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All Right, we're already talking, we're already going because we're excited about this. I almost feel like we should just jump in. Let's do that. Bloomberg News sports reporter Vanessa Perdomo is with She joins us along with Carolyn Tish Blodget. She is governor and lead owner of Gotham FC football club, the National Women's Soccer League and WSL team, and she's founder and CEO of Next three Ventures, is an investment
firm in sports, media and entertainment. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. I was going to start it off because Vanessa, you and the sports crew, they put out a great story about like trends to watch in twenty twenty six, and one of it is kind of labor battles in women's sports and talking about it getting messy, especially as you see escalating salaries and you see more stars leaving for Europe. So I kind of Carolyn, want to start that with you.
I mean, are you concerned about kind of losing players to Europe and tea as we've seen salaries escalade and welcome and die here.
Here, let's die right in.
So I'm a firm believer that rising tides lifts all boats. We are If you think about where women's sports was when we came in as new owners two years ago, they were not being talked about on Bloomberg. They were not no one was investing in it. And when we came in, ninety nine percent of investments in sports went to the men's went to men's teams, and so you were starting to see that shift. You know, we came
in twenty twenty three. There have been several new owners that have come into the National Women's Soccer League that we're in, as well as the WNBA and others. So you're starting to see a real shift. And with that comes challenges and you start to see you know, it wouldn't I don't think our league would be as successful as we have been if there weren't other leagues that were competing for talent. This is good, So yeah, I think competition is good.
But are you afraid of losing some key players? Yes?
I mean obviously there has been news of players leaving for Europe. I think you'll continue to see that. You'll also see players coming back. With Lindsay Horan, Lindsay Heaps just signed with Denver, We've had players go play in Europe and then come back.
So part of it, I think when you zoom.
In, I think it feels like, oh my god, this guy is telling everybody's leaving for Europe. If we pull back and say this is actually the we're competing for global talent in a global game, this is kind of the natural evolution of this.
So let me ask the question in a different way, and it's about a strategy for making sure those players don't leave.
It's a strategy for keeping those players on your team.
How do you do it without breaking the bank?
So that is something we talk about on a daily basis. Our general manager ya Elle averbush West has put together an incredible roster over the last year. So we've won two championships in the last three years. And when we think about why would a player want a question we ask ourselves daily is why would a player who could play.
Anywhere want to come play for Gotham.
Part of that, you know, I think what they have in Europe is obviously these brand legacies that it's hard to compete with. Chelsea's been around forever. If you want to go, if your dream has been to play for Chelsea, that's hard to compete with. What we have is I think some of the best coaching staff in the business. We have We've been very much at the forefront in terms of investing in medical so we probably have arguably the best medical director in women's soccer, if not you
know women's sports today. We've invested in mental health, We've invested in a performance coach. So we're kind of investing. And if you want you if you're sitting here today as a player and you say where can I get better? I would arguably say Gotham is the.
Best place to go.
And so we're really thinking about what is our competitive advantage and where can we compete and let's go invest there.
Well.
I think the interesting thing is, obviously Gotham had made this really big effort to sign these huge stars the US men's the national team.
That there's four or five stars.
You have Jane Show who just came in last year at Midge Perse, Emily Sune Rose Levelle NWSL twenty twenty five MVP, you know for the championship game. You have these massive stars, and it was it was felt like a concerted effort to do that to make sure you have these big stars and the lead used to rely solely on the USO International team stars. Tell me about where that's gone. Why is it still important to the business to have stars like that? But how much it's
grown over the last couple of years. So yeah, I think it's a really good question.
So I'm a big believer that stars dry viewership, and stars drive particularly a casual fandom. I built my career in marketing. I used to run marketing at Peloton, and that was really our model was help these instructors turn into stars. That is something we've brought to Gotham, and we've taken not just the stars that we inherit like we brought in like a Rose and a Sonnet, but also helped someone like a Jalen Howell kind of find her voice and become more of a star.
Robin I was thinking I was Robin Arzon.
Yes, yeah, Robin and I worked very close together, killer right, But we helped her and she really knows how to build her own brand. So I don't want to take we get any credit of that, but we helped these instructors really turn into the house.
But you guys appreciate it certainly as part of the Piloton.
Brand exactly, and that's what we're helping to do.
I think for a lot of our stars at Gotham, I think that really again that drives viewership. That brings at the US woman's national team is or is an opportunity.
To bring a casual fan in.
If you think about how many people watched the Olympics last year the US team win a gold medal, I think it was like nine million people. We have an opportunity at Gotham. Six of those players played for Gotham at the time. We can help bring those people and bridge that gap from US fandom to Gotham nuts.
I mean, six people is amazing to have that kind of power. I mean, let's talk a little bit more about the overall business of the NDWASEL.
You had mentioned it before.
You the new owners coming in and one of them is a colleague from the NFL or if they're blank, played one hundred and sixty five million dollars to bring an end of asale team to Atlanta.
How big this business has.
Got from twenty nineteen from a two million dollar expansion.
Of to one hundred and sixty five million. What's the next step? But how does that keep going and how do you make sure.
That it doesn't plateau after such a big year.
Yeah, we write there's been so much news in the End of Yourself we haven't.
Even talked about the Blanks hugging it.
Yes, we're so happy that Arthur and his son Josh have have joined us in the league. I think one of the one of the real bright spots of the league, I think is the boardroom and is the compilation of owners.
In this room.
You have owners like the Wilfs from the NFL, the Blanks now and obviously our family. You have owners from the NBA, from MLS, from European league.
So you really have a and they believe in it. They believe in the End of your Self product.
Right, these long term sports owners, you very much feel that there.
Is The conversations at the board are about how are we going to grow sustainably?
How are we going to reach the next level?
As you asked, it is not about like how can I make a quick dollar and turn around and sell it. This is a group of owners that want to be there and want it, you know, in invest in its.
Future, building out their portfolio.
Yeah, big way and deeply care.
Yeah, you talk about investing in the future. Before we got going, I talked about growing up watching the Giants seasons. Tickets my dad had and we all kind of went to games. They've had some highs and lows. They need a new head coach. Any update, and I'm just curious Jason Harbaugh, like, is are you guys talking to him? John Harbaugh? Sorry? Are you guys talking to him?
I definitely cannot be the one to break any news here. We did not time this interview with the.
Coaching sir, So nothing to say, but excited obviously for the Giant's future.
But there'll be a new coach soon.
Well, obviously there will be a coach. Just help me naming who it is? Do you have one? I cannot know.
Hey, listens, nothing, I've just been in my office all day.
It's John calling. No, no, no, hey, Just quickly twenty seconds. You got you have invested in volleyball, You invested in sale GP, which is something we've covered here. Anything else you're looking at for your portfolio? Just got about twenty seconds.
Yes, yes, nothing to announce today.
But we're continue to look at emerging leagues, look at emerging sports, and we're very focused on youth sports and who are the leagues that are really building up the kind of grassroots sports from the ground up.
Okay, will you come and tell us when you've got a Nico run right over? Thank you, Thank you, Vanessa, also, Carolyn, thank you so much, really appreciate it. Carolyn Tish Blodger, lead owner of Gotham Football Club, and of course our Vanessa Prodoma, she's Bloomberg New Sports reporter. Thank you. Thank If you missed any of it, check it out on our podcast feed.