG. Tradable Bits helps partners generate incremental revenue and make more informed marketing decisions by leveraging its first-party data. Bobolo most recently served as SVP of strategy & partnerships at Wave Sports + Entertainment, producers of New Heights With Jason & Travis Kelce.

Austin Gamblers Announce New VP of Marketing and VP of Corporate Partnerships

Professional Bull Riding (PBR) team the Austin Gamblers announce Jenny Nagelmueller as vice president of marketing and Ellie Pardee as vice president of corporate partnerships. The Austin team recently won the PBR Teams Regular Season Championship, giving the organization back-to-back regular season titles. Nagelmueller is a seasoned marketing professional who previously served as the director of marketing at Legacy Mutual Mortgage and the PR and communications director of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. Pardee is a Texas sports marketing professional who has worked with the Houston Texans, Professional Sports Partners and the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks.

Kip Levin Joins BettorOff Advisory Board

BettorOff, the sports wagering social media and AI platform, announced Kip Levin has joined its advisory board. Levin is a veteran of the online sports betting and iGaming industries in the U.S. The former CEO of Flutter Entertainment Plc, Levin has served as president & COO of FanDuel and most recently chief executive officer of FOX Bet Sportsbook and PokerStars, a joint venture between Flutter and FOX Sports.

Dimension 6 Fitness Unveils Partnership With Nike and New Leadership Team

Dimension 6 Fitness Corporation has launched its licensing partnership with Nike. Through this new partnership, Dimension 6 will offer premium Nike Strength equipment. Nike Strength products will be available at select Nike stores, top North American sporting goods retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods, commercial gyms and via NikeStrength.com. Dimension 6 Fitness is led by Drew Conant as president and CEO. Conant, an 18-year veteran of Nike, brings expertise in managing teams and driving growth strategies across numerous geographies, sports and consumer products. Joining Conant is Kevin Siebers, who will step into the role of COO and CFO. Siebers, a nine-year Nike veteran, has over 20 years of experience.

Bayer 04 Appoints Leonardo Giammarioli as Head of Internationalization

Bundesliga leader Bayer 04 Leverkusen has appointed Leonardo Giammarioli as new head of internationalization. The Italian-born executive has nearly two decades of sports business and football industry experience, most recently at Beiersdorf, where he was the global football sponsorship manager for Nivea Men, managing the partnerships with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool FC, among others. The 42-year-old is set to begin his role out of the Bayer 04 offices in Leverkusen this week, leading a three-person department.

PARTNERSHIPS

UCF and DCT Abu Dhabi Extend Partnership to 2028

UFC, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), and The Department of Culture and Tourism—Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), announced the continuation of their existing partnership, which sees UFC bring one numbered event featuring a championship bout to the Emirate every year. The new partnership will also expand to include additional Fight Night events, which will take place across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. UFC has a longstanding relationship with Abu Dhabi, with 18 events having been held in the region since 2010. The two sides entered a formal partnership in 2019.

Peloton, NBA and WNBA Announce New Partnership

Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON), the NBA and the WNBA announced a multiyear partnership, naming Peloton an official fitness partner of the NBA and WNBA. The collaboration will make NBA League Pass, the league’s premium live game subscription service, available to stream across compatible Peloton devices in the fitness platform’s new entertainment hub, which will launch during the 2023-24 NBA season. The partnership will see these brands working together to leverage their expertise in fitness, lifestyle and sport to create special access, offers and experiences for Peloton Members and fans. As such, Peloton will develop NBA- and WNBA-themed classes across the brand’s fitness modalities throughout each league’s respective seasons.

American Express and Formula 1 Announce Multiyear Partnership

American Express and Formula 1 announced a multiyear regional partnership that will make American Express the Official Payments Partner of F1 in the Americas, with races in Austin, Mexico City, São Paulo, Las Vegas, Miami and Montreal. American Express will also support the F1 Academy, F1’s all-female racing series, as it strives to increase opportunities for female participation in motorsport.

NCAA and On Location Extend Partnership for Next-Level Fan Experiences

The NCAA has renewed its long-standing partnership with On Location, the Endeavor-owned hospitality company, in a multiyear deal to continue serving as the college athletics governing body’s official ticket and fan hospitality provider. On Location was appointed in 2010 to work on the NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship. In the years since, the partnership has expanded to cover additional NCAA championships, including women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, wrestling, the men’s Frozen Four, and the men’s and women’s College World Series. 

Rangers Announce Partnership With Mucinex, Including Panarin Bobblehead Giveaway

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (NYSE: MSGS) announced a marketing partnership with Mucinex, naming the cough and cold brand the Official Cold & Flu Partner of the New York Rangers. Through the partnership, Mucinex will receive significant brand promotion during Rangers games at The Garden, including dasherboard signage, virtual dasherboard signage during games broadcasted on MSG Network and promotional in-game features on GardenVision. To celebrate the new partnership, during the Rangers game on Jan. 16 against the Seattle Kraken at MSG, the Rangers and Mucinex will provide fans in attendance with an Artemi Panarin bobblehead giveaway.

Atlanta Hawks Launch Dedicated Travel Hub With Hotels.com

The Atlanta Hawks and Hotels.com have a new multiyear partnership, making Hotels.com the Official Online Travel Agency of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena. Hotels.com will provide Hawks members, fans and event attendees a place to plan travel experiences to State Farm Arena and other destinations on Hawks.com and StateFarmArena.com. Hotels.com will provide discounts on hotels for experiences at State Farm Arena, and Hawks season ticket holders will receive special discount codes. These codes can be used in addition to any member discounts through One Key, Hotels.com’s free travel rewards program.

