Smaller Venues, Big Opportunities
How Entertainment Districts Are Transforming Markets of all Sizes.
Written By: Christy Grady Murray – EVP, Business Development
Slated to open in 2031, Burnham Yard in Denver, Colorado, will host a new retractable roof stadium for the Broncos, anchoring a 100-acre mixed-use district intended to become a year-round sports and entertainment destination.
Entertainment districts like these are trendy investments at the moment, and for good reason. Now present in virtually all major metro areas, these vibrant locations combine the modern stadium experience with a network of event spaces, restaurants, shopping, hotels, and other entertainment and retail venues.
Of course, this isn’t exactly breaking news. What is really compelling is the fact that entertainment districts are catching on in mid-market areas, too. Owning a sports team, any sports team, is no longer for hobbyists. It’s a multimillion-dollar, revenue-driven industry that runs all year long, whether you are the Denver Broncos or a minor league hockey team.
More to the point: the shift toward entertainment districts in the middle market is completely changing how our industry sells to these customers, creating opportunities for creative, customized solutions that would have been impossible to package even 10 years ago.
Consolidation Comes Home
This trend didn’t happen out of the blue. It’s a ripple effect of the broader trend of consolidation in professional sports ownership, where large investment groups own multiple teams across leagues. Think of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), which owns the LA Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Mammoth, and Arsenal FC.
The second piece of the puzzle is real estate. In addition to teams, KSE owns multiple venues and media properties. In fact, KSE used both to develop the impressive Hollywood Park venue, a nearly 300-acre, $5 billion mixed-use development anchored by SoFi stadium with retail, dining, a 6,000-seat theater, 2,500 residential units, and a hotel.
Basically, groups that consolidated team ownership also consolidated real estate ownership, combining all the necessary ingredients for a thriving entertainment district.
Now, we are starting to see the same effect in mid-market cities such as:
- Richmond, Virginia, destined to be one of the largest U.S. minor-league stadium districts + home to the Richmond Flying Squirrels (MiLB);
- Cincinnati, Ohio, which redeveloped its West End with FC Cincinnati’s TQL stadium (MLS); and
- Pawtucket, Rhode Island, which established a new waterfront district anchored by Rhode Island FC (USL Championship).
From Signage to Signature Events
The shift to single-owner entertainment districts in midmarket regions isn’t just an interesting economic fact. It’s quickly transforming what is possible with partnership sales opportunities.
Here’s a large-market example to get you thinking. With the NFL Draft coming up soon, an NFL team could host a draft event in their entertainment district. Part of the entertainment program is an event where players and their spouses team up with the star chef of the district’s flagship restaurant to create a full tasting menu. And each course has a cocktail pairing that highlights a specific beverage brand.
In a previous era, organizing this kind of special event would have required coordination with three to five separate owners or investment groups. At best, it would have been incredibly complicated. At worst, it simply wasn’t possible. Today? It’s just another weekend in April.
Expanding The Playing Field
What does this look like in mid-market areas? The possibilities are just as exciting. Picture an MLS team with a stadium, hotel, shopping, and youth soccer hub with enough fields and facilities to host a national tournament.
With all of these options now available, you can absolutely elevate your sales plays well beyond one local brand sponsoring a digital sign and a banner ad in an e-newsletter.
You can really listen to what brands want to accomplish. You can take the time to understand their specific objectives for awareness and community engagement. You can look at all the resources and properties in your toolkit and come back with a truly customized platform offering, something the brand literally hasn’t seen before. And you don’t have to talk to five different people to make it happen.Remember, there is no offseason anymore. Inspired by the NFL’s year-round domination of the sports news cycle, sports franchises are building out similarly crowded event calendars. Schedule releases. Introductions of new uniforms. Watch parties. Community gatherings. Preseason hype. In-season tournaments.
There are so many ways to sell meaningful partnership platforms tied to these anchor teams plus entertainment districts, every single month of the year. There are exponentially more opportunities to structure partnerships, especially in the mid-market where entertainment districts are just starting to catch on. The only limit is our creativity.
Five Tips For Entertainment District Selling
Think Bigger
With a personalized pitch, you can secure higher numbers. If you were previously approaching brands about a $100,000 sponsorship, you can now package up enough eyeballs for a $150,000 or $200,000 deal. The numbers here aren’t important — it’s the multiplier effect.
Think National
Were you devoting most of your attention to local brands, just because you are a middle market team? With an entertainment district’s worth of inventory to offer, it’s time to start talking to national brands as well. The numbers will be compelling enough to start the conversation.
Keep Listening
In your conversations with brands, keep your ears open for those moments when one starts dreaming big about an event or experience they have never tried before. This is your chance to propose a one-of-a-kind partnership that could become an annual tradition.
Think Smaller!
If you are at a point in your career where you are looking for a change of scenery in a smaller market, opportunities with minor-league teams are well worth considering. These teams often play in vibrant mid-market entertainment districts where you can leverage all your sales chops and be challenged in the best kinds of ways. The potential upside is huge.
Customize!
Brands aren’t just buying signage anymore. They are not buying one asset, period. Instead, they want you to listen to what they really need and come up with something unprecedented. If all you have been selling are one-offs, it’s time to ask what else you could do with a rapidly expanding portfolio.
The opportunities will look different in every entertainment district, but that’s really the whole point — and what makes this moment so exciting. The era of platform selling is only getting more interesting, and it is here to stay in mid-markets, too. The time to start building on the momentum is right now.