After launching in January 2018, the Global Sports Venture Studio has announced its Founding Partners: adidas, DICK’S Sporting Goods, E15, Fox Sports, Levy, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Hockey League, Octagon Sports and Entertainment Network, and UEFA, which joins as the program’s European anchor Partner.

As a platform centered around the strategic objectives of each Founding Partner, the Studio will help industry leaders get ahead of disruption through access to startups, data, and meaningful collaboration.

Designed with a bias towards action, Studio engagements will drive towards pilots, partnerships, and integrations that bring new ideas and market opportunities to the forefront.

Together, the Founding Partners create a 360º view of the sports, technology, and entertainment landscape—and represent the Studio’s thesis that the greatest innovations in sport will be the result of strategic collaborations.

“Our Founding Partners are leaders within the sports and entertainment ecosystem, and we’re looking forward to experimenting and innovating together,” said Tucker Kain, Chief Financial Officer of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Managing Partner of Elysian Park Ventures, their investment arm. “We’re excited to build on the success of the Dodgers Accelerator with R/GA to establish a new model that truly brings together some of our industry’s brightest minds.”

“The Global Sports Venture Studio provides us with a compelling opportunity to tap into emerging technologies and behaviors that promise to resonate with our young and diverse fan base,” said Gary Stevenson, President and Managing Director of MLS Business Ventures. “The Studio will support our ongoing efforts to grow the sports industry and build a league for the future.”

The Studio will address a variety of topics including data optimization, media rights, future of retail, sports betting, youth sports, player performance, next-gen content platforms, venue innovation, and fan experience, among others. Throughout the year, Partners will have access to subject matter experts as well as founders who are breaking new ground across these areas of focus.

Throughout the program, private Studio activities will also focus on helping Partners tackle the “last mile of innovation,” designing and supporting the execution of pilots and integrations with groundbreaking startups, advising them as they look to acquire or invest, and providing ongoing venture consulting.

ogramming will address the technologies, behaviors, and innovations that Partners should be considering,” said Stephen Plumlee, Global Chief Operating Officer of R/GA and Managing Partner of R/GA Ventures. “Then the Studio will leverage that foundation to provide highly-customized opportunities for engagement between the Founding Partners and the best early-stage startups and growth-stage companies.”

The Studio looks for founders with the potential to build brands that are creating true innovation in the sports, media, and entertainment ecosystems, and can benefit from strategic partnership opportunities with Studio Partners, R/GA, and Elysian Park’s extended family of companies, including the Los Angeles Dodgers. Startups will be recruited on a rolling basis and selected for a variety of Studio engagements.

For more information about the Studio, to express your interest in joining the Partnership group, or to apply as a startup, please visit www.globalsportsventurestudio and follow @GlobalSportsVS on Twitter.