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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports investment |
| Founded | 2001 (2001) inDelaware, U.S. |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts ,U.S. |
| Divisions | Fenway Sports Management |
| Subsidiaries | Boston Red Sox Fenway Park Fenway South Liverpool Football Club Pittsburgh Penguins RFK Racing (50%) Boston Common Golf Worcester Red Sox (10%) Fenway Sports Management Fenway Sports Group Real Estate Fenway Music Company New England Sports Network (80%) |
| Website | fenwaysportsgroup |
Fenway Sports Group Holdings, LLC (FSG), is an American multinational sports holding conglomerate which ownsMajor League Baseball'sBoston Red Sox,Premier League'sLiverpool,National Hockey League'sPittsburgh Penguins,NASCAR'sRFK Racing, andTGL's Boston Common Golf.
FSG was founded in 2001 asNew England Sports Ventures (NESV) whenJohn W. Henry joined forces withTom Werner,Les Otten,the New York Times Company and other investors to successfully bid for the Red Sox. NESV formally announced its name change to Fenway Sports Group in March 2011.[1]
In addition to owning the Red Sox, Liverpool and the Penguins, the Boston-basedlimited liability company also owns the home stadiums for both the Red Sox (Fenway Park) and Liverpool (Anfield), as well asFenway Sports Management, and 80% of theNew England Sports Network (NESN).
FSG has been praised for its successful emergence as a sophisticated international sportsconglomerate.[2] However, in 2019, FSG was criticized for an attempt by Liverpool to trademark "Liverpool", which was turned down because of the "geographical significance" of the name.[3] In 2021, FSG was embroiled in a controversy over its attempts, together with the ownership groups of eleven other soccer clubs, to create aEuropean Super League. In doing so, FSG sought to emulate elements of theNorth American sports model, creating a competition with strictly limited entry beyond a proposed 15 founding member clubs and appearing to largely eliminate theEuropean system of meritocratic promotion and relegation. Principal owner John W. Henry later issued an apology in which he took sole responsibility for the club's involvement in the venture, which subsequently collapsed.[4][5][6]
New England Sports Ventures, LLC, was formed in accordance with Delaware State Law in 2001.[7] The company registered to do business inMassachusetts in the same year.[8]
The Boston Red Sox are aprofessional baseball team based inBoston,Massachusetts and a member of theMajor League Baseball’sAmerican League Eastern Division. Founded in1901 as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's homeballpark has beenFenway Park since1912. The "Red Sox" name was chosen by the team owner,John I. Taylor, around1908, following previous Boston teams that had been known as the "Red Stockings." Boston was a dominant team in the new league, defeating thePittsburgh Pirates in the firstWorld Series in1903[9] and winning four more championships by1918.[10]
In2002, the Red Sox were sold by theYawkey Trust to Fenway Sports Group.[11] They had endured one of the longest championshipdroughts in baseball history, called by some the "Curse of the Bambino" after its alleged beginning with the Red Sox's sale ofBabe Ruth to the rival Yankees in 1919, an 86-year wait before the team's sixth World Championship in2004. Red Sox history has also been marked by the team's intenserivalry with theNew York Yankees, arguably the fiercest and most historic in North American professional sports. Since2003, the Red Sox have been perennial playoff contenders and have won four World Series, emerging as one of the most successful major league baseball teams of the 21st century. Ownership has recently taken more interest in outside ventures as the Red Sox payroll is now among the middle of the league.[12]
Fenway Park is abaseball park nearKenmore Square inBoston,Massachusetts. Located at 4Jersey Street, it has served as the home ballpark of theBoston Red Soxbaseball club since it opened in 1912 and is the oldestMajor League Baseballstadium currently in use. It is, along with Chicago'sWrigley Field, one of the pair of the original"jewel box" standard ballparks that are still in use. Considered to be one of the best-known sports venues in the U.S., Fenway Park became the oldest venue used by a professional sports team in the United States in 1999 when theDetroit Tigers moved out ofTiger Stadium which opened the same day as Fenway Park.[13]
Fenway South is the spring training base of the Boston Red Sox inFort Myers, Florida. The purpose-built training and player development complex is used year-round by the Red Sox and its minor league farm teams—Worcester Red Sox,Portland Sea Dogs,Greenville Drive, andSalem Red Sox—and includes an 11,000-seat stadium and an additional six baseball fields together with training and medical facilities. As the spring training home of Red Sox, it replaced the nearby City of Palms Park. The stadium within Fenway South is calledJetBlue Park, through sponsorship byJetBlue, which has maintained major operations at Boston'sLogan International Airport since 2004.[14]
Having previously partnered with the English clubFulham,[15][16] on October 6, 2010, FSG agreed to buyLiverpool[17] from ownersGeorge N. Gillett, Jr. andTom Hicks, after the board voted 3–2 to oust them from the club.[18][19] It purchased through a subsidiary, "N.E.S.V. I, LLC" (incorporated in Delaware) and UK based holding company "UKSV Holdings Company Limited." Liverpool won the2018–19 UEFA Champions League,[20] having finished runners-up in theprevious year's competition. They also won the2019–20 Premier League and the2024–25 Premier League.[21]
In 2019, FSG was criticized for a failed attempt by Liverpool to trademark the name "Liverpool".[22][3] The supporters' groupSpirit of Shankly (SOS) campaigned against the move.[22] When theIntellectual Property Office refused the application because of the "geographical significance" of the name, a spokesman for SOS underlined that the name "belongs to the city of Liverpool and its people."[3]
In 2021, FSG was embroiled in a controversy over its attempts, along with the owners of a few other soccer clubs, to create a European Super League. In doing so, FSG wanted to copy the NFL franchise model, creating a league without relegation and promotion, and ending the existing league pyramid system.[4][5] Whilst widely reported, the suggestion of removing the involved clubs from the domestic competition and its associated pyramid were false. The proposed league would take the place of UEFA competitions in the soccer calendar following a similar format of midweek fixtures followed by knockout rounds, albeit with a selective membership.[23] The league ultimately collapsed following public outcry and criticism from media outlets,[24] with senior figures from clubs including John Henry making public apologies to fans.
