New entity to manage Sphere, sports, entertainment partnerships

Three companies relatively new to Southern Nevada have formed a partnership to collaborate on bringing sports and entertainment brands together with hospitality.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., Sphere Entertainment Co. and Oak View Group on Thursday announced the founding of Crown Properties Collection.

The purpose of Crown Properties will be to “manage marquee partnerships with sports and entertainment brands and venues worldwide,” according to a release issued by the three companies.

Jay Voelker, who served as senior vice president of business development for the PGA Tour where he oversaw the golf tour’s global sponsorship business, has joined Oak View Group as president of Crown Properties.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment oversees several venues and sports teams in New York, while Sphere Entertainment oversees the soon-to-open Sphere in Las Vegas.

Oak View Group is planning to build a $10 billion resort project with an NBA-ready arena at Las Vegas Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road.

Under the partnership agreement, MSG Entertainment and Sphere Entertainment will be Crown Properties Collection’s first clients, with CPC overseeing the global partnership and sponsorship representation of all brands and properties across the MSG family of companies.

“Crown Properties Collection’s purpose is to provide unprecedented global representation for world-renowned sports and entertainment brands and venues, and there is no greater portfolio to begin with than the MSG family of companies’ world-class assets,” Voelker said in a release. “I am honored to join OVG, the leading full service live entertainment and hospitality company to represent CPC and create a new model for global partnerships in our industry.”

The OVG-led entity will represent the most important brand assets in the sports and live entertainment industry, representatives of the companies said.

MSG’s family of companies includes Sphere, which opens with a series of 25 performances by U2 on Sept. 29, as well as Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Beacon Theatre, The Chicago Theatre, the NBA’s New York Knicks, the National Hockey League’s New York Rangers, MSG Networks, the Radio City Rockettes and their “Christmas Spectacular.”

“The alliance of our two global powerhouses through Crown Properties Collection will revolutionize the partnership space across the sports and entertainment industries,” said David Hopkinson, president and chief operating officer of MSG Sports, who oversees global marketing partnerships across the MSG family of companies. “We’re honored that our iconic brands will be the first to be represented by CPC and that, together, we will be on the forefront of creating game-changing opportunities for our venues, teams and brands.”

Tim Leiweke, chairman and CEO of Oak View Group and a guest speaker at the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance’s 2023 Perspective gathering at M Resort in June, said the new partnership would further expand OVG’s global reach.

“Under Jay’s leadership, Crown Properties Collection will represent only the most valuable properties in all of sports and entertainment together with the most revolutionary venue in the world, Sphere in Las Vegas,” Leiweke said in a release. “This, along with OVG’s already industry-leading global partnerships platform, which has proudly sold $4.5 billion in partnerships over the last five years, will create the largest partnership of its kind in the live industry and change the game for partnerships as we know it.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.