SUPER DEAL: Caesars Superdome is among the seven NFL stadiums run by ASM Global, whose acquisition by Legends closed this week. The dome’s five-year $560 million renovation has been completed, heading into the 2024 football season. (Staff photo/Don Muret)
Legends fined $3.5 million for “gun-jumping” tactics
Legends has completed its acquisition of ASM Global for about $2.4 billion, according to Legends officials.
The closing was delayed for several months after scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice found that the two firms allegedly colluded on business prior to federal approval of the sale, according to public documents.
The acquisition had been announced in November, but was pending regulatory approvals.
VenuesNow broke the news of the blockbuster merger in July of 2023.
The combination forms a company that now extends to operating 350 arenas, stadiums and convention centers around the world, which were ASM Global clients. Facility management was among the final pieces missing from Legends, which is now coupled with providing food service, premium ticket sales, sponsorships, project management and market research.
AEG and Onyx, a Toronto-based private equity firm, and which both held equity in ASM Global, were to sell their interests, while ASM Global will continue to run its existing buildings and “in-development” AEG venues, according to a press release issued in November. Previous ASM Global equity holders Onex and AEG have sold their full ownership interests as part of the transaction, according to today’s announcement.
The DOJ alleged that Legends violated antitrust regulations during its review of the deal, resulting in a $3.5 million civic fine levied against the firm, according to documents released on the agreement.
Legends was accused of “gun-jumping” tactics tied to bidding for contracts to run entertainment facilities in California and North Carolina over the past year in tandem with ASM Global before the merger was approved at the federal level. The fine was publicly disclosed on Aug. 5.
The delay in approving the merger resulted in Wall Street bankers interested in investing in the deal contacting VenuesNow to gain an education on how the business of running public assembly facilities works.
Legends was founded in 2008 by NFL Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the Steinbrenner family, owner of the New York Yankees, as a concessions company. Over the past 15 years, it has expanded into selling premium seats, sponsorships and naming rights, plus project management and market research after acquiring CSL International in 2011.
ASM Global will continue to operate under its name “for the time being,” according to the announcement of the acquisition’s completion.
Sixth Street is the majority investor in Legends in partnership with Yankees affiliate YGE Holdings Jones Concessions, a Jerry Jones family company.
Moelis & Company and BofA Securities were financial advisors to Legends and Ropes & Gray and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton provided Legends legal counsel. Financial advisers to ASM Global included Goldman Sachs and Jefferies. Latham & Watkins, Hogan Lovells,and Arnold & Porter served as the company’s legal counsel. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher served as legal counsel to YGE Holdings and Jones Concessions.
Overall, ASM Global runs seven NFL stadiums, including the Caesars Superdome, which has completed a five-year, $560 million renovation that has modernized the 49-year-old building. Four years ago, Legends was hired to serve as owner’s representative for the project.
On its own, the Superdome was among the first public assembly venues to operate under the private management model when the state-owned facility opened in 1975. SMG held the contract for many years before merging with AEG Facilities in 2018.
On Friday, the day the announcement was made that the deal had been completed, it was business as usual for ASM Global executives, including Doug Thornton, executive vice president, who’s been at the Superdome since 1997, and Evan Holmes, the stadium’s general manager for the past two years after serving for 10 years as director of business operations.
Thornton participated in a Friday conference call to update ASM Global personnel on the transaction, but he declined to talk about the merger, telling VenuesNow that they’ve been instructed to defer to Legends corporate.
The Saints held an open practice on Friday before an estimated crowd of 8,000, as fans got a first look at the revamped dome. The Saints host Tennessee in a preseason game Sunday before taking on Carolina at home in their regular season opener on Sept. 8.
The final phase of construction removed the two original pedestrian ramps from the stadium, providing ASM Global, the New Orleans Saints and concessionaire Sodexo Live! with total of 100,000 square feet of recaptured space. It’s now filled with new escalators, elevators, grab-and-go markets, bars, new restrooms and additional kitchen space across multiple levels.
Gensler and local firm Trahan Architects designed the improvements and Broadmoor Construction, the same company that restored the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was the general contractor.
ASM Global played a key role for navigating the master plan for Superdome renovations, in tandem with the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, the Saints and Legends in its role as owners rep. Construction started two months before the COVID-19 shutdown and resumed in late 2021 after the venues industry opened back up for events, resulting in a budget that ran $100 million over the initial price tag.
“Legends did a good job of managing the coordination between the architect, contractor and project team, and managing the budget,” Thornton said. “Costs had to be contained for us to fund it and that funding was tricky.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.
