
Sharks Sports & Entertainment
525 W Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA, 95113, United States
Overview
Sharks Sports and Entertainment owns and operates a number of sports properties, including the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. It was based in San Jose, California. The company was established in 2000 as Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment by Sharks owners Gordon and George Gund III to manage the business operations of the team. Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment was purchased by San Jose Sports and Entertainment Enterprises. It became a subsidiary of SJSE as a result of the purchase. The company was renamed Sharks Sports and Entertainment on August 24, 2011.
- Total investments
- 1
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 0
Sector focus
- Media and Entertainment
- Music Venues
- Social Media
- Sports
Investment portfolio
- VenueNext
Participated · Series B · Oct 2016
VenueNext builds a smartphone platform that improves the guest experience at venues by consolidating ordering, merchandise, replays, ticketing and other services into a single app. The platform ties together operational systems in a venue and delivers real-time data insights that help venue owners improve operations and increase revenue. VenueNext’s technology is used by Major League Sports, hospitality and healthcare customers, including the San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic. Those customers have generated millions of dollars in increased revenues from leveraging VenueNext’s platform. VenueNext plans to integrate Intel technologies such as Intel True View to add immersive 5K, volumetric 3D replay and multi-perspective views directly in-app. The privately held company was founded in 2013 and has offices in Silicon Valley, San Francisco and New York. VenueNext provides a mobile platform that lets attendees use mobile tickets to enter events, order food, drinks and merchandise for delivery to their seats, and access venue information and amenities. The product debuted at Levi's Stadium and is used at major venues including Yankee Stadium, Churchill Downs, U.S. Bank Stadium, AT&T Stadium, Belmont Park, Saratoga Springs and the SAP Center. The company spun out of the San Francisco 49ers stadium technology group and was founded in 2013. VenueNext has expanded its customer base beyond stadiums to theme parks and is signing hotels and hospitals to use the app. The platform includes features such as ticket forwarding and mechanisms for teams to resell unused tickets and issue credit to original buyers. The company plans to expand into Europe and extend beyond live entertainment, exploring emerging technologies from augmented reality to delivery drones. VenueNext provides a venue-licensed technology platform comprising a guest-facing mobile app for each stadium and a backend system for venue operators. The guest app targets five core experiences: ticketing/access, food and beverage ordering, parking and directions, loyalty programs, and exclusive live in-app content. The venue-facing platform integrates with food and retail POS, existing e-ticketing solutions, and parking-pass validation systems to tie those experiences together. A rollout at Levi's Stadium showed strong traction: roughly 30% app adoption (versus an industry average under 5%) and more than $1.25 million in in-app food, beverage, and merchandise sales. The company said it plans to be in 30 venues by the end of 2015 and names John Paul as CEO and founder. Strategic investor relationships are presented as potential distribution or partnership channels with venues and event operators.
Team
No current team members are available.