These are boom times to be selling minority stakes in indoor golf franchises.
On Friday afternoon, the TGL announced that the LAGC will receive a new minority ownership stake from Ilitch Sports and Entertainment. The ownership group behind the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings will join an ownership group that includes Reddit founder and majority owner Alexis Ohanian and a deep bench of minority owners including Serena and Venus Williams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Alex Morgan, Michelle Wie West, Shonda Rhimes and Good Good Golf.
Financial terms of the agreement were not released, but several fascinating components of Ilitch’s investment in the TGL were announced. As part of Ilitch’s investment in the LAGC, IS+E will “serve as LAGC’s sponsorship agency of record and act as an extension of LAGC’s internal team” — a move that effectively multiplies the sales efforts of the LAGC franchise as its second season readies to begin in January.
The decision will allow IS+E to “leverage its network and expertise in sponsorship sales, brand development, data analytics, broadcasting and media” to help the LAGC brand grow.
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The Ilitch family’s investment in LAGC comes at an interesting time for the TGL, which will begin its second season at the Sofi Center in Palm Beach Gardens in January. The indoor simulator golf league debuted to surprisingly strong TV numbers on ESPN in 2024, bringing golf to primetime weeknights in concert with the bulk of the PGA Tour season. Last week, the league announced a slew of changes aimed at improving the league’s competitive product in year two, including dramatically expanding the size and shape of the putting green.
The announcement also comes at an interesting time for the Illitches. The Illitch family investment in the TGL is notable for who it is notpairing with: Motor City G.C., owned by the Ford Family, also known as the longtime stewards of the othermajor Detroit sports organization, the Lions.
In addition to owning and operating the fast food chain Little Caesars, the Illitches maintain majority stakes in both the Tigers and Red Wings, and operate the majority of their businesses out of Detroit. They are believed to have a strong relationship with the Fords, including in their shared funding of a downtown arena district at the turn of the century.
“LAGC is reimagining how fans experience golf,” Ryan Gustafson, the president and CEO of Illitch Sports and Entertainment said in a release. “Joining LAGC puts us at the center of that transformation.”
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