Mr. Tilliss founded Inner Circle Sports in 2002 as a registered broker dealer. He has a 20+ year history as a leader in the sports advisory and finance community. Mr. Tilliss has led many high profile assignments both in the US and internationally including the sale or acquisition of numerous teams in the five US sports leagues and several leagues internationally. Mr. Tilliss also has extensive stadium/arena financing expertise and has performed valuation, consulting and other activities through his firm.

Prior to founding ICS, Mr. Tilliss spent 15 years at J.P. Morgan where he was Managing Director and Group Head of the Sports Advisory & Finance Group. Mr. Tilliss founded J.P. Morgan’s sports investment banking practice. In 2005, Mr. Tilliss worked with Fortress Investment Group to establish a presence in the area of sports facility finance and infrastructure.

Recognition: Mr. Tilliss was twice recognized by the Sports Business Journal as one of the “Industry’s 40 under 40”, and was recently recognized by Worth magazine as one of the “60 Most Powerful People in Sports.” Mr. Tilliss is a frequent guest on Bloomberg TV, and has previously been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Sports Business Journal, and Crain’s among numerous other publications.

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Steve Horowitz brings 30 years of sports experience in marketing, media, technology and finance, having worked with a diverse group of organizations such as the USTA, NCAA, NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, NASCAR, MLB, MLS, EPL, EFL, Serie A and many others. In his current role, Mr. Horowitz has completed numerous transactions globally including Liverpool FC, FC Internazionale (Inter Milan), Portsmouth FC, Philadelphia Union, DC United, NY Cosmos, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, Montreal Canadiens, Bloomberg Sports, Union Square Hospitality Group, Teamworks, Real Salt Lake, Dagenham & Redbridge FC and Wrexham AFC.

Mr. Horowitz joined ICS from the investment/advisory firm Triple Play Partners, where he was a partner. Prior to TPP, Mr. Horowitz served as a Vice President for Convera, the Intel/NBA technology venture, leading the company’s Sports & Entertainment business. Before Convera, Mr. Horowitz was the GM of the NFL Quarterback Club, where he ran the group licensing, television and marketing business for the NFL’s 40 marquee players before it was bought by the NFL. For the 15 years preceding, Mr. Horowitz was with ProServ Television (later SFX/Clear Channel Communications), one of the leading sports marketing and management firms in the world, advancing to Senior Vice President.

Education: Mr. Horowitz graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mr. DiBlasi is part of the firm’s sports facility advisory practice. Mr. DiBlasi brings over 10 years of experience advising and lending to team owners, leagues, municipalities, universities, and private developers involved in the development of sports and entertainment facilities around the world. Mr. DiBlasi has advised on, arranged, and led financings for over $10 billion in facility projects for developers including Oak View Group, City Football Group, New York Islanders, New York Yankees, Brooklyn Nets, Sacramento Kings, Austin FC, Columbus Crew, Orlando City Soccer Club, Philadelphia Union, FC Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, AS Roma, and many others. In addition to financing, Mr. DiBlasi advises on all aspects of project development including lease negotiations, insurance, design, construction delivery, business plan, and operations.

In addition to private sector projects, Mr. DiBlasi has served as advisor or underwriter for many public sector clients including the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davison County, the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, Prince George’s County,  the New York City Industrial Development Agency (Yankee Stadium), the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (Barclays Center), and the Atlanta and Fulton County Recreation Authority (State Farm Arena).

Mr. DiBlasi joined Inner Circle Sports from Goldman Sachs where he was responsible for leading sports facility advisory and lending projects as a Vice President in the Global Sports and Project Finance practice in the Investment Banking Division. Previously, Mr. DiBlasi was part of the Public Sector and Infrastructure Banking practice, where he served as underwriter on $15+ billion in financings for governmental and transportation issuers across the Unites States.

Education: Mr. DiBlasi has a Bachelor of Arts in History and Classical Studies from the Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences at Boston College.

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Tyler is responsible for originating and executing M&A and capital raising transactions in the global sports, media, and technology industries. Tyler has advised on a number of M&A transactions across the top leagues in North America, including the Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Falcons, Orlando City SC & Orlando Pride, Cleveland Guardians, Chicago Red Stars, Memphis Grizzlies, Sporting Kansas City and New York Mets. Tyler also led and arranged an equity capital raise for SRX Racing, including Endeavor and Jamie Dinan, among other sports owners.

In addition, Tyler has led and executed transactions for several sports ’technology and services companies, including: KORE Software's sale to Serent Capital; Teamworks' Series C funding round led by Delta-v Capital; and Golf Genius Software’s acquisitions of Operation 36Golf and Twilight Golf Association. Tyler currently leads the firm’s sports betting and iGaming advisory efforts, including arranging Sports IQ’s growth capital raise led by Harlo Equity Partners.

In 2022, Tyler was recognized by the Sports Business Journal as a recipient of its New Voices Under 30 Award. 

Prior to joining ICS, Tyler was with Houlihan Lokey, a global investment bank headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.

