On Location builds out offerings with travel service acquisition
By Don Muret, Staff Writer, Sports Business Journal
Hospitality firm On Location Experiences has swiftly added to its portfolio by acquiring Anthony Travel, the top provider of travel services for college sports.
The deal is the first for On Location Experiences since John Collins became CEO in December, and greatly expands the company’s menu of event-related experiences for clients while allowing it to enter into new segments.
Anthony Travel, a family-owned company founded in Dallas in 1989, has deals with 67 schools for which it books airline, bus travel and hotel rooms. Its business extends overseas for college football games in Ireland and summer basketball trips to Europe.
In addition, Anthony Travel serves as Disney Sports’ official travel partner at its sports complex in Orlando. The agency’s amateur sports clients include the U.S. Soccer Federation and the New York Road Runners, operator of the New York City Marathon.
For On Location Experiences, co-owned by Bruin Sports Capital, RedBird Capital, the NFL and rock star Jon Bon Jovi, the deal expands its reach far beyond hospitality at the major league level. Collins sees the merger as a nice cultural fit as his firm builds upon its business of producing high-end Super Bowl tailgates and parties, such as the Vanity Fair Super Bowl Party in San Francisco the night before Super Bowl 50.
The deal will expand the range of On Location Experiences capabilities, getting it into the college space, and by adding a large provider of travel services, it will allow it to build on opportunities for its current client base — domestically and internationally. Collins has talked about building out premium hospitality experiences across a variety of sports and entertainment events after Bon Jovi sold his Runaway Tours business to On Location Experiences, and adding a travel service should expedite that.
Separately, On Location Experiences is in talks with I Heart Radio for potentially partnering on hospitality for the annual Las Vegas music festival produced by the Internet radio giant. To date, no deal is done, but it’s one more example for how On Location could broaden its reach across all forms of entertainment, Collins said.
In the college space, Anthony Travel enjoys long-term relationships with schools such as Notre Dame, Stanford and Texas. Working together with On Location Experiences, they will combine their expertise in sports travel and hospitality to build a comprehensive experience for their customers, said John Anthony, Anthony Travel’s owner.
The deal took about two months to complete after On Location Experiences first approached Anthony Travel about merging their companies, said Collins, who came on board midway through those discussions after spending nine years with the NHL.
“John and [his wife] Katie are great people and stand out as a family business,” Collins said. “Even more impressive is the depth and quality of the relationships with their schools.”
As a result of the deal, Anthony becomes a shareholder in On Location Services and he owns a seat on the company’s board of directors. Otherwise, nothing changes for Anthony Travel in terms of the services it provides, Anthony said. The agency and its 250 employees will continue to do business as they always have, but with a bigger engine driving the train.
“We have a lot of wind at our back working with the right people and brands,” said Anthony, a 1986 Notre Dame graduate. “We sell more hotel rooms and airline tickets than anybody in college sports.”
Anthony gravitated to the travel business after becoming disenchanted as a CPA. His sister was a travel agent, and after learning the ropes, he signed his first deal in 1989 with Notre Dame’s football team and marching band. Two years later, Anthony Travel signed an agreement covering the entire school.
Since that time, its business has grown internationally. One highlight was the Notre Dame-Navy game in 2012 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin that drew 35,000 Americans. Anthony Travel handled accommodations for more than 10,000 fans traveling to the game.
Two years later, Anthony Travel teamed with Dublin’s historic Croke Park to handle travel arrangements for the Central Florida-Penn State game.
On Sept. 3, Boston College plays Georgia Tech at Aviva Stadium, and the travel arrangements are being organized by Irish-American Events Ltd., a business entity formed by Anthony Travel and a local partner. All told, Anthony Travel has worked on four college football games in Ireland dating to 1996, the first time Notre Dame played Navy in that country.
Read the official press release.
