Bright Path Sports co-founder Jake Zahnow and primary funder Sam Simon are both excited by the prospect of what Ipswich Town can become, following the news that the US-based private equity firm has acquired a 40% stake in the club.
With the Blues looking for additional investment since returning to the Championship, Zahnow has been following the club for a number of months. His company is ‘exclusively dedicated to raising and deploying Native American capital into professional sports franchises, facilities and ancillary opportunities’.
When the opportunity to work with Ipswich and majority shareholders Gamechanger 20 came up, he was quick to take it up, albeit that a deal took around 12 months to complete. Speaking to Town TV, he explained the background of the company and how things have materialised since the end of last season.
“Fortunately, this has been over a year in coming,” Zahnow said.
“I’ve had the pleasure of being invited over by Mark [Ashton] and Ed [Schwartz] to the promotion game from League One into the Championship last year. That’s where my partner Phil [Ciano] and I got hooked on this particular club, this management team, and that was the beginning of a long journey that culminates here today.
“Bright Path Sports is a private equity firm based in Cleveland and in Detroit, Michican. We make investment all across sports, media, entertainment and related. In this particular investment, we’re honoured and grateful to be partnered with Sam Simon, his son Peter Simon, and the rest of his family, to make our first investment in any football asset in the world.”
Simon, on the other hand, will provide the biggest backing of Bright Path Sports’ limited partners. Having moved to the United States from Iraq with just $200 to his name, he went on to found Simon Group Holdings and Simon Sports, which he runs with his family.
He’s also incredibly passionate about what the club is and what it can become in the future, highlighting the need to ‘give the tools to the team to do their jobs’.
“We love the management, it’s amazing,” he said. “The manager, the history of the team, the potential for growth, passionate fans. Really, what’s not to like? They’re amazing people, and I always say that I invest in people, I invest in management. This was perfect for us as a sign of sport.
“Mark shared how much will be invested into the league, the players, the facilities, the training ground. We’re big believers in investing for the future, and this is not for one or two years, this is for 100 years and on. This team got started in 1878, so this is beyond us.
“I love to see the investment and giving the tools to the team to do their jobs, especially the management.”
Some fans have questioned what their role will be on a day-to-day basis, and how hands-on they’ll be with the football club.
Zahnow stressed that, while he and other key figures at Bright Path Sports will always be there for advice and support, he has full trust in CEO Mark Ashton to lead the development. The financial backing will always be the most important thing.
“I expect to come over as often as I can, especially at the pleasure of Mark and the management team,” he admitted. “I want to echo what Sam said – we support this management team. We looked at teams all over the world, and when we met Mark and Ed, we stopped looking. We love the asset, we love the strategy, but we don’t want to get in the way of the plan.
“We’re here to provide capital, we’re here to provide support. If there are ancillary projects, input and consultation that Mark, Ed and the team need, we’ll provide 100% of our time and resources to doing that.
“But first and foremost, we’re here to support them, and we’ll be around as much as they want us to be around.
“My partners and I don’t have experience like Mark and the team in running football clubs. We do have a lot of experience in marketing, commercialisation and real estate – things that happen on the pitch.
“We’re here to provide capital and support. If Mark and his team need advice or consultation, we’ll absolutely provide it, but we love the direction that they’re going in right now and, frankly, I don’t think they need it.”
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