NBA Teams Up With Streaming Platform Screach to Reach Fans in Malta

Screenreach, a UK-based technology company, has reached a multiyear agreement with the National Basketball Association to broadcast select games from the NBA season live to commercial venues in Malta via its cloud-based Screach platform. In the NBA’s first collaboration of its kind in Europe, Screach will make live NBA games available to enterprise venues across Malta, beginning with the upcoming season. The agreement will enable commercial venues to stream NBA games in HD quality, both live and on demand, to their existing TVs with no need for a satellite or cable TV connection.

Relo Metrics Partners With SponsorPulse to Create Brand Metric for NHL Sponsors

Relo Metrics (formerly GumGum Sports), an AI-powered sponsorship analytics platform, announced a partnership with SponsorPulse to validate National Hockey League (NHL) sponsorship performance measurement to new levels of accuracy and brand value through creative asset level impact scores. The collaboration combines SponsorPulse’s consumer research with Relo’s exposure valuation data to create a framework based on the amount and quality of exposure along with consumer impact.

ParlayBay and BetGoals Join Forces for Sports Betting in Brazil

ParlayBay, provider of sports betting games, has made a content integration and distribution partnership with BetGoals, an online bookmaker in the Brazilian market. With a focus on exclusive micro-betting markets to attract new users, ParlayBay’s products include instant winnings. With these instant bets, the player will be able to bet on every play. The Streak and Stack’em games will allow BetGoals users to bet on micro markets, with sports results that could happen in the next 2, 3 or 5 minutes. ParlayBay games are available for betting on the world’s main sports leagues, from the Brazilian Serie A, Copa Libertadores and Champions League to the NBA and Basketball World Cup.

TOCA and FC Dallas Youth Announce Player Development Partnership

TOCA, a tech-enabled soccer experiences company, announced a partnership with the FC Dallas Youth Soccer Club to develop the next generation of soccer players. As part of this multiyear deal, TOCA will install its proprietary training technology in the UMB Bank Performance Center, home to FC Dallas Youth, in Frisco, Texas. The technology will be used for professional player development and on-site evaluation for youth players. The partners will also co-develop team training programs for youth players that will be operated in all TOCA Soccer Training Centers in Dallas. TOCA is the largest operator of indoor soccer centers in the region.

Pramana Labs and National Hockey League Expand Partnership

Pramana Labs has expanded its relationship with the National Hockey League in a multiyear, multi-discipline deal that will include NHL Edge, the league’s puck and player tracking technology. Pramana’s system allows an organization to use natural language to ask questions of its databases. Employing this technology for three years has enabled the NHL to provide everyone in the league—including media partners and clubs—with instant, accurate and complex insights from its century-old statistical archive across all media platforms. The extension will apply Pramana’s technology to other NHL databases, including the data generated by NHL Edge.

The 33rd Team Taps Infinite Athlete for Expanded Football Analysis and Insights

The 33rd Team, a sports media company focused on providing NFL insights for fans, fantasy players and bettors, has partnered with Infinite Athlete to enhance the data and visual experiences for The 33rd Team’s users. Infinite Athlete is a technology company. The 33rd Team will create enhanced and differentiated content, analyzing and evaluating NFL games and players by means of data and insights powered by Infinite Athlete’s AI-driven FusionFeed technology.

Kansas City Current and CPKC Announce Stadium Naming Rights Agreement

The Kansas City Current and CPKC will partner on a 10-year naming rights agreement, and the stadium being built for the Current will be called CPKC Stadium. This is a continuation of CPKC’s history of investing in women’s professional sports and a commitment to the Kansas City community. In addition to naming rights for CPKC Stadium, the outdoor gathering space at the entrance to the stadium will be called CPKC Plaza. The plaza will provide space to gather before stadium events, and CPKC Plaza will also house the permanent location of the Kansas City Current team store. CPKC Stadium will have a focus on inclusivity and sustainability, providing an entertaining and modern atmosphere for fans that develops a passion and loyalty for KC Current and the stadium.

PRODUCTS

Wave Sports + Entertainment to Relaunch The Right Time With Bomani Jones

Wave Sports + Entertainment (WSE) announced The Right Time With Bomani Jones— the series hosted by the Emmy Award-winning sports journalist and commentator—will make its return on the WSE network. Jones joins the WSE team where he’ll address audiences in an all-new live video format. Starting next Monday, new episodes of The Right Time With Bomani Jones will be released Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on YouTube, Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Fan Controlled Sports Enters Motorsports for NASCAR’s Championship Race

Fan Controlled Sports & Entertainment, the creators of Fan Controlled Football, is introducing Fan Controlled Racing, giving motorsports fans live interactivity and control of a racecar. In partnership with SS Greenlight Racing and The Magnifyde Agency, FCR will take control of the #08 Ford Mustang, empowering fans to make critical decisions from selecting the driver and the paint scheme to determining live race strategies, including when to pit and which lane to pick after restart. Powered by the recently launched Control App for iOS and Android, fans will collaborate on the strategic decisions traditionally left to the crew chief and driver. The first Control App fan poll is now live, and the driver chosen by the fans will take the wheel for the Fan Controlled #08 car in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on Nov. 4. 

China and India Join USA and Japan to Stage Formula E Races in 2024

Formula E announced races in China and India next year, the 10th season of the world’s first electric motorsport, making it the only motorsport to stage events during 2024 in the three biggest countries in the world by population: China, India and the U.S. Shanghai and Hyderabad were confirmed as host cities in Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, following approval at the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting. Formula E will race for the first time in Shanghai at the Shanghai International Circuit with a double-header of races on May 25 and May 26, 2024.