In late 2022, FSG expressed its eagerness to consider new shareholders following the reports that the club was up for sale.[25]
Anfield is a football stadium in the city of Liverpool, England. Built in 1884 and originally the home ofEverton, the stadium has been home to Liverpool since it was formed in 1892. FSG purchased Anfield along with Liverpool in October 2010. The stadium has undergone several expansion projects since.[26]
On November 29, 2021, FSG announced its intent to purchase a controlling stake in thePittsburgh Penguins of theNational Hockey League.[27] On December 31, 2021, they officially took over as majority owners of the Penguins, and on April 13, 2022, it was announced that the Penguins would play theBoston Bruins in theNHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park on January 2, 2023.[28]
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (formerly Roush Racing and Roush Fenway Racing) is a racing team competing inNASCAR racing. As one of NASCAR's largest premier racing teams, Roush runs the No. 6 (currently driven by Team's Co-ownerBrad Keselowski), the No. 17 (currently driven byChris Buescher), and the No. 60 (currently driven byRyan Preece)Ford Mustangs in theNASCAR Cup Series and previously competed in theXfinity Series (1992–2018),NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (1996–2009) andARCA RE/MAX Series.[29]
Roush first entered NASCAR competition in 1988 but had competed and won championships in various drag racing and sports car racing series since the mid-1960s. The racing business was originally a small branch of co-ownerJack Roush's successful automotive engineering and road-racing equipment business based inLivonia, Michigan.[30]
On February 14, 2007, FSG purchased 50% of Roush Racing to create a new corporate entity, Roush Fenway Racing.[17]
On June 26, 2023, it was announced that FSG would own one of six teams in theTMRW Golf League, a high-tech golf league created byTiger Woods andRory McIlroy. The team will represent Boston and the greater New England area.[31]
In December 2007, Fenway Sports Group agreed to purchase theSalem Avalanche of theCarolina League, Single A Advanced affiliate of theHouston Astros with the anticipation of converting the team to aBoston-affiliated club. In 2009, theSalem, Virginia-based team adopted the Red Sox moniker, including a logo and color scheme to match their parent club. Since Fenway acquired the club, it has had a relative amount of success, claiming one league title, two division titles, and making three playoff appearances.[32]
Fenway Sports Management (FSM) was established by FSG in 2004. It styles itself as a "new kind of sports marketing agency", created by FSG to expand its footprint beyond its most famous holdings, the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball and Fenway Park. FSM entered into an exclusive sponsorship sales agreement withMLB Advanced Media andBoston College's major intercollegiate sports in 2004[33] and as of 2014 counts the Red Sox, Liverpool,LeBron James,[34]Johnny Manziel,[35] BC, Roush Fenway Racing, MLB.com, the PGA Tour'sDeutsche Bank Championship, NESN, theWorcester Red Sox and theSalem Red Sox among its client base.
TheNew England Sports Network (NESN) is a regionalcable television network that covers the sixNew England states exceptFairfield County, Connecticut andSouthbury, Connecticut, a town inNew Haven County that is covered byNew York City sports networks. FSG is NESN's majority owner (80%) and theBoston Bruins own the remaining 20%. Although it mainly broadcasts non-national Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins games, NESN also features minor league baseball, regional college sports including college hockey games on Friday nights, various outdoor shows, and sports talk shows featuring the sports columnists ofThe Boston Globe, as that paper is also owned by John Henry.[36]
On August 31, 2023, Fenway Sports Group announced they would be purchasingAT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh on October 2, 2023, and rebranding it toSportsNet Pittsburgh. The move came after AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh parent companyWarner Bros. Discovery Sports announced they were leaving theregional sports network business.[37]
John W. Henry is the principal owner, holding an estimated 40 percent of the stock in FSG. ChairmanTom Werner controls the second-largest block of shares.[38]The Boston Globe (owned by Henry) reported in March 2021 thatRedBird Capital Partners, a New York private investment firm, had acquired a $750 million stake in Fenway Sports Group to become its third-largest partner, with Boston-based asset manager Michael S. Gordon, president of FSG, holding the fourth-largest share.[38][39][40] On March 31, 2021, FSG officially announced thatNBA starLeBron James and his longtime business partners,Maverick Carter andPaul Wachter — along with Boston Red Sox CEOSam Kennedy — had also acquired partnerships in FSG.[41]
Partners in Fenway Sports Group LLC as of 2025 include:[41][42]
Billy Hogan is listed as CEO of FSG International, Julie Swinehart aschief financial officer, and Ed Weiss as executive vice president/corporate strategy and general counsel.[42][45]
Fenway Sports Group appointed formerLiverpool Football Club sporting directorMichael Edwards as the chief executive of football in March 2024.[46]
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