Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment

Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment LLC (HBSE) is an American sports and venue management company founded by investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer in September 2017. HBSE owns and operates the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), as well as other properties such as their minor league affiliates, the Prudential Center, and the esports organization Dignitas. HBSE also holds a minority stake in the NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing. The company is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, and was valued at $11.86 billion in 2024.

History

Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment LLC (HBSE) was founded by Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris and senior Blackstone executive David Blitzer on September 25, 2017. The pair previously led groups that bought the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association in 2011 and the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League and the Prudential Center in 2013. In 2016, the pair bought the esports organization Dignitas. In 2018, HBSE partnered with the San Francisco 49ers and Creative Artists Agency to establish Elevate Sports Venture, a consulting firm specializing on event marketing and ticketing.

In 2019, the company bought the esports organization Clutch Gaming for $30 million and merged them with Dignitas, forming a parent company, New Meta Entertainment, with investments from Fertitta Entertainment, Delaware North, and Steve Rifkind. HBSE assisted in the development of the Chase Fieldhouse, an arena and sports complex in Wilmington, Delaware, which opened as the 76ers Fieldhouse in 2019. In 2020, HBSE donated millions of dollars to local communities in Philadelphia and Newark in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The same year, the company hired a chief diversity and impact officer and pledged $20 million to fight racial injustice. HBSE hired Tad Brown, former CEO of the Houston Rockets and Toyota Center, for the same role in August 2021.

In 2022, president Hugh Weber left the company to explore other ventures. The same year, HBSE limited partner (LP) and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin sold his 10% stake to David Adelman to avoid a conflict of interest regarding Fanatics' growing business. The company pursued bids of the New York Mets and the Chelsea Football Club in the early 2020s before they were sold to other parties. HBSE bought a minority stake in Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in 2023, with founder Joe Gibbs becoming a LP of the company as part of the partnership. In 2024, HBSE was valuated by Forbes at $11.86 billion. The company took over managing non-NFL events at Commanders Field, home stadium of the Harris-owned NFL team Washington Commanders, the same year.

Brands and properties

• Philadelphia 76ers, National Basketball Association (NBA) team
  • Training Complex, headquarters
  • 76 Place at Market East, proposed arena
  • Delaware Blue Coats, NBA G League team
  • Sixers Youth Foundation, nonprofit organization
  • 76ers Gaming Club, NBA 2K League team
  • Sixers Innovation Lab, sports startup accelerator
• New Jersey Devils, National Hockey League (NHL) team
  • Prudential Center, indoor arena (included the former Grammy Museum Experience)
    • Devils Arena Entertainment, managing entity
  • Utica Comets, American Hockey League (AHL) team
  • Albany Devils, former AHL team
  • Binghamton Devils, former AHL team
  • Devils Youth Foundation, nonprofit organization
• New Meta Entertainment, esports company
  • Dignitas, esports organization
  • Apex Gaming, merged with Dignitas
  • Clutch Gaming, merged with Dignitas
• HBSE Ventures, investment firm
• HBSE Real Estate
  • Loew's Jersey Theatre (Jersey City; operator)
  • Wollman Rink (New York City; operator)
• Elevate Sports Ventures, consulting firm
• Joe Gibbs Racing, NASCAR team (minority stake)

References

External links

• Official website

1. David Blitzer
2. Josh Harris (businessman)
3. Michael Rubin (businessman)
4. Tad Brown
5. Ryan Smith (businessman)
6. Prudential Center
7. David J. Adelman
8. Martin Geller
9. Monumental Sports & Entertainment
10. Delaware Blue Coats
11. New Jersey Devils
12. Tilman Fertitta
13. Philadelphia 76ers
14. Commanders Field
15. 76 Place at Market East
16. Dignitas (esports)
17. Utica Comets
18. Marc Leder
19. Wollman Rink
20. Chase Fieldhouse