PitchBook helps OVG identify partners so the Seattle Kraken win on the ice and in the front office

Since its founding, OVG has grown both organically and through acquisition, investing over $5 billion in new projects. Today, OVG has more than 5,000 employees, working in nine divisions, across five offices around the globe. OVG360, a full-service venue management and event programming company within OVG, manages, operates and provides hospitality services for over 400 venues, including Climate Pledge Arena (CPA), home of the Seattle Kraken.

The Seattle Kraken, the National Hockey League’s newest franchise, prides itself on being one of the most analytical teams in professional sports, using cutting-edge technology to drive strategic decision-making in real time on game nights. Climate Pledge Arena, where the Kraken play, is one of the most progressive, responsible, and sustainable sports and entertainment arenas in the world.

Challenge: Scoring that golden goal

PitchBook joined forces with OVG, the Kraken, and CPA in 2019 to help the team access insights to support the spectator experience and to grow awareness of the PitchBook brand.

One of OVG’s strengths is identifying and bringing in new partners to support growth, which is especially important to the Kraken as a young team. OVG simultaneously works to raise brand visibility and support for CPA. Researching and finding organizations that are a good fit for the team and CPA is critically important to future success.

As the country’s first net zero carbon facility, CPA requires a special kind of partner. Companies that are a good fit need to align with the arena’s commitment to sustainability and environmental protection. The challenge here is that companies focused on sustainability and climate tech haven’t historically gravitated toward sports marketing. CPA offers a unique value proposition.

Solution: Partnership pays off

Morgan and the OVG team found PitchBook to be user friendly from the start. Diving deeper into filters, and with help from their dedicated customer experience team, Morgan and team were able to identify several potential partners. Each would be on board with CPA brand values and benefit from the exposure and opportunities that the arena and team provide—ensuring geographical and financial alignment with CPA and the Kraken.

Companies or data points that once took hours, days or even weeks to find through internet searches and phone calls are now accessible in a matter of minutes thanks to the collaboration with PitchBook. OVG has built a huge database of prospects.

In addition to finding team and arena partners, as the official financial data provider of the Seattle Kraken and CPA, PitchBook helps identify high-net-worth individuals who will enjoy the luxury experiences at the CPA. Finally, the OVG team uses PitchBook to vet inbound leads, learning more about each company’s values, leadership and financial history.

Results: Front office wins

PitchBook has transformed the way OVG researches and approaches prospective partners. They’re no longer casting a broad net, going after 20 prospects just to reel in one partner. Now they can more accurately and thoroughly size up prospects, and craft a strategic approach to those that will be the best fit. With PitchBook, the CPA team quickly identified five companies that had never invested in sports marketing, but are a good fit for synergetic partnership.

On a daily basis, OVG leans on PitchBook’s actionable data, research and insights to refine expansion strategies, find and evaluate investment opportunities and better price and negotiate deals. With PitchBook, the team is taking a calculated, targeted approach and that’s creating the wins to support growth for the Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena.