PRESS RELEASE: LEGENDS LAUNCHES NEW GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS DIVISION
— Legends Features Industry Leaders with Partnership Sales Experience Across
Teams, Venues, Leagues, Broadcast Partners, Agencies, and Brands —
— Legends Senior Executive Chris Hibbs Tapped to Lead Division —
Legends today announced the launch of Legends Global Partnerships, a new unit that will centralize and expand Legends’ existing partnership solutions into a fully dedicated division that connects leading properties and venues with premier brands to create exceptional programming and experiences across sports and entertainment.
Legends Global Partnerships offers a comprehensive slate of commercial consulting services, including naming rights and venue entitlement positions, jersey sponsorships, premier events, emerging entertainment platforms, universities, and mixed-use real estate developments. Legends’ services now span six divisions operating worldwide – Global Partnerships, Global Planning, Global Sales, Hospitality, Global Merchandise, and Global Technology Solutions – to offer integrated 360-degree solutions for clients.
Industry veteran Chris Hibbs has been appointed President of the new Legends Global Partnerships division. Hibbs joined Legends in 2016 and has most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer for Legends’ representation of SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park. SoFi Stadium, the future home of the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams, will open July 2020. Legends and Hibbs will continue to work on the expansive project, which is being developed by Rams Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke, into early 2021.
“As the industry continues to evolve and teams, properties, and venues are being challenged to innovate and find creative new sources of revenue, we saw a huge opportunity to build out Legends’ existing partnerships business into a standalone division,” said Legends President and CEO Shervin Mirhashemi. “The combination of Legends’ comprehensive full-service custom solutions, and our deep expertise in ground-up construction projects and stadia, makes us uniquely positioned to be a best-in-class holistic solution.
We’ve seen first-hand how Chris’ leadership has resulted in transformational partnerships at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, and we’re confident he will continue finding innovative ways to represent our partners and create meaningful relationships.”
“Legends Global Partnerships will leverage our best-in-class industry experts and acumen across all aspects of the industry to create a truly unique and premium partnership service for new and existing clients,” said Hibbs. “Legends’ experience with recent partnership executions at SoFi Stadium, Banc of California Stadium/LAFC, and Allegiant Stadium are a good preview of where we see this division headed. We pride ourselves on delivering against the biggest and most complex projects in the industry, and ensuring that our clients are set up for long term success and growth as a result of our work.”
The new Legends Global Partnerships team includes a broad array of talent from various partnership disciplines, including existing top talent from Legends, along with several key new hires. Among the many accomplished team members joining the group, key executives include Legends Global Partnerships Senior Vice President Matt Pope, who will provide leadership across the global partnership portfolio, with an emphasis on U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties (USOPP). Legends Global Partnerships Senior Vice Presidents Doug Smoyer and Jamie Guin will lead the east and central partnerships teams, respectively. Guin and Pope join the new division from the Legends Global Sales team, and Smoyer joined Legends in late 2019 after successful leadership tenures with the New York Giants and National Football League (NFL). Ben Martin, Legends Vice President, EMEA, will lead partnership efforts from London. In addition, Kristen Condo, formerly of Legends Globals Sales, has been promoted into the new role of Director, Legends Global Partnerships. Last month, Legends and LA28 announced the appointment of Katy Chambers Mollica as the Head of Partnership Sales for U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties. Mollica will lead sales efforts for the LA 2028 and Team USA properties for the Legends Global Partnerships team, as part of Legends’ sponsorship representation of LA 2028.
The new Legends Global Partnerships division will further expand upon Legends’ partnership capabilities during a time of unprecedented growth for the company. Legends represents partnership efforts for a variety of clients such as the University of Notre Dame, Las Vegas Raiders, Columbus Crew, AT&T Stadium, and San Diego State University, among others.