October 1 , 2008 The Team leads local effort for Columbus Crew investment The Team, a Columbus-based company, is leading the initiative to attract local investors to Crew Sports Holdings, LLC. The group is led by Mark Noorzai, a business executive who is the chairman and controlling stockholder of five technology companies, including SBIPay.com, a global payroll company, and Casdex.com, an online archiving and authentification company. “We are very excited about joining CSH,” said Dave Whinham, President and CEO of The Team. “The purpose of our partnership is to attract local partners to the group. There is a tremendous amount of local interest in this project and we are extremely confident in our ability to bring in quality local partners. The mission of our group is to shepherd, over time, more and more local ownership into the Crew.” The Team has had prior successful experience in attracting local ownership for professional sports organizations in Columbus. It successfully built a local ownership group in 2003 to operate and manage the Arena Football League’s Columbus Destroyers. While terms of the potential transaction remain confidential, the structure of the CSH investment has been created to attract Columbus ownership and for the Crew to remain in Columbus. This has been accomplished with cooperation among all parties. “There has been some wild speculation relative to the potential of the Crew moving into another market and that this contemplated transaction is just a step in that process. Nothing could be further from the truth,” Whinham commented. “CSH believes in the Columbus market and I think the MLS believes in this group’s ability to enhance that.” The Team has taken meaningful action to secure local partners for CSH, including meeting with much of Columbus’ business leadership. In addition to leading the investment group, Noorzai also intends to expand his other business interests into Central Ohio. “Make no mistake,” Whinham said, “our mission is specifically focused on attracting active local ownership involved with the Crew in Columbus. We are visiting with everyone, from potential partners to fans, who shares our similar interests and we are very confident, based on the enthusiasm with which this has been met and our past experience, that our group will enjoy great success with this project.” One local businessman with whom CSH has met is Bret Adams, a local sports agent and managing member of Adams, Babner, & Gitlitz, LLC. A key player in the Columbus sports scene, Adams came away pleased with what he heard from CSH. “I was very impressed with the vision, the passion, and the enthusiasm expressed by Mark Noorzai when I met him,” said Adams. “He really believes that Columbus is an outstanding market for the MLS product and has some very exciting thoughts as it relates to increasing the long-term sustainability and profitability of the Crew in Columbus.” Added Chris Bouzounis, owner of Powell-based Artina Promotional Products and an ardent Crew fan and ticket holder, “My main concern before I met with Mark and his partners was whether or not they were going to move my beloved Crew elsewhere. I became convinced during our meeting that their intentions were to help make the Crew become as strong of an organization as possible and do so by bringing in local ownership partners into the group.” In addition to Bouzounis, another local entrepreneur with close ties to the Columbus Crew is Luis Orozco, general manager of WCPX Azteca America, Ohio’s only Spanish language television broadcaster. “The commitment to Columbus and the Columbus Crew demonstrated to me during my meeting with Mark Noorzai and his partners removed any doubt about their intentions relative to keeping the team here in Columbus,” Orozco said. “We were able to speak at length about their ideas about promoting the game and the Crew at a grassroots level and building the fan base back to where it once was when Crew Stadium was filled every night. I was particularly happy to hear about their willingness to reach out to the various communities, including Columbus’ Hispanic community, in which there is a huge potential.” An investment by CSH holds great potential for the Crew, which is in the midst of its best-ever season on the pitch and was the first team in the league this season to secure a playoff spot. “Our partners are very passionate about the sport of soccer and have been interested for a very long time in being a part of the MLS,” said Whinham. “At the same time, we all are very respectful for what the Crew has accomplished, the Hunt family, the local partners currently involved, and the players, coaches, and employees of the Crew.” The Team Sports, Entertainment, & Media specializes in managing the numerous transactions related to professional sports and entertainment acquisitions. The Team focuses its efforts in four areas: (1) brokering of sports and entertainment opportunities and entities, (2) producing live sports and entertainment events, (3) providing comprehensive consulting services, and (4) creating, producing, and placing media and branding elements. Since beginning operations in January 2002, The Team has successfully managed transactions for an array of entities throughout the sports and entertainment industries, including teams at all levels, venues, buyers, sellers, licensed products, television and media projects, and other related businesses. The Team managed all of the transactions associated with bringing the Arena Football League’s Columbus Destroyers to Central Ohio and has also assisted with three buy-side acquisition teams for purchase of National Hockey League clubs. Its clients include buyers and sellers of major and minor league sports organizations, owners and managers of venues throughout North America, entertainment executives, and colleges and universities across the nation. Along with its brokering services, The Team has developed a comprehensive consulting practice that has allowed it to successfully partner with some of the most recognized and respected organizations and institutions in North America’s sports and entertainment industries. The Team has also developed mature media and live event production capabilities which have allowed it to create and develop its own unique properties. From the Columbus Dispatch:
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Team: Sports, Entertainment, & Media has partnered with a group in an effort to invest in a minority interest in the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer.