Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment

Last updated

Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment
Company type Private
Industry
FoundedSeptember 25, 2017;7 years ago (2017-09-25)
Founders
Headquarters
Camden, New Jersey
,
U.S.
Key people
Brands
Total assets $11.86 billion (January 2024)
Subsidiaries
  • HBSE Ventures
  • HBSE Real Estate
  • Elevate Sports Ventures
  • New Meta Entertainment
Website hbse.com

Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment LLC (HBSE) is an American sports and venue management company founded by Josh Harris and David Blitzer in September 2017. HBSE owns and operates the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), their minor league affiliates, and the Prudential Center. HBSE also holds a minority stake in the NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing. The company is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, and was valued at $11.86 billion in 2024.

Contents

History

HBSE was founded in 2017 by Josh Harris (pictured) and David Blitzer. Josh Harris WAS-NYG NOV2023 (cropped).jpg
HBSE was founded in 2017 by Josh Harris (pictured) and David Blitzer.

Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment LLC (HBSE) was founded by Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris and senior Blackstone executive David Blitzer on September 25, 2017. [1] The pair previously led groups that bought the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association in 2011 and the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League and the Prudential Center in 2013. In 2016, the pair bought the esports organization Dignitas. [2] In 2018, HBSE partnered with the San Francisco 49ers and Creative Artists Agency to establish Elevate Sports Venture, a consulting firm specializing on event marketing and ticketing. [3]

In 2019, the company bought the esports organization Clutch Gaming for $30 million and merged them with Dignitas, forming a parent company, New Meta Entertainment, with investments from Fertitta Entertainment, Delaware North, and Steve Rifkind. [2] [4] [5] HBSE assisted in the development of the Chase Fieldhouse, an arena and sports complex in Wilmington, Delaware, which opened as the 76ers Fieldhouse in 2019. [6] In 2020, HBSE donated millions of dollars to local communities in Philadelphia and Newark in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. [7] [8] The same year, the company hired a chief diversity and impact officer and pledged $20 million to fight racial injustice. [9] [10] HBSE hired Tad Brown, former CEO of the Houston Rockets and Toyota Center, for the same role in August 2021. [11]

In 2022, president Hugh Weber left the company to explore other ventures. [12] The same year, HBSE limited partner (LP) and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin sold his 10% stake to David Adelman to avoid a conflict of interest regarding Fanatics' growing business. [13] [14] The company pursued bids of the New York Mets and the Chelsea Football Club in the early 2020s before they were sold to other parties. [15] [16] HBSE bought a minority stake in Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in 2023, with founder Joe Gibbs becoming a LP of the company as part of the partnership. [17] In 2024, HBSE was valuated by Forbes at $11.86 billion. [18] The same year the company began managing non-NFL events at Northwest Stadium, home stadium of the NFL team Washington Commanders, which was acquired by Harris in 2023. [19] HBSE had plans to build a new arena for the 76ers, 76 Place at Market East, which was set to open by 2031. In January 2025, they abandoned those plans and announced a partnership with Comcast Spectacor to build a new arena adjacent to the 76ers' current site as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. [20]

Brands and properties

The Prudential Center hosting a New Jersey Devils game, both owned and managed by HBSE. Prudential Center interior.jpg
The Prudential Center hosting a New Jersey Devils game, both owned and managed by HBSE.

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References

  1. ↑ Minority stake
  1. ↑ "Josh Harris & David Blitzer announce formation of HBSE". NBA.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Hermann, Adam (June 6, 2019). "76ers owners Harris Blitzer acquire esports' Clutch Gaming for reported $30 million". PhillyVoice. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  3. ↑ Heitner, Darren. "Owners Of 76ers, Devils, 49ers And CAA Partner In New Sports Business". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  4. ↑ "David Abrams Named Head of Investments at Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment". www.sporttechie.com. February 25, 2020. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  5. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (September 26, 2019). "Esports group Dignitas raises $30 million and forms parent company New Meta Entertainment". Venture Beat . Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  6. ↑ Sunnucks, Mike (January 22, 2019). "G League Blue Coats To Open New Arena This Week". Sports Business Journal. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  7. ↑ "BLOG: HBSE Gives Back to Community". NHL.com. April 17, 2020. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  8. ↑ Pompey, Keith (April 2, 2020). "Sixers partners Josh Harris, David Blitzer make donations to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Camden's Cooper University Health Care". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  9. ↑ Pompey, Keith (September 16, 2020). "Germantown's David Gould named chief diversity and impact officer for HBSE". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Sixers parent company commits $20 million to fight systemic racism and championing equality". The Philadelphia Inquirer . August 17, 2020. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Names Thaddeus 'tad' Brown Chief Executive Officer". HBSE. July 12, 2021. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  12. ↑ Novy-Williams, Eben; Soshnick, Scott (May 16, 2022). "HBSE President Hugh Weber Leaving Sixers, Devils Parent". Sportico. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  13. ↑ Wojnarowski, Adrian (June 22, 2022). "Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin selling stake in company that owns Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  14. ↑ Pompey, Keith (October 20, 2022). "David Adelman purchases share of Michael Rubin's HBSE stake to become Sixers limited partner: 'I'm excited to be involved in a small way'". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  15. ↑ Grasso, Justin (August 30, 2020). "76ers' Josh Harris is Reportedly out on Buying Mets". SI.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  16. ↑ Davis, Scott. "The Chelsea sale is reportedly led by two groups fronted by US billionaires with ties to the Dodgers and 76ers". Insider.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  17. 1 2 Jhabvala, Nicki. "Josh Harris's sports ownership group invests in Joe Gibbs Racing". The Washington Post . Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  18. ↑ Ozanian, Mike; Teitelbaum, Justin (January 25, 2024). "The World's Most Valuable Sports Empires 2023". Forbes . Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  19. ↑ Muret, Don. "HBSE takes over booking FedEx Field events". VenuesNow.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  20. ↑ Blumgart, Jake; Walsh, Sean Collins (January 12, 2025). "Sixers to remain in South Philly, abandoning plans to build a Center City arena". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved January 12, 2025.
  21. 1 2 "Ex-Apollo Partner Abrams Joins 76ers Parent as Investment Chief". Bloomberg.com. February 25, 2020. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  22. 1 2 Jackson, Eric (January 18, 2023). "Harris, Blitzer Buy Ripken Baseball in Cooperstown Merger". Yahoo. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  23. ↑ West, Teri (February 2, 2024). "Jersey City's White Eagle Hall settling into a niche as a regional music powerhouse". NJ.com. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  24. ↑ "76ers owners appoint investment chief for esports and other ventures". VentureBeat. February 25, 2020. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  25. ↑ Heitner, Darren. "Owners Of 76ers, Devils, 49ers And CAA Partner In New Sports Business". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
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