The New York Yankees has today announced an investment partnership with Vision Esports. The two organisations will together create and manage an “ecosystem”of esports properties that include the likes of Echo Fox, Twin Galaxies and Vision Entertainment.
The partnership will aim to accelerate and increase the global awareness of the three companies. Of the three, arguably the best-known is Echo Fox, who, if reports are to be believed, have just secured a North American League of Legends Championship Series franchise spot for coming years. The organisation was, of course, founded by NBA legend Rick Fox.
Twin Galaxies is a league operator, recently in the news regarding a partnership with Daybreak Games around H1Z1, and Vision Entertainment is a studio that creates esports specific content. The overall organisation, Vision Esports, is led by General Partners Stratton Sclavos, Jace Hall and Chris Nordling.
“The New York Yankees are thrilled to partner with Vision Esports and its diverse portfolio of esports companies,” said Hal Steinbrenner, Managing General Partner and Co-Chairperson, New York Yankees. “Guided by an impressively skilled and sports-savvy leadership team, Vision Esports is transcending the industry with a bold, innovative approach to their business, and we are excited to enter into this dynamic arena as their partner.”
The Yankees and Vision Esports leadership will manage the three properties in a manner described as “similar to traditional sports properties”. The philosophy, it expands, includes seeking to maximise revenue opportunities for advertising, media and broadcast rights, sponsorship, merchandise and ticket sales, naming rights and content programming. In addition, the Yankees & Vision Esports will collaborate on marketing and sponsorship activities across both brands. This may well be one of the reasons that Riot has decided that Echo Fox are a good fit for the North American LCS over some of the more established esports names.
“The New York Yankees brand is synonymous with success, and we are thrilled to welcome the organization to the Vision Esports team,” said Stratton Sclavos, General Partner, Vision Esports. “In every business, you are known by the company you keep, and we cannot be more pleased to be a part of the New York Yankees organization. We look forward to exploring synergies between the Yankees and all of our portfolio companies to maximize the opportunity for a successful esports ecosystem for teams, players and fans.”
Esports Insider says: Huge news as one of the largest names in MLB are now involved in esports. It’s a big week for Echo Fox, as they secure an NA LCS spot and now partner up with a brand as big as the Yankees. It’s one of the first investments from the baseball side, whilst we’ve seen a lot more activity from the likes of the NBA and NFL.
