A new private equity fund focused on sports will be co-headquartered in Salt Lake City.
Dave Checketts, with a long history in the NBA, NHL and other sports, and The Cynosure Group, a private investment firm founded by the Eccles family, announced the creation of the Cynosure/Checketts Sports Capital Fund I, a private equity fund that will invest in sports opportunities over $1.2 billion.
With offices in New York and Salt Lake City, the partnership says it has several deals already in the pipeline.
“This partnership is a dream come true for me, reuniting me with the Eccles family, who were key in keeping the Jazz in Salt Lake City, bringing the Olympic Winter Games to Utah in 2002, and building tremendous intercollegiate athletic programs in the state,” Checketts said. “By joining forces today with The Cynosure Group, we are creating a powerhouse entity with assets that will make us competitive on a global scale and will give us great opportunities to help shape the future of the industry right away.”
“We have known Dave Checketts for nearly half a century, since the years when our family’s bank provided the financing for the Utah Jazz, and we’ve always admired his achievements and integrity,” said Spencer P. Eccles, managing director of The Cynosure Group. “This venture brings together Dave’s storied career in the business of sport and his remarkable team, with Cynosure’s disciplined investment process and financial horsepower. We’re confident that Cynosure/Checketts will quickly establish itself as a leading investor in this space.”
Cynosure/Checketts Sports Capital’s targeted investments will include professional and collegiate sports teams; sports leagues and governing bodies; stadiums, arenas and other sports facilities; sports technology and innovation companies; and media rights and broadcasting ventures.
“Sports represents a unique asset class with tremendous growth potential,” said Randal Quarles, chairman of The Cynosure Group and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. “By partnering with Dave Checketts, whose expertise in building value across multiple sports properties is unmatched, we are positioning ourselves to capitalize on the most compelling opportunities in this dynamic market.”
Checketts has been in the sports realm for four decades. Among his roles have been president and CEO of the Utah Jazz from 1983 to 1990; president of the New York Knicks from 1991 to 1994; and president and CEO of Madison Square Garden from 1994 to 2001, which involved the Knicks, hockey’s New York Rangers, the WNBA’s New York Liberty, MSG Networks and Radio City Music Hall.
As an owner, Checketts won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues NHL franchise and an MLS Cup with the Real Salt Lake MLS team, which he founded. Checketts also served as chairman and CEO of Legends Hospitality Management, and now serves as director of the Burnley Football Club in the United Kingdom, where he is also a part-owner.
As an investor, he is managing partner of Checketts Partners Investment Management, a private equity firm founded in 2011 and focused on sports, media and entertainment investments. Funds under its management hold significant stakes in Gravity Media/EMG, a global provider of broadcast services and media solutions for the sports and entertainment industry, and Rhone Apparel, an activewear and wellness brand founded and controlled by the Checketts family.
Founded in 2013, The Cynosure Group is a private investment firm backed by Utah’s Eccles family and named after the ship that transported young David Eccles to the U.S. in the 1860s. The firm manages billions of dollars for over 100 family offices, university endowments and institutional investors, and across multiple private investment funds with a global investor base. With offices in Salt Lake City and New York, Cynosure operates across four major disciplines: private equity and debt, foundation and endowment management, ultra-high net worth wealth advice, and quantitative liquid asset strategies. The firm was listed at No. 4 in Newsweek’s 2024 ranking of 15,000 investment firms across the United States.
Spencer P. Eccles is a co-founder and managing director of Cynosure and a fifth-generation member of the Eccles family. A former international alpine ski racer, he is a former executive director of the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development and currently also serves on the board of the Alta Ski Lifts company, chairs a statewide economic planning effort for the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, and is a co-founder of Utah Development and Construction.
Before founding Cynosure, Quarles was a longtime partner of private equity firm The Carlyle Group. Earlier in his career, he was an undersecretary of the Treasury, executive director of the International Monetary Fund, and a partner at the international law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell.