The A's Sold Out a Private Club 17 Months Before Their Ballpark Opens

Welcome back. On a Tuesday in mid-September, with no game on the schedule, the Chargers hosted a Lotería night for their women's fan group in the 1960 Club, the members-only room at the team's El Segundo practice facility. The club's own members can have weekday lunches and dinners there, plus family days on select Sundays when the Chargers play on the road. Today's feature looks at the teams and schools selling club memberships.

The A's announced last week that the Athletic Club, the members' space they are building behind home plate at their Las Vegas ballpark, had sold out 17 months before the stadium’s scheduled opening in 2028. The club, developed with restaurateur Will Guidara and Aramark Sports + Entertainment, is reserved for premium season-ticket members seated behind the plate, according to the team's March release. In the team's announcement of the sellout, A's president Marc Badain said what stood out most was "not just that it sold out, but also who is buying it." The team said three in four buyers live in Southern Nevada and nearly 70% are individuals rather than businesses.

Other teams and schools sell club memberships that come with no seat, charging annual or monthly dues for rooms that open on days there are no games.

The Campus Model

College football has run the format since at least 2010, when the ClubCorp-run Texas Tech Club opened inside Jones AT&T Stadium. The company, renamed Invited in 2022, added clubs inside stadiums at Arizona, Baylor, Utah and Virginia Tech before Oak View Group bought its stadium club division in February 2024. The Baylor Club at McLane Stadium charges a $150 initiation fee and monthly dues of $50 to $165, and its resident members get an exclusive game-day tailgate.

It’s a concept that’s now growing on the pro side. In March 2024, the Spurs opened Spurs Club, which overlooks the practice courts at their facility at The Rock at La Cantera and sells individual and corporate memberships. Joe Loomis, then the Spurs' senior vice president of finance, technology and culinary operations, said in the release announcing the opening that the club gives members "an opportunity to make connections, celebrate and unwind in a luxury setting."

Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia and Major Food Group, the company behind Carbone, announced the Ra Ra Room that November, a $20 million members-only dining club on the event level of the Suns' arena. ABC15 reported the membership at $15,000 a year for two people, with the club open for Suns home games, select Mercury games and concerts, plus every Thursday, Friday and Saturday whether or not the arena has an event.

The Chargers began taking applications for the 1960 Club in May from "qualified individuals beyond the season ticket base," in individual and corporate categories, and opened it Sept. 1. The club fills the top floor of The Bolt, the team's El Segundo practice facility, with views of three practice fields, and Wolfgang Puck Catering runs the kitchen. Members can buy individual tickets in the club's suite at SoFi Stadium for home games. "The 1960 Club is the crown jewel of The Bolt," controlling owner and chairman Dean Spanos said when the team introduced it.

Clubs Priced Apart From the Seat

Ohio State's 1922 Club, on the east side of Ohio Stadium, sells a full membership for $4,500 per person a year. Members can get in without a game ticket, and the membership does not come with one. A $1,000 social membership leaves out game days. Both tiers can make reservations at the restaurant Tuesday through Saturday on non-game days. Presales for ticketed events at the stadium and the option to host private events are also available, according to the school's membership page. Ohio State also sells 400 premium chairback seats in the south end zone at $6,000 a season, each with full admission to the club.

At Kansas, the Naismith Club, a members-only social club inside Allen Fieldhouse run by Oak View Group, closes on men's basketball home game days, while athletics donors keep their game-day access to the space. Athletic director Travis Goff said in the school's announcement on Feb. 19 that the club would create "a unique connection point for our faculty, alumni, supporters, and community." In the same release, Ashley Kraus, Oak View Group's senior vice president of social clubs, said the space is intended to "keep Allen Fieldhouse active and relevant year-round." The Lawrence Journal-World reported that a local resident pays $650 up front and $110 a month.

Other properties charge for the club on top of the ticket. The Steelers sell the 1933 Club Presented by Heinz at Acrisure Stadium only to season-ticket holders, as a membership that does not include a game ticket. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the NetJets Club inside Stadium 1 sells an add-on pass for each session with an open bar and a chef-curated menu, and holders still need a session ticket to enter the grounds.

Outside sports, Soho House & Co reported 213,830 Soho House members across 46 houses at the end of September 2025, in its last quarterly report before the company went private in January. Membership revenue rose 14.3% from a year earlier to $122.7 million that quarter.

