Ipswich CEO: Will invest 30 million in training base in League One often 30,000 people come to games

On October 22, the Premier League promotion of Ipswich CEO Mark Ashton to TA interview, talking about the team related topics。

Q: How did the deal (to buy the club) come about?

Mark Ashton, Ipswich CEO: About five or six years ago，I met PSPRS(Arizona Public Service Employees Retirement System) and Three Lions (other investors in 2021) at the USL(a league in the two tiers below the American Club System) conference，The latter include Burke Barkai and Brett Johnson。They had seen my talk about how to run a football club - when I was CEO of Bristol City。

Over the next few years, we kept in touch。They looked at some clubs that I thought were overrated, so I gave them some advice as a friend。In the end, all roads led to Ipswich and they asked me to join and it was a tough decision but I accepted。

We were probably the first club funded by an American state pension fund。They saw sports as an area they wanted to be involved in, but they handed over the management of their investment to another company, ORG。

We spent the first 18 months getting to know this beautiful, traditional football club。It has declined, with ticket sales of only 12,000-13,000 (while the stadium has more than double that), no asset value on the ground and languishing in mid-table League One。It's a mess.。But we believe Ipswich Town has the size and ability to become a sustainable Premier League club - if run properly。

I have a rule about ownership: you own it, I run it, and the two don't cross。My management team and I presented the plan to the board。The board [can] challenge it, but once they approve it, the board can't have the manager's mobile number, can't go to the training base, can't go into the dressing room。All of this is in writing。

The board has done an excellent job in giving us oxygen。It's one of our superpowers。

I have worked in some clubs before where the owners like to interfere。If you let me fly the plane, I'll crash it。But sometimes rich people come into our highly complex industry thinking they can manage it from day one, and you see them fail。

Q: So, what's the plan?

Ashton: First, we looked for a young manager, Kieran McKenna [assistant first-team coach at Manchester United at the time, who had previously worked in their academy].。It's what I've always done。I appointed Eddie Boothroyd at Watford and gave Brendan Rodgers his first job。Markie McKay。Sean Dyche, Michael Appleton of Oxford United。Lee Johnson of Bristol City。They all have very similar DNA。

On the field, we started to establish a specific operating model。We have to educate the fan base and re-educate a very important association of former players - Mick Mills, Terry Butcher, Russell Osman, Matt Holland and the list goes on。They are all great people and we love our history, but we have to focus on the future。

We held seminars and dinners to explain that McKenna wouldn't play 4-4-2 or direct football。He will play a different style of football and we need to take the fans, ex-players and media together to build something in League One that will eventually take us to the Premier League.。

We put in new grass at Portman Road with American funds and we put in new grass at the training base。We built bit by bit, but we built a rocket ship that increased jersey sales from 10,000 a year when we joined to 100,000 this year。We increased season ticket holders from more than 10,000 to 2.2万人。We often play in League One in front of 30,000 people。

We built a young, hungry team and rebuilt our community foundation。We re-engaged with a local [award-winning pop star] Ed Sheeran who became our jersey sponsor and we built something special。

Q: Phil, why did you choose Ipswich?

Phil Ciano, Managing Partner and General Counsel, Bright Path: I've been in professional sports for 25 years, working as an attorney, a licensed agent, and helping form consortia to invest in the four major U.S. sports leagues。

Three years ago, Jack (Zano) and I, along with our third partner Jim laporte, founded Bright Path to do something different。There is plenty of capital in professional sports right now, but what is sorely lacking is strategic capital, especially diversified strategic capital in the form of Native Americans。

After being involved in several NFL auctions, we got to know them when we approached ORG about a potential Major League Baseball team investment。They have no interest in a baseball deal but say what Mark just talked about, they have an investment in an English football club that has just been promoted to the Championship but are looking for investment。

Jack and I have been studying global football for about six months。We travelled all over the world - Brazil, Italy, France, Belgium, Portugal。We're looking for the right opportunity。We don't invest in assets, we invest in people。

Mark came to the US in March 2023 to visit ORG and some American teams to see how they operate and we had the chance to spend some quality time with him。Jack and I knew we had the right person, and now we needed to go and look at this asset。

A month later we were invited to Ipswich Town and, thank God, in my first English football game I saw the team get promotion。I've been to Game 7 of the World Series and Game 7 of the NBA Finals, been to the Super Bowl, but I've never experienced anything like that。

After finding this team, we set out on a mission。We raised about 1.200 million pounds -- all from American investors。Someone with experience in the Big Four leagues，Like Mark Lasry，He owned the Milwaukee Bucks and won the World championship (2021).，The Viola family，They own the (NHL's) Florida Panthers，Just won the Stanley Cup (their league title) four months ago.，And the Simon family.，They (also) own ice hockey teams。

We've all done these things in America，But we want to be from other people in European football，Learn from the mistakes made in English football in particular: let Mark and his management team do what they do best，That is to build, develop and create value in football clubs，And let's do what we do best，That is to bring strategic capital and advice。

Jack and I were there on May 4 to see the team promoted to the Premier League。As Mark said, it's a rocket, and we've been hanging on to its wings。

Q: What is the current ownership structure?Looks like 50%, 45%, 5% split between the fund, Bright Path and Three Lions, right?

