AEG — owner of the NHL’s L.A. Kings, MLS’s L.A. Galaxy, Crypto.com Arena, and entertainment properties including Coachella — has brought in over $670 million in sponsorship revenue in 2023, a record amount for the company, alongside more than $1 billion in contractually obligated income from new deals closed this year.
The firm’s extensive sports portfolio has played a major role in those results, with a significant portion of this year’s revenue being driven by partners both new and returning who’ve aligned with AEG’s teams and venues. At the same time, the company is helping produce everything from Drake concerts to Monster Jam competitions.
“AEG always has such a diverse and wide reach of events at any given time,” said AEG Global Partnerships co-COO Nick Baker. “In the last five days, we had a K-Pop sell-out at Dignity Health Sports Park, we had the Galaxy playing an away game, we had Power Trip music festival in the desert, and now we have opening night for the Kings at a renovated Crypto.com Arena with the Lakers tip-off soon to follow, not to mention our development project in Nashville and four new arenas we are involved with across Asia.”
The multimillion renovations at Crypto.com Arena — which got its relatively new name via a blockbuster $700 million naming rights deal announced in fall 2021 — include brand new luxury tunnel and terrace suites, notable from a business perspective for the $300 million-plus they’re pulling in through long-term lease agreements.
Los Angeles has emerged as a hotspot for the global sports industry during the 2020s. After hosting the NFL’s Super Bowl in 2022, the city will be home to the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028. The Lakers, Dodgers, and Rams have already won league championships this decade.
AEG’s other partnerships COO Russell Silvers said that they were able to leverage the hype around the city’s dominant role in the sports world to win new business. For example, Coca-Cola, Delta, and Peacock — who each recently inked new sponsorship deals across the company’s properties — are all also Olympic partners.
Those respective deals include a new Coke Studio event space at Crypto.com Arena, a Delta Sky360° Club at the same venue, and the newly renamed Peacock Theater at the company’s L.A. Live property in the city’s downtown neighborhood.
“We have trusted partners that we’ve grown with over the years, many of which have been with us for well over a decade,” said Silvers. “We’ve been able to grow our revenues with them in organic ways by providing them with assets that are in sync with what their brands are and how they want to amplify their key messages into the future.”
For now, all eyes are on the Kings, who have their home opener at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 11. The team will reveal its first-ever jersey patch partnership with Mercury Insurance and a new helmet sponsorship with Blue Shield of California, both longtime partners, during the nationally televised game.
“There’s a lot of excitement and enthusiasm around Los Angeles in the sports and entertainment verticals and we have the greatest portfolio of assets we get to represent,” said Silvers. “We’re excited for what the next few years have in store.”
Baker and Silvers joined today’s episode of Front Office Sports Today to discuss AEG’s recent moves in more detail. Listen to the full conversation above.
