Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin is selling his stakes in pro teams to clear the path for a broader expansion in the sports landscape.

The executive is unloading his reported 10% stake in Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. HBSE was valued at over $3 billion earlier this month after it sold a stake between 5% and 10% to Arctos Sports Partners.

“As our Fanatics business has grown, so too have the obstacles I have to navigate to ensure our new businesses don’t conflict with my responsibilities as part-owner of the Sixers,” Rubin said in a statement.

Fanatics has grown from a focus on sports apparel and retail to pursue a range of sports-related industries.

• After securing trading card licensing deals from MLB, MLBPA, NBA, NBPA, and NFLPA, Fanatics acquired Topps for around $500 million in January.
• Last month, Fanatics filed for a sports betting trademark, under the name BetFanatics.
• The company has explored entering the regional sports network space.

Trade Speculation

The sale allows Rubin to explore financial relationships with individual players in the NBA and NHL. 

He is known to be close to 76ers star Joel Embiid, and free-agent guard James Harden – whose relationship to Rubin drew the interest of other NBA executives before Harden was traded to the 76ers from the Brooklyn Nets.

U.K.-based online lottery ticket company Jackpot has raised $35 million in a Series A funding round including top sports executives and athletes.

Co-led by early-stage investor Courtside Ventures and VC firm Accomplice, the round featured a star-studded list of investors that included NBA superstars James Harden and Joel Embiid. 

Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, New England Patriots owner The Kraft Group, Cleveland Browns owner Haslam Sports Group, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, and Boston Red Sox president Sam Kennedy also took part in the round, which will facilitate Jackpot’s app launch in the U.S. 

• Jackpot is looking to operate in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Ohio, and Oregon.
• The company will generate profits by charging a convenience fee on purchases. 

Jackpot’s latest funding round will help the company tap into a U.S. lottery market that is estimated to be worth $100 billion annually. Jackpot aims to bridge the gap between physical and online lottery ticket sales for the 53% of Americans who purchased a lottery ticket last year. 

Only about 5% of those lottery ticket sales in 2021 were made online.

Positive Spending 

Jackpot hopes to increase lottery ticket sales in states that permit online purchases, which in turn would benefit their communities.

With up to 95 cents of every dollar spent on lottery games allocated toward education, healthcare, and other initiatives, Jackpots aims to promote and accelerate positive spending.

The Kansas City Current held the ribbon-cutting for its new $18 million training facility on Wednesday, less than a month after releasing the renderings for its new, one-of-a-kind stadium.

The Riverside, Missouri, training complex was designed by Generator Studio, built by female-owned Monarch Build, and exclusively privately funded by the team’s co-owners: Angie Long, Chris Long, and Brittany Mahomes.

“The overreaching goal in making an investment and commitment of this magnitude is to continue on our path of becoming the best women’s soccer club in the world,” Chris Long said.

The facility, which includes weight, cardio, and recovery assets, as well as a high-performance chef and locally-sourced menus, was built using a sustainable approach.

• Jill Monaghan, senior project designer at Generator Studio, says it’s the first North American sports training complex to be built with an all-wood structure.
• The complex includes two “world-class pitches and a FIFA-approved turf pitch.”

Stadium Specifics

The Current can now focus on their $117 million stadium — the first stadium purpose-built for an NWSL team. It’s privately funded, although the team is now seeking $6 million in state tax credits since costs jumped from $70 million.

The facility will have a capacity of 11,500, a concourse club, and a bar. The Current signed a 50-year lease agreement with Port KC, where the stadium will be built on a 7.08 acre site. Monarch Build and Generator Studio are working on the project with JE Dunn.