Ashton: You're right。

Question: OK, I think that's all the information I can get!When the investment was announced, the valuation of what was then a Championship club did spark some discussion。But the press release said the investment was "high..."That suggests there is a range, depending on which division Ipswich are in。What was your valuation when you invested?

Zano: We raised $1 for Ipswich Town.£200 million in committed funding, which will be delivered through Gamechanger。It's over a period of time, as the club needs it to grow。You infer a high valuation...

Q: That's the opinion in the industry。

Zano: We would say, based on where we are right now, it's low!

Question: When the deal was announced, some people compared it to other clubs that were available for sale or recently sold and said 2.A valuation of £500m is a lot of money。

Zano: Not a single pound that Bright Path [one of the shareholders] has put in has left the club。That's not the case at other clubs。Our money is going into infrastructure, players, management, data - it's all moving the club forward。

Question: Got it。Why choose European football?

Ciano: Team valuations in the United States continue to soar, but there is no correlation between winning and losing。If I think of my beloved Cleveland Browns (NFL team), the current owner bought them for $1 billion (in 2012) and now they are worth $4.5 billion, despite constant losses。It makes no sense.。

Half of the owners of Premier League clubs now have ties to the United States。So what's the appeal of global soccer for U.S. investors?You can actually create value through your wins and losses。You can link value to performance。

The second thing is that football is global。Yes, the NFL has come to London and is now going to other countries。Jack and I were in London in June for the MLB Series [at West Ham United's London Stadium] and it was beautiful。These are great initiatives。But football touches every corner of the globe。And it's so ingrained in the culture that I think it's twice as commercially valuable as any of the big four American sports。

I look at Ipswich Town and see a club with an incredible history, two of the greatest managers [Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson], a die-hard fan base。When we were resurfacing the stadium, Mark told me we had to have a ceremony on the field, which reminded me of places like Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, in the heartland of America, where the team is in your DNA (as a fan).。

So, you will continue to see investment in soccer in the United States。And Ipswich, with someone like Ed Sheeran helping them, have a great opportunity to grow globally。

Question: Your first point suggests that you like it because there is danger (there is no relegation in American sports) - which is fun - but it also means that you may lose。

Siano: Yes, sports and investing are both risky。No risk, no reward。So we manage risk。We will rise and fall with Mark and his management team, and we will support them with every penny and ounce of expertise we can give。We like where we are。

Ashton: When we talked to all those potential investors, what really stood out was how much they liked the danger。

Question: They like the ascent!What comes next in terms of the club's financial priorities?

Ashton: The next project is to invest 25 to 30 million pounds in the training base。We invested £10 million in Portman Road this summer。We've been to Manchester City, we've been to West Ham and the crowds are huge, but the atmosphere can't compare to Portman Road。The atmosphere here is great。We have big plans for the stadium, including a possible expansion in due course。

We have agreed to buy the land behind the Cobbold stand to make that happen, but like everything it is about timing。We will lose 4,000 fans for 18 months during the reconstruction。

Another major expansion will be our relationship with Ed Sheeran。You'll also see us in the United States at some point, probably in some kind of collaboration with him。

Q: It sounds like you guys are leaning towards a combination of sport and entertainment, but of course he's a very real Ipswich fan。

Ashton: 100% yes。He is a local boy who wants to do what is best for his club and community。Our relationship started because he didn't like having a company on our shirt [as the main sponsor] and he didn't think it was in line with what the club was about。So he has sponsored our shirts in League One, the Championship and this season。

He decided not to sponsor the shirt next season and let's find a bigger sponsor, but he replaced that support in another way and that was by buying equity。He invested millions as a formal shareholder。You'll see a further relationship develop with merchandise and concerts。He's part of the family。

Siano: The timing is good for us because with the 2026 World Cup coming to the United States, combined with Ed's global appeal, it's a huge opportunity to increase the profile of Ipswich。And with our relationships with the big teams here and the entertainment industry, that's only going to grow。