Sports and Event Financing
Overview
BCLP has extensive experience in connection with complex financing projects in the sports and entertainment industry. Our team has been involved with some of the most high-profile financing projects across the United States, in the United Kingdom and across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Our experience covers virtually every type of complex finance transaction required in sports and entertainment, including club acquisition finance, complex financial restructurings and insolvency advice, loan sales, securing regeneration grants, state aid and the public market listing of a sport business, as well as financing of future cash flows and receivables related to naming rights and sponsorship fees, ticket and broadcast revenues, commercial arrangements and installments of player transfer payments. In addition, our team has experience in stadium and arena financings and construction financings. We have a long tradition of acting for major financial institutions that are active in sport, and we apply our experience to clubs and companies in areas such as banking, acquisition finance, restructuring and insolvency, real estate finance, refinancing and structured finance in the United States and in multiple European and South American countries.
Meet The Team
EMEA Regional Leader – Litigations & Investigations and Co-Global Practice Group Leader – Business and Commercial Disputes, London
Experience
Among others, the BCLP Sports and Entertainment financing team has handled the following representative matters:
- Advised on over U.S. $1 billion of financing deals in international football (soccer) in the past two years
- Acted for a lender on a significant portfolio of financing transactions involving international football (soccer) clubs in Spain and Germany, with the Spanish transactions involving the acquisition by the lender of the rights to future broadcast payments by forward funding the amounts at a discounted rate
- Represent numerous Premier League clubs in connection with a large amount of receivables finance work
- Represent numerous clients in connection with international football (soccer) club player transfer installment financings involving some of the largest transactions in international football (soccer)
- Acted on acquisition financing and re-financing for two current Premier League clubs
- Acted on the financing of the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium, investigating title and ensuring adequacy of rights for the stadium development and operation
- Over a period of three years, advised on various legal aspects relating to the financing of the FA’s National Football Centre at St. George’s Park in the UK, including advising the St. George’s Park board on the financing strategy for this strategic development, comprising leisure, medical and hotel facilities
- Represented property owner in connection with a financing transaction with Goldman Sachs related to the property owner’s rights to a nearly $150,000,000 naming rights and sponsorship fee payment stream
- Represented Las Vegas Arena Owner (a joint venture of affiliates of MGM Resorts and Anschutz Entertainment Group) in connection with the $200,000,000 financing of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
- Represented Anschutz Entertainment Group and its affiliates in connection with the $70,500,000 financing of BBVA Compass Stadium (senior secured loan facility, tax increment revenue zone financing, and new market tax credit financing) in Houston
- Represented Anschutz Entertainment Group and its affiliates in connection with the €130,000,000 senior secured loan facilities from Eurohypo AG with respect to the O2 World Arena in Berlin, Germany
- Represented Anschutz Entertainment Group and its affiliates in connection with the €55,000,000 senior secured loan facilities from Eurohypo AG with respect to the Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Germany
- Represented Anschutz Entertainment Group and its affiliates in connection with the $281,000,000 and €105,000,000 senior secured term loan facilities with respect to The O2 Arena in London, England
- Represented Anschutz Entertainment Group and its affiliates in connection with the $30,000,000 senior secured loan facility from Wachovia Bank, National Association with respect to the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri
- Advised a secured creditor on the consensual financial restructuring and sale of Reading Football Club to a Thai consortium and acted on the provision of additional bridge finance to ensure that the Club could meet various payment deadlines and to provide working capital
- Represented a major St. Louis performing arts venue in connection with permanent financing in addition to site acquisition, construction contracts, construction and permanent leasing
- Represented developer of The Home Depot Center (now known as Dignity Health Sports Park) in Carson, California, handling all aspects of the project, including financing as well as the related restructuring
- Represented developer of STAPLES Center (now known as Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles, California, handling all aspects of the project, including financing as well as the related restructuring
- Represented St. Louis Blues Hockey Club in connection with NHL credit facility
- Represented the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in connection with their credit facility
- Representation of owner of sports arena in $160,000,000 senior secured syndicated revolving and term loan credit facilities
- Representation of sports and entertainment company in $78,500,000 stadium co-financing
- Representation of sports and entertainment company in $130,000,000 combined senior secured revolving and term credit facilities for sports arenas, secured by equity interests and other personal and real property
- Acted for Rio Football Services Hungary KFT in bringing a multi-million Euro claim in the High Court of London against Seville Football Club to enforce the terms of a financing agreement relating to a professional football (soccer) player