Full Name
Ted Leonsis
Job Title
Founder, Chairman, Principal Owner and Chief Executive Officer
Company
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Speaker Bio
Ted Leonsis is founder, chairman, principal owner and chief executive officer of Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), one of the largest integrated sports and entertainment companies in the country with one of the most diverse partnership groups in all of sports. MSE owns and operates seven professional and amateur sports franchises, six venues and two media platforms, among additional investments. Sports franchises include the NHL’s 2018 Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the 2019 WNBA Champion Washington Mystics, the NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go, the 2020 & 2021 NBA 2K League Champion Wizards District Gaming, and Caps Gaming, an NHL esports sub-brand of the Capitals. MSE is also co-owner of aXiomatic, which has controlling interest in global esports franchise Team Liquid. Mr. Leonsis is co-executive chairman of aXiomatic.
In September 2022, MSE acquired full
from Comcast/NBCUniversal and now holds exclusive local television media rights to Capitals’, Wizards’ Mystics and Go-Go games. Under the terms of the agreement, MSE also acquired NBCUniversal’s remaining interest in Monumental Sports Network, a first-of-its-kind regional sports network for digital, mobile and over-the-top platforms that launched in 2016. A rebrand of the network is coming in 2023.
MSE’s marque property is Capital One Arena, a 20,000-person capacity live events venue in downtown Washington, D.C. The partnership operates MedStar Capitals Iceplex, the Washington Capitals’ training facility and front office headquarters, George Mason University’s EagleBank Arena, and District E Powered by Ticketmaster, a 14,000 square feet live events and esports training and performance theater adjacent to Capital One Arena.
As part of a joint venture with the DC Mayor’s Office and Events DC, MSE unveiled the Entertainment & Sports Arena, a sports and entertainment facility in Southeast D.C. on the St. Elizabeths East campus, which opened in the Fall of 2018. This cutting-edge 4,200-seat venue and basketball facility includes a top-of-the-line practice facility for the Wizards and serves as the Mystics’ and Go-Go’s home court. The arena is part of the St. Elizabeths East Campus redevelopment and is expected to generate significant expansion of arts, cultural, entertainment and civic programming. This project is designed to be a catalyst for new opportunities in Ward 8 and citywide and create a destination for residents and visitors.
In July 2021, MSE partnered with William Hill (later acquired by Caesars Entertainment) to open the first ever in-arena sportsbook in North America. Now known as Caesars Sportsbook, it is a popular destination experience and boasts the first full-service restaurant by a famed chef, Guy Fieri’s D.C. Kitchen + Bar, has a broadcast studio at street-level and private dining space on its second level – and an easy ingress/egress for ticketed patrons attending games and events at Capital One Arena.
Mr. Leonsis serves on the Board of Governors for the NBA and NHL as well as on the Executive Committee of the NHL. He is also chairman of the NBA Media Committee.
Revolution Growth and Venture Capital Investor
Mr. Leonsis is a co-founder and partner at Revolution Growth, a venture capital fund investing in growth-stage companies around the country that are disrupting multi-billion-dollar industries. The fund selectively invests an initial $25-50 million per deal in some of the economy’s largest sectors including sports, media, entertainment, healthcare, fintech, proptech, and ecommerce. Investments include companies such as aXiomatic, Sportradar, DraftKings, Bedrock Manufacturing (parent company of Shinola and Filson), Optoro, Tempus, Tala, Cava and sweetgreen. He also serves on the boards of several public companies, including American Express and Groupon.
In September 2022, MSE acquired full
from Comcast/NBCUniversal and now holds exclusive local television media rights to Capitals’, Wizards’ Mystics and Go-Go games. Under the terms of the agreement, MSE also acquired NBCUniversal’s remaining interest in Monumental Sports Network, a first-of-its-kind regional sports network for digital, mobile and over-the-top platforms that launched in 2016. A rebrand of the network is coming in 2023.
MSE’s marque property is Capital One Arena, a 20,000-person capacity live events venue in downtown Washington, D.C. The partnership operates MedStar Capitals Iceplex, the Washington Capitals’ training facility and front office headquarters, George Mason University’s EagleBank Arena, and District E Powered by Ticketmaster, a 14,000 square feet live events and esports training and performance theater adjacent to Capital One Arena.
As part of a joint venture with the DC Mayor’s Office and Events DC, MSE unveiled the Entertainment & Sports Arena, a sports and entertainment facility in Southeast D.C. on the St. Elizabeths East campus, which opened in the Fall of 2018. This cutting-edge 4,200-seat venue and basketball facility includes a top-of-the-line practice facility for the Wizards and serves as the Mystics’ and Go-Go’s home court. The arena is part of the St. Elizabeths East Campus redevelopment and is expected to generate significant expansion of arts, cultural, entertainment and civic programming. This project is designed to be a catalyst for new opportunities in Ward 8 and citywide and create a destination for residents and visitors.
In July 2021, MSE partnered with William Hill (later acquired by Caesars Entertainment) to open the first ever in-arena sportsbook in North America. Now known as Caesars Sportsbook, it is a popular destination experience and boasts the first full-service restaurant by a famed chef, Guy Fieri’s D.C. Kitchen + Bar, has a broadcast studio at street-level and private dining space on its second level – and an easy ingress/egress for ticketed patrons attending games and events at Capital One Arena.
Mr. Leonsis serves on the Board of Governors for the NBA and NHL as well as on the Executive Committee of the NHL. He is also chairman of the NBA Media Committee.
Revolution Growth and Venture Capital Investor
Mr. Leonsis is a co-founder and partner at Revolution Growth, a venture capital fund investing in growth-stage companies around the country that are disrupting multi-billion-dollar industries. The fund selectively invests an initial $25-50 million per deal in some of the economy’s largest sectors including sports, media, entertainment, healthcare, fintech, proptech, and ecommerce. Investments include companies such as aXiomatic, Sportradar, DraftKings, Bedrock Manufacturing (parent company of Shinola and Filson), Optoro, Tempus, Tala, Cava and sweetgreen. He also serves on the boards of several public companies, including American Express and Groupon.
Speaking At