Education: Tyler graduated cum laude from Columbia University where he received a B.A. with double major in Economics and History.

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Erich is responsible for executing M&A and capital raising transactions across the sports, media, entertainment, and technology ecosystem. Erich has advised on several transactions in the big five sports leagues in North America and premier European football divisions, including teams and organizations such as the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx, Fenway Sports Group, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Real Salt Lake & Utah Royals, DC United, the National Lacrosse League, FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Wrexham AFC, Dagenham & Redbridge FC, and others. In addition, Erich has advised on various venture and growth capital raises for companies in the sports space, including G2 Esports, PlayOn! Sports and the Association of Pickleball Players, among others.

Erich joined the firm in the spring of 2018.

Prior to joining ICS, Erich worked in the Global Consumer Investment Banking Group at Deutsche Bank. During his time at Deutsche Bank, he worked on various mergers & acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and debt and equity capital raises across the food and beverage, retail, restaurant, education, and business services sectors.
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Erich graduated from Boston College with a B.S.in Finance and B.A. in German.

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Maddie is responsible for advising and executing on M&A, capital raising and financing advisory transactions across the sports, media and entertainment ecosystem. Maddie has advised on transactions across numerous professional men’s and women’s sports leagues in North America. Transactions have included advising Carolyn Tisch Blodgett and her family on their investment into Gotham FC, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) on the sale of a Bay Area expansion franchise to a group led by Sixth Street, the NWSL on the sale of a Boston expansion franchise to a group led by Jennifer Epstein, the sale of the Chicago Red Stars to Laura Ricketts, and Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez on their investment in the Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx. In addition, Maddie has advised on capital raises for companies in the broader sports technology and services space like MSL Solutions, and on various stadium financing advisory projects including Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX and Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.

Maddie joined the firm in the spring of 2021. Prior to joining ICS, Maddie worked at Jefferies in the Technology group, where she focused on providing merger and acquisition advice and private placements to software companies. Prior to her role at Jefferies, she was employed at AGC Partners, a boutique investment bank focused exclusively on technology companies.

In 2023, Maddie was recognized by the Sports Business Journal as a recipient of its New Voices Under 30 Award. 

Maddie graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College where she received a B.A. in Economics and was a member of the women’s hockey team.

An is responsible for advising and executing on M&A, capital raising and financing advisory transactions across the sports, media, and entertainment ecosystem. An has advised on a number of transactions across the top men’s and women’s professional sports leagues in North America and premier European football divisions, including teams such as Real Salt Lake & Utah Royals, Edmonton Oilers, NJ/NY Gotham FC, and Chicago Red Stars, among others. He also advised the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) on the sales of the Bay Area expansion franchise to a group led by Sixth Street and Boston expansion franchise to a group led by Jennifer Epstein. In addition, An has advised on various M&A processes and capital raises for companies in the broader sports technology and services space like the sale of esports team FlyQuest to the Viola Family, as well as on several stadium advisory projects, including the redevelopment of the Memorial Stadium in Seattle, Washington.

An joined the firm in the spring of 2022.

Directly prior to joining ICS, An held a finance and strategy role at Virta Health, a late-stage digital health company, as well as a part-time role at Soccerlytics, a data-driven consulting and analytics firm with a client base of domestic and international soccer clubs. Prior to those roles, An worked at UBS in their Global Healthcare Investment Banking Group, where he worked on various M&A, leveraged buyouts, and debt and equity transactions, including Siemens Healthineers’ $16 billion acquisition of Varian Medical and Icon’s $12 billion acquisition of PRA Health Sciences.

An graduated from Yale University where he received a B.A. in Economics and was a member of the men’s varsity soccer team.

Ms. LePore is responsible for executing M&A advisory, capital raising and valuation transactions in the global sports industry. Ms. LePore joined the firm in the summer of 2023.

Prior to joining ICS, Ms. LePore was an Analyst at Citi in their Media & Telecommunications group. During her time at Citi, Ms. LePore worked on various mergers and acquisitions and debt and equity capital raises across the sports, music and media sectors.

Education: Ms. LePore graduated cum laude from Boston College where she received a B.S. in Finance and Accounting and a B.A. in Psychology.

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Mr. Abrams has over three decades of experience as a lead investment banker and advisor for numerous public and private assembly facilities including the financing of stadiums, arenas, and other sports venues. He has advised on the funding for 5 NFL stadium projects in Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville. Mr. Abrams has had a role in funding numerous other sports facility projects including several arenas, major and minor league baseball stadiums, motorsports parks, tennis centers, and golf courses. He has represented many municipal and private sector clients in the funding or negotiations of over $4.5 billion of sports facilities. Recent private and public sector clients include Little Caesars Arena, the City of Seattle, the City of Las Vegas.

He joined ICS from advisory firm Strategic Advisory Group where he was a Principal. Prior to SAG, Mr. Abrams was a Managing Director in Fixed Income at Jefferies LLC and has held senior investment banking positions with Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, A.G. Edwards and Bