Daniel A. Etna, Partner

Represented a prominent, privately owned real estate investment advisor in restructuring a real estate portfolio consisting of more than 100 properties.

Represented Levien Soccer in connection with its buyout of D.C. United.

Represented a major league franchise in numerous minority ownership transfers.

Representation of major concessions company in connection with the offering of its client product offerings.

Represented D.C. Stadium LLC in connection with the negotiation of a Stadium Use Agreement with the XFL covering Audi Field, the home stadium of D.C. United of Major League Soccer.

Represented Swansea City Association Football Club, an English Football League championship finalist, in connection with a cross-border U.S./U.K. offering of secured convertible notes. The investors in the offering include a co-owner of the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. The financing provided an immediate boost to Swansea City’s finances which had been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and relegation from the English Premier League in 2018.

Represented Yankee Global Enterprises in connection with the issuance by the New York City Industrial Agency of approximately $927 million of refunding bonds for the benefit of the Yankees.  

Represented Legends Hospitality Holding Company, LLC (“Legends Hospitality”) in majority investment by private equity firm Sixth Street in the global premium experiences company, co-founded by the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. As reported by Legends, “[t]he new investment from Sixth Street will support the long-term growth of the Company’s global client relationships and further enhancements to its innovative 360-degree platform of premium experience offerings for the most iconic global brands in sports, entertainment, and attractions.”

Herrick has represented Legends since its inception in 2008, when our Sports Law Group worked with the Cowboys and the Yankees, along with two private equity firms, to form this ground-breaking joint venture. Initially, Legends focused on delivering enhanced concessions and premium experiences. Since its formation, Legends’ range of services has grown to include six worldwide divisions and it has partnered with many iconic international sports, entertainment and attractions brands. 

Represented Lido Advisors ("Lido"), a nationally recognized wealth advisory firm, in its entrance into a key strategic partnership with Charlesbank Capital Partners ("Charlesbank"), a middle market private investment firm.  Through the partnership, Charlesbank will become a significant investor in Lido alongside the founders and management team.   

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Charlesbank at this pivotal time for Lido and, more importantly, for our clients,” said Jason Ozur, Lido’s Chief Executive Officer. “With Charlesbank at our side, our unparalleled investment and wealth planning solutions will continue to expand, both in breadth and scope, all to the benefit of our clients.”

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Lido is a full-service, independent Registered Investment Advisor (“RIA”) that brings an innovative family office investment approach to grow and safeguard its clients’ wealth and legacies. Lido’s clients include high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, corporate executives, non-profit organizations and foundations.  

Representing a full-service global venue management and event programming company in its concession services agreement at a new 15,000-seat basketball and entertainment venue set to open in 2022.  

Represented Sun Mountain Sports, Inc. ("Sun Mountain"),  a leading producer of golf equipment and apparel, in a sale of business transaction to a private investment firm, Solace Capital Partners.  

Founded in 1981, Sun Mountain is a pioneer in the golf industry known for its best-in-class brand and many innovations in golf bags, push carts, and outerwear. Sun Mountain’s products are sold in national retail stores, specialty golf stores, and pro shops, as well as online and internationally. The sale did not include Sun Mountain Motor Sports, which produces motorized golf cars under the Finn Scooters brand.  

Three Ocean Partners served as financial advisor to Sun Mountain. 

Represented D.C. United in connection with the establishment of a state-of-the-art retail sportsbook at Audi Field operated by FanDuel. FanDuel is the first sportsbook to set up shop at a Major League Soccer stadium, bringing the soccer league into line with the NFL, NBA  and NHL. The FanDuel sportsbook stretches over 2,700 square feet and features three wagering stations, 47 HD televisions, two large video walls, 18 self-service kiosks, and an uninterrupted view of the field for fans to enjoy D.C. United matches and other sporting events.

Represented potential owner of expansion team of professional soccer team in North America. Provided advice regarding the application process and provided analysis of franchise agreement and potential conflict issues. 

Represented Legends in connection with potential joint venture with a provider of a no-code platform that provides a non-fungible token (aka NFT) wallet, access to multiple blockchains, tokenization and utility-driven smart contracts to empower marketers and brands to build web3 customer loyalty communities.

Represented a leading internet horse racing account wagering operator in formation of joint venture with major European gambling software engineering firm to develop technology and software that facilitates the operation of computerized advance deposit wagering (“ADW”) for horse racing.  ADW is a form of pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing whereby a person establishes an account with an ADW operator and subsequently communicates (typically via the internet) instructions concerning the wagering of funds in such person’s account to the ADW operator.

Represented Legends Hospitality in its partnership with Notre Dame and JMI Sports to oversee Notre Dame’s sales, marketing, hospitality, media rights and branding services nationally.

Represented a U.S. commercial bank, as a sole lender, in a $50 million senior secured revolving credit facility to owners of an MLB franchise. The proceeds are to be used for working capital purposes.

Represented Legends Hospitality in a joint venture with the Intrepid Air and Space Museum to provide concessions services for a new high-end food market located on the U.S.S. Intrepid.

Represented a prominent real estate firm, as lead counsel, in structuring and negotiating primary naming rights and secondary cornerstone sponsorship agreements for a proposed mixed-use real estate and stadium development project located on the west side of Manhattan.

Represented the New York Yankees in the issuance of $1.5 billion in municipal tax-free and taxable bonds by the New York City Industrial Development Agency, which financed the lease and construction of the new Yankee Stadium. We drafted and negotiated the lease agreement for the new stadium, as well as ancillary real estate agreements pertaining to parking lots and garages; construction, demolition and insurance, and public transportation. We were also integrally involved in navigating the Yankees through the lengthy federal, state and local governmental permit and approval process.

Represented Legends Hospitality in a joint venture with Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC to provide concessions services at the team’s new 22,000-seat soccer stadium.

Represented an affiliate of Legends Hospitality in the purchase of a mobile and Bluetooth-enabled point-of-sale (POS) system for use at stadiums and arenas. The POS system streamlines the purchase process for both the venue and the fans thereby effecting a more seamless experience at a game or concert. 

Representing Q4 America, a Los Angeles-based start-up performance basketball brand, in intellectual property matters related to the development of a new brand of sneakers, sponsorships, athlete endorsements and capital raises.