USOPC reviews outside investment in Team USA commercial rights

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee is examining new ways to finance its activities, including the possibility of selling investors a stake in Team USA's commercial rights. BBC Sport reported that the organisation has confirmed a review of commercial models, although no completed investment agreement has been announced.

The options involve a new business called United States Olympic and Paralympic Ventures. According to board minutes cited by the BBC, early discussions with possible investors and strategic partners produced positive feedback on the proposed company's purpose and the reasoning behind it. Those discussions remain preliminary: the reported interest does not establish that a transaction will proceed or identify a final investment structure.

Two home Olympics form the backdrop to the review. Los Angeles will stage the Summer Games in 2028, followed by the Winter Games in Utah in 2034. The committee currently operates through a commercial partnership with the Los Angeles organising committee. That arrangement expires after the 2028 Games, when Team USA's commercial rights return to the USOPC.

In its statement, the nonprofit committee linked the examination of new models to raising more resources for athletes and national governing bodies. It said athlete representatives and governing-body leaders had been involved in continuing discussions. It also said any eventual approach would retain the organisation's mission, governance and leadership, alongside its existing commitment to Team USA competitors.

Chief executive Sarah Hirschland was asked by Sportico whether the committee would consider private equity, institutional investors or sovereign wealth funds, the BBC reported. She said the organisation had a responsibility to examine all available options. Her response did not announce a preferred category of investor or commit the committee to accepting money from any particular source.

Hirschland also described the objective as increasing overall revenue for the groups the committee supports. The current announcement therefore concerns an exploration of commercial financing, rather than a confirmed transfer of rights. The committee has presented the return of those rights after Los Angeles as an opportunity to develop its commercial operations around support for athletes and governing bodies.