In December 2021, the National Hockey League did something it had resisted for decades: it opened the door to private equity. Within months, Arctos Partners had acquired stakes in the Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning. By early 2026, at least five NHL teams have confirmed private equity investments, with more deals in the pipeline. The league that once prided itself on traditional ownership structures has become Wall Street’s newest playground—and team valuations are skyrocketing as a result. The NHL’s embrace of private equity mirrors a broader trend across professional sports.
This isn’t just about providing liquidity to team owners—it’s about fundamentally reshaping the economics of professional hockey. Private equity brings capital, expertise, and a ruthless focus on maximizing returns. The question is whether that’s good for the sport, or whether it’s the beginning of a financialization process that will prioritize profits over fans, players, and the game itself.
The Rules of Engagement
The NHL’s private equity framework, approved in December 2021, is structured to balance owner liquidity with league control:
Maximum Equity Limits:
- A single private equity fund can purchase up to 20% of a single NHL team
- A team cannot sell more than 30% of its total equity to private equity investors
- One fund can own equity in a maximum of five NHL clubs
Investment Requirements:
- Minimum investment: $20 million
- Minimum fund size: $750 million in committed capital
- Minimum hold period: five years (with exceptions for funds exiting as part of a control transaction)
Control and Governance:
- Private equity investments are typically passive, meaning they do not convey governance rights
- Funds generally receive only quarterly and annual financial statements
- They are often prohibited from attending board meetings
- NHL team control owners have mandatory drag-along rights, allowing them to compel private equity investors to participate in a control sale
- Funds cannot sell more than one team interest simultaneously unless selling their entire portfolio
These rules are similar to the NBA and MLS (both allow up to 20% ownership by a single fund and 30% total PE equity), but more permissive than the NFL, which limits total PE equity to 10% and has a longer minimum hold period of six years.
The Players: Who’s Buying In?
Arctos Partners has emerged as the dominant player in NHL private equity. Founded in 2019 as a private investment platform specifically dedicated to professional sports, Arctos holds stakes in:
- Minnesota Wild (10% stake acquired in 2022)
- Tampa Bay Lightning (30% stake: 20% in 2022, additional 10% in 2023, with a partial exit reported)
- New Jersey Devils (via Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment)
- Pittsburgh Penguins (via Fenway Sports Group)
- Utah Hockey Club (formerly Arizona Coyotes, via Smith Entertainment Group)
RedBird Capital also has an investment in the Pittsburgh Penguins through Fenway Sports Group. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) acquired an approximate 5% stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Washington Capitals, in July 2023. This marked QIA as the first sovereign wealth fund to own equity in a “Big Four” North American sports franchise. It’s important to note that private equity ownership is not always publicly disclosed, so other teams may have institutional investments not explicitly listed.
Why Now? The Perfect Storm
Several factors converged to make 2021-2025 the perfect window for private equity to enter the NHL:
Soaring Team Valuations
As of 2025, Forbes estimated NHL clubs to be worth an average of $3.8 billion, more than double their value over the previous five years. The Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and Montreal Canadiens are among the most valued NHL teams.
The average NHL club valuation in 2024 was $1.31 billion, a significant increase from two decades prior. This escalation has created a shrinking pool of individual investors capable of purchasing significant stakes, making private equity an attractive source of capital.
COVID-19 Financial Pressures: The pandemic devastated live sports revenue. Teams needed capital to weather the storm, and private equity provided it without requiring owners to cede control.
Competitive Pressure from Other Leagues: The NBA, MLB, and MLS had already opened their doors to private equity. The NHL risked falling behind in the competition for institutional capital.
Ownership Succession Challenges: Many NHL owners are aging, and their heirs may not want to maintain ownership. Private equity provides a mechanism for partial liquidity without triggering a full sale.
Capital for Growth: Teams need capital for stadium renovations, technological advancements, and international expansion. Private equity offers a way to fund these initiatives without taking on traditional debt.
The Arctos Model: Sports as an Asset Class
Arctos Partners represents a new breed of sports investor. Unlike traditional private equity firms that buy companies, restructure them, and flip them for a profit, Arctos positions itself as a long-term partner to sports franchise owners. The firm’s co-founder, David J. O’Connor, has extensive experience in sports business operations, having previously served as President and CEO of Madison Square Garden Company, which owned the New York Knicks (NBA) and New York Rangers (NHL). Arctos’s strategy is to:
- Provide liquidity to control owners who want to monetize a portion of their stake without selling the team
- Offer value-add capabilities and data-driven insights to support franchise operations
- Build a diversified portfolio across multiple leagues (NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, NASCAR, NWSL)
- Hold investments for the long term, betting on continued appreciation in team valuations
The firm’s portfolio extends far beyond the NHL:
- NBA: Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz
- MLB: Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
- MLS: Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake
- NASCAR: Joe Gibbs Racing, RFK Racing
- NWSL: Utah Royals
This diversification is key to Arctos’s model. By investing across leagues and teams, the firm reduces idiosyncratic risk while maintaining exposure to the secular growth trend in sports valuations.
The Impact on Team Valuations
Private equity investment is seen as a significant factor driving up the valuations of NHL teams and all sports leagues globally. The influx of institutional capital provides liquidity for team owners and fuels future growth for the leagues, leading to continued increases in team valuations.
The Pittsburgh Penguins provide a case study. Fenway Sports Group acquired the Penguins in late 2021 for $900 million. In December 2025, the team was sold to the Hoffmann family for $1.7 billion—nearly double the price in just four years. FSG remained a minority shareholder for a period, demonstrating how private equity can facilitate ownership transitions while maintaining continuity.
This appreciation isn’t unique to the Penguins. Across the NHL, team values have surged as private equity has entered the market, creating a virtuous cycle: higher valuations attract more institutional capital, which drives valuations even higher.
The Concerns: What Could Go Wrong?
Not everyone is celebrating private equity’s arrival in professional sports. Critics raise several concerns:
Short-Term Profit Maximization
Private equity firms are ultimately accountable to their limited partners (LPs), who expect returns. While Arctos positions itself as a long-term investor, the pressure to maximize profits could lead to decisions that prioritize revenue over fan experience—higher ticket prices, more advertising, reduced investment in player development.
Passive Investment Limitations
Because private equity stakes are passive, funds have limited ability to influence team operations. They can’t force changes in management, strategy, or spending. This raises the question: if they can’t add operational value, are they simply financial passengers benefiting from league-wide growth?
Concentration Risk
Arctos’s ability to invest in up to five NHL teams (and multiple teams across other leagues) creates potential conflicts of interest. What happens when two Arctos-backed teams compete for a free agent, or face each other in the playoffs? The league’s rules are designed to prevent this, but the optics are problematic.
Exit Strategy Uncertainty
Private equity funds have finite lifespans (typically 10-12 years). When Arctos’s funds reach the end of their life, they’ll need to exit their investments. If team valuations have plateaued or declined, this could force sales at inopportune times, creating instability.
Financialization of Sports
The broader concern is that private equity’s entry represents the financialization of sports—the transformation of teams from community institutions into financial assets. This could erode the emotional connection between fans and teams, turning sports into just another investment vehicle for Wall Street.
The Hoffmann Family has entered into a formal agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Fenway Sports Group.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 19, 2025
Full Release: https://t.co/xM4hO3NJcG pic.twitter.com/3nllwHBamy
2) The Seattle Kraken
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) May 4, 2024
Marshawn Lynch owns <1% of the NHL expansion team...
NHL teams have 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 the S&P 500 for the last 30 years.
The team is now worth over $1B 📈 pic.twitter.com/pR1ahr4aNe
The NFL’s Cautious Approach
The NFL’s recent approval of private equity stakes provides an interesting contrast to the NHL’s approach. The NFL released a list of vetted funds eligible to invest, which included:
- Arctos Partners
- Ares Management Corp.
- Sixth Street Partners
- A consortium comprising Blackstone Inc., Carlyle Group Inc., CVC Capital Partners, Dynasty Equity Partners Management LLC, and Ludis Capital
But the NFL’s rules are far more restrictive:
- Total PE equity limited to 10% (vs. 30% in the NHL)
- Single fund maximum of 10% (vs. 20% in the NHL)
- Minimum hold period of six years (vs. five years in the NHL)
The NFL’s caution reflects its position as the most valuable sports league in the world. The league doesn’t need private equity capital as desperately as the NHL, and it’s willing to move slowly to protect its brand and ownership structure.
Necessary Evolution or Faustian Bargain?
The NHL’s embrace of private equity is a pragmatic response to the economic realities of modern professional sports. Team valuations have reached levels that make it difficult for individuals to acquire or maintain significant stakes. Private equity provides liquidity, capital for growth, and access to sophisticated financial expertise.
For control owners, private equity is a win. They can monetize a portion of their stake, fund stadium renovations or other capital projects, and maintain operational control. For the league, private equity brings institutional capital that supports franchise values and league-wide growth. For fans, the impact is less clear. In the short term, private equity investment is largely invisible—teams continue to operate as they always have, with the same management and the same on-ice product. But over time, the pressure to maximize returns could lead to changes that prioritize revenue over fan experience.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has expressed comfort with the league’s private equity rules, noting that investments have been made without issues and have been a positive development. The league views private equity as a tool to provide owners with access to capital and address the challenges of finding individuals wealthy enough to purchase increasingly expensive team stakes. But the long-term consequences won’t be known for years.
Private equity’s entry into the NHL is still in its early stages. The real test will come when funds need to exit their investments, when team valuations plateau, or when the pressure to maximize returns conflicts with the interests of fans and players. For now, the NHL has made its bet: private equity is the future of sports ownership. Whether that’s a necessary evolution or a Faustian bargain will depend on how the league manages the tension between financial returns and the integrity of the game. One thing is certain: the ice age has arrived, and Wall Street is here to stay.
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