Our Fan Sentiment Index has climbed 17 points over 15 weeks and sits at 92 this week. In streaming, fans praised the services that are easy to cancel or rotate month to month, and several described swapping cable for a $12 antenna as living better for less. Adidas drew the most credit of any brand, for cheaper fan teamwear kits tied to elite teams. MSG Network earned praise for an original series with no gambling ads, and spend enthusiasm, the share of fans eager to spend on a team or sport, rose a point to 6%.

Jamie Morningstar → Chief Commercial Officer, Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx
Morningstar starts Oct. 19 in a new job running ticketing, partnerships and marketing for the organization's three teams, including the G League's Iowa Wolves. She spent more than five years as senior vice president of ticketing at Madison Square Garden Sports, where she led a ticketing staff of more than 130 for the Knicks and Rangers. The Timberwolves credit her with helping raise ticketing and premium revenue there by $163 million, or 39%, since 2021. Her first sports job was in inside sales with the Pistons, and she later held leadership roles with the Bucks and Thunder.

Steve Rogers → Chief Operating Officer, X Games
Rogers joins as the company grows the MoonPay X Games League and its year-round international events. He was chief operating officer of World Supercross and, before that, spent nearly a decade at Nitro Circus, where he led global live touring and properties such as Nitro World Games, Nitro Rallycross and Street League Skateboarding. The league played its first summer season this year and adds winter competition in 2027.

Mike Ernst → Vice President, Ticketing, Hometown Soccer Holdings
Ernst will build the ticketing operation for the clubs launched by Hometown Soccer, which MLS and KKR formed in April to handle MLS NEXT Pro's commercial business. He was most recently chief business officer of the NWSL's Chicago Stars, after more than a decade at Chicago Fire FC that ended with him as senior vice president of sales and revenue. Ashley Dabb, a former NLL chief marketing officer, joined the company the same day, as vice president of marketing. The company's first club, New Jersey MLS NEXT Pro, starts play at NEXUS in Middlesex County in July 2027.

Mitchell Moorer → Executive Associate Athletics Director for Player Management, University of Kentucky
Moorer takes a new Kentucky job overseeing player management in every sport, including roster building, revenue sharing and NIL. He comes from Michigan State, where he had been executive senior associate AD for student-athlete management and administration since August 2025. At SportsTrust Advisors, where he was a vice president and certified NFL agent, he negotiated more than $1.3 billion in player contracts after working as an associate attorney at Manier & Herod. J Batt, who hired him at Michigan State, became Kentucky's athletic director in June, and Jon Palumbo, Batt's deputy in East Lansing, has also followed Batt to Lexington.

Audrey Buchanan → Senior Director, Brand and Fan Engagement, LOVB Austin
Buchanan leads marketing and communications in LOVB Austin's new local front office, a four-person staff the club assembled ahead of the coming season. She had worked with the Austin team from the League One Volleyball office since its inaugural season, after a stint as assistant athletic director for marketing and fan engagement at Texas State. The club is owned and operated in partnership with Spurs Sports & Entertainment, G9 Ventures and Bolt Ventures. Its third season opens in December at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park.

Heidi Taliaferro → General Counsel, USA Volleyball
USA Volleyball hired Taliaferro, who begins Oct. 26, to lead its legal work on governance, transactions, property and policy as it prepares for the 2027 Women's Volleyball World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. She spent the past seven years as vice president and senior counsel at Healthpeak Properties, serving as lead counsel on a 141-property life science portfolio and working on its $21 billion merger with Physicians Realty Trust. Most of her earlier career was in private practice at Allen Matkins. At Stanford, she captained the volleyball team and won an NCAA title.

Director, Corporate Partnerships, Baltimore Orioles (Baltimore): Directs the Partnership Management team at Oriole Park at Camden Yards and runs the department's renewal planning, setting positioning, pricing parameters and negotiation strategy with the vice president and partnership development leadership. The director leads major partner meetings and executive business reviews in person and oversees delivery of every contractual asset a partner buys, including media, signage and hospitality. Success is measured first by renewal rate and revenue retention. Learn more and apply here.

Director, Premium Sales & Service, Washington Nationals (Washington): Leads premium sales and service at Nationals Park, including luxury suites, club seating and hospitality experiences, for home games and special events. Pricing, packaging and go-to-market strategy for all premium inventory fall to this director, as does oversight of the club's multi-year suite and club-seat contracts. The Nationals say they want this hire to set the standard for corporate hospitality in the nation's capital. Learn more and apply here.

Vice President, Event Operations, Athletics (Las Vegas): Oversees planning and execution for every event the stadium hosts, including games, concerts, corporate functions and community activities. Event management, guest experience and conversions all report to this executive, who is the main contact for promoters and organizers. The vice president owns event budgets, forecasts and financial reporting as well. Learn more and apply here.

Vice President, Global Communications, KC Current (Riverside, MO): Runs the club's international public relations as the Current expands abroad, building relationships with journalists and broadcasters in priority markets in Latin America and Europe. The portfolio covers Teal Rising Academy Brazil, HB Køge, international competitions and global player development, plus pitching the club's players, executives and ownership to foreign outlets. The vice president will promote the Current's international players to media in their home countries and travel extensively. Learn more and apply here.

Manager of Marketing, Carolina Hurricanes (Raleigh, NC): Supports the Hurricanes' growth marketing across paid ads, email, SMS, the mobile app and lead generation, writing and finalizing campaigns that sell tickets and merchandise and bring in new fans. The manager produces content for the team's television network and acts as the go-between for the merchandise, premium, community and ticketing departments. It's a seat on the marketing staff of the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Learn more and apply here.

Program Manager, Michigan Center for Innovation in Women's Sports, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI): Manages daily operations for Game Changers, a center the School of Kinesiology is establishing as a national hub for research on the health, performance, economic opportunity and well-being of female athletes. The manager turns leadership's priorities into operating plans and is the administrative contact for the advisory board and partners such as sports organizations, corporations and foundations. The person hired will build the center's procedures, project tools and recordkeeping from scratch. Learn more and apply here.

Development Officer, Athletics, University of South Florida (Tampa): Heads annual giving strategy and donor engagement for USF Athletics' Bulls Club and supports the club's operations. Direct marketing, personal solicitation, stewardship and donor benefits administration are the main tools, and the goal is growth in annual fund revenue and donor participation. Learn more and apply here.

Adidas × Ole Miss Athletics: Adidas becomes the official footwear, uniform, apparel and sideline partner of Ole Miss on July 1, 2027, under a seven-year contract that runs through June 2034. It will outfit all 18 varsity programs and, once the partnership begins, open its NIL Ambassador Network's affiliate marketing program to every Rebels athlete. The release says the NIL investment will far exceed what Ole Miss offered before.

Degree × NHL: Degree, Unilever's antiperspirant brand, signed a multiyear agreement to become the NHL's official deodorant partner in the United States. The package includes in-game, retail and player activations, along with digitally enhanced dasherboards. Additional fan programming will be announced during the season.

World Wide Technology × Saint Louis University: World Wide Technology is the first official jersey patch partner of Billiken Athletics, and its logo goes on every SLU team uniform this fall. The company will also advise the university on its use of data and AI. Jim Kavanaugh, WWT's co-founder and chief executive, and Joe Koenig, its president, are SLU graduates who played soccer for the Billikens.

USANA × University of Utah Athletics: USANA signed on as the University of Utah's official vitamin, mineral and nutrition partner. The Salt Lake City supplement maker will add more than 500 athletes from all 19 Utah sports to its sponsorship roster. Brent Neidig, USANA's chief commercial officer, said the arrangement is mostly about supplying products but includes "a little bit of NIL money."

First Community Credit Union × Rice University: Rice Stadium became First Community Stadium for the Oct. 3 game against UTSA under a 20-year naming rights and campus collaboration agreement with the Texas credit union. First Community is now the official financial institution of Rice Football, Rice Athletics and the Association of Rice Alumni. The stadium, opened in 1950, is due for a major renovation as part of the university's Gateway Project.

Nestlé × NBA: The NBA added three Nestlé brands, Milo, Nescau and Nesquik, as official partners under a multiyear international marketing agreement that covers 21 markets on four continents and takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. The brands will activate in NBA youth programs such as Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA and Her Time To Play, and on-pack promotions will offer chances to win NBA tickets and merchandise. Nestlé and the league describe it as the company's largest international brand collaboration to date.

COMSOL × Formula E: COMSOL is the official multiphysics partner of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship under a multiyear agreement. Engineers from the series and the software company will use COMSOL Multiphysics to model how a race car's electrical, thermal, structural and battery systems interact, and the two sides plan to explore digital twins and simulation apps. The news came Oct. 7 at the COMSOL Conference 2026 Boston, where Formula E's chief technology officer, Dan Cherowbrier, gave a keynote.

See you next Wednesday.