Summary
Sports Illustrated Tickets (SI Tickets) is a vertically integrated ticketing and live-events platform operating under the globally recognized Sports Illustrated brand, licensed through Authentic Brands Group. It spans the full event value chain, primary issuance, secondary resale, large-scale asset trading, and in-venue fan engagement. Its Asset Trading division, powered by the SeatHQ platform, is one of the top ticket traders in North America, and its secondary marketplace offers transparent, zero-fee pricing with a 100% refund guarantee. SI Tickets is an official ticketing partner of the NFL and MLB and secured the naming rights for Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Background
SI Tickets traces its origins to June 2020, when a seasoned New York-based ticket-trading operation began operating under the Sports Illustrated brand through a licensing agreement with Authentic Brands Group. It launched its fan-first, flat-fee secondary marketplace in July 2021 and expanded into primary ticketing in 2023 with Box Office, a blockchain-backed SaaS platform.
The company scaled further through the acquisitions of HAPPSnow (2023) and AnyTickets (2025) and operates in a $78 billion global online event-ticketing market. Figures and projections are provided by the company and are not guaranteed.
Why the Champion Fund invested
- Controls the full ticketing value chain, primary issuance, secondary resale, and asset trading, where most competitors operate in only one lane.
- Building the technology rails (Box Office blockchain platform and the SeatHQ trading engine) that rightsholders and venues depend on.
- One of only three exclusive NFL Ticket Network partners, with many NFL teams' primary contracts up for renewal after the 2026 season.
- The Sports Illustrated brand provides a trust-based moat the Fund believes a pure-play competitor cannot easily replicate.