C&W Launches New National Sports & Entertainment Advisory Group

CHICAGO—Cushman & Wakefield is expanding its service offerings to the sport and entertainment industry by establishing a new advisory group geared specifically to those growth sectors.

The new Sports & Entertainment Advisory Group, which was officially launched today, will provide the brokerage firm’s clients with the end-to-end solutions required to design, build, finance, operate and maximize their revenue streams for athletic and entertainment venues.

Chicago-based executive managing directors Craig Cassell and Michael Sessa will lead Cushman & Wakefield’s S&E Advisory Group and will be responsible for managing the firm’s overall strategic approach to sports and entertainment related client services. Those offerings will include sponsorship, branding and naming rights consulting; venue programming and phasing advisory; food and beverage consulting; public/private sponsorship structuring; revenue cost-model analysis; as well as commercial real estate services involving land acquisition, valuation and advisory, construction management, site selection, retail leasing, finance, sustainability and master planning.

“The sports and entertainment industry is changing rapidly, and the traditional revenue model has evolved and expanded,” says Cassell. “As a result, there is a tremendous need and opportunity to serve the sector and reinforce how the value of real estate is used to maximize and protect the value of the venue as well as drive additional revenue considerations.”

The new S&E Advisory Group expands on services the firm has provided for many years and includes key, strategic partnerships with industry leaders, such as Chicago-based sports and entertainment marketing firm W Partners. It will serve sports franchise owners, local governments/municipalities, private owners of entertainment venues and public and private universities, and provide advisory services on assets including arenas and stadiums; adjacent retail and entertainment complexes; amphitheaters and other performance venues; conference, expo and convention centers; motorsports tracks and facilities and other event venues.

The strategic partnership with W Partners, led by CEO Wally Hayward and VP Sean Wallis, will provide sports and entertainment industry expertise to the practice, C&W states, W Partners is a boutique agency that has helped sports and entertainment properties build strategic corporate strategies to integrate partners into the overall fan/customer experience and secure more than $600 million in revenue for the firm’s partners.

Hayward, a former chief revenue and marketing officer for the Chicago Cubs, notes, “Building a model to ensure corporate partners are integrated fully into strategic development plans upfront is critical. We’re excited to partner with Cushman & Wakefield to help property owners develop game-changing ideas to optimize their revenue for significant development projects, while enhancing the overall fan/customer experience and engagement on-site.”

C&W vice chair Kazuko Morgan (San Francisco) will provide strategic direction for retail requirements for Cushman & Wakefield’s S&E Advisory Group. New York-based director Enoch Lawrence will lead the capital markets strategy, while director James O’Neil (Atlanta) will lead valuation and appraisal.

The new group is also bolstered by Cushman & Wakefield’s recent addition of Colicchio Consulting principals Phil Colicchio and Trip Schneck, which enables the S&E Advisory Group to guide clients in the strategic evaluation, selection and engagement of elevated food, beverage and entertainment options for projects ranging from food halls to signature restaurants and performance spaces.