On the 580th Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams speak with notable Wall Street (and sports) investor Roger Ehrenberg about the looming $12.5 billion sale of the Los Angeles Lakers, and what’s drawing this new class of tech billionaires to sports.
Ehrenberg built the first phase of his career in Wall Street derivatives, then pivoted to venture investing. More recently, he’s also become a franchise part-owner, with stakes in the Miami Marlins, Real Salt Lake, the Utah Monarchs and F1 racing team Alpine.
The trio talks about the Lakers deal from all angles, including an analysis of market forces influencing the seller (Mark Walter) and the buyer (Joshua Kushner). Ehrenberg shares his thoughts on whether this is an anti-AI bet from Kushner, whose Thrive Capital was one of the earliest VC movers in AI companies like Open AI and SpaceX.
Ehrenberg gives his thesis about two major, opposite trends underway in sports. For at-home viewing, sports is getting better and more democratized. For in-stadium viewing, rising prices and other barriers have done the opposite. He discusses how modern sports venues can be properly designed to satisfy a team’s loudest and most avid fans, while also delivering on the bottom line.
