Washington, DC (05/25/2023) Sports Company Journal (SBJ) announced that Michele Kang won “Deal of the Year” in its 16th Annual Sports Company Awards for her acquisition of the 2022 Washington Spirit.
Kang, chosen by SBJ as the 2022 Energy Player in Women’s Sports, was 1 of 5 nominees that incorporated the Walton-Penner Group’s buy of the Denver Broncos, Big League Soccer and Apple’s ten-year media rights deal, the Large Ten Conference. a seven-year media rights deal with FOX, CBS and NBC amongst other people. She was the only lady represented.
“As an entrepreneur with some sources, I felt it was my duty.” But additional importantly, I see this as a business enterprise with amazing industrial viability,” Kang mentioned in her acceptance speech. “We are not a charity.”
Following acquiring the Washington Spirit for a record $35 million on March 30, 2022, Kang became the initial particular person of colour to hold a majority stake in an NVSL club. According to the SBJ, “The $35 million buy, the most pricey in league history at the time, reset the industry for NVSL franchises, straight top to the league extracting a record $58 million in expansion charges from the owner of the lately announced Bay Location expansion group Location.”
Her SBJ ‘Deal of the Year’ win also followed her win at French club Olympique Lyonnais (OL), eight-time Champions League winners. OL competes in Division 1 Feminine, the highest level of women’s expert football in France.
The move will combine Spirit and Lion into a worldwide network of women’s soccer clubs. It will turn out to be the initial organization of its type owned and led by girls, cementing Kang’s new mission to rewrite the narrative of what is attainable in women’s expert soccer.
Her commitment to establishing the Washington Spirit as a perennial powerhouse and a globe-class expert sports organization has been evident given that she bought the club.
Central to Kang’s mission was hiring a fleet of extremely skilled experts in numerous roles all through the organization and establishing an exclusive, state-of-the-art stadium situated in Washington, DC
Significantly less than a year into her ownership, Kang effectively achieved each of these ambitions as the club struck a multi-year deal to get in touch with Audi Field its new house and hired some of the brightest minds in sports and business enterprise — president of soccer operations and basic manager Mark Krikorian, president business enterprise operations Emma Mai, head coach Mark Parsons and vice president of efficiency, medicine and innovation Dawn Scott.
Amongst Spirit’s newly installed leadership, 1 theme is constant: Kang’s commitment to establishing Spirit as a globe-class organization.
Component of Kang’s deal to purchase the Spirit came with a mandate to provide a globe-class knowledge and expert item to fans. There are now additional alternatives at each and every cost point than the club has ever supplied, like reasonably priced season plans, premium pitch-side seating and an extended Audi Field roof for higher coverage from the components.
To purchase tickets for the Washington Spirit game, click right here.
About The Washington Spirit
The Washington Spirit is a expert women’s soccer group primarily based at Audi Field in Washington, DC. Launched in 2012, the Spirit plays in the National Women’s Soccer League, the premier women’s soccer competitors in North America. For additional information and facts on the Spirit, stop by WashingtonSpirit.com and stick to the clubTwitterInstagram and Facebook.