OCBJ INSIDER

European soccer got thrown into turmoil last week after plans for a so-called “Super League”—a new type of competition initially consisting of 11 of Europe’s best and most storied teams, and also Tottenham Hotspur—were announced, and quickly walked back after furor from fans, players and governments alike.

Much of the angst was centered on the league’s U.S.-influenced setup, a largely monopolistic structure that would limit competition to the founding teams and a few others, and funnel billions more to clubs that are already among the world’s most valuable sporting franchises. No surprise that many of the clubs that initially signed on to the Super League count American owners who also own NFL, NBA and MLB teams.

Not all U.S. soccer owners are looking to be part of the Goliath consortium. An affiliate of Jeff Moorad’s MSP Sports Capital this month quietly invested in FC Augsburg, a mid-tier club in the famed German Bundesliga. The deal follows similar investments over the past two years by MSP in lesser-known soccer teams in Spain, Portugal, and Belgium.

While a big soccer (and Tottenham) fan, Newport Beach’s Moorad—a former sports agent who was previously a general partner and chief executive of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and was also CEO of the San Diego Padres—says he’s spending more time these days on a larger MSP investment in another sport, the McLaren Racing team.
 
The Formula 1 team, where Moorad has a director’s spot, is reportedly valued at nearly $800 million and putting up strong results this year.
 
“We’re on fire,” he said last week.

How hot has the sports collectibles sector gotten over the past year?
 
Professional Sports Authenticator, a unit of Santa Ana’s Collectors Universe that verifies the authenticity of baseball cards and other sports memorabilia, had to temporarily suspend some of its services last month because of the influx of hobbyists sending in their sports cards to be officially graded.

“The reality is that we recently received more cards in three days than we did during the previous three months,” it said in a statement. Reports indicate that some hobbyists got wind of an impending price increase and wanted to lock in the lower prices.

One solution to the company’s problem: technology. PSA last week said it was buying Genamint, a N.Y.-based software company whose technology “analyzes each trading card in real-time and is able to provide diagnostics, measurements, and detect alterations or other changes made to a card’s surface.”

“We’re not eliminating humans from the grading process,” said Nat Turner, executive chairman of Collectors Universe. “We’re improving the process by adding technology.”

More employees do appear likely for the company, which continues to expand its area footprint.
 
A newly struck lease means Collectors Universe now occupies about 185,000 square feet at its Pacific Center HQ, more than triple its space a year ago. See page 11 for more on the lease, one of the larger office expansion deals in OC of late.

Collector’s Universe had been a mainstay on our list of the area’s top public companies, but a Turner-led investment group took the company private in February in a roughly $700 million deal.

Other investors in the new ownership group include athletes Kevin Durant and Larry Fitzgerald, the family office of NY Mets owner Steven Cohen, and card collector and owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks Ken Kendrick, who worked with Moorad during the latter’s tenure with the club more than a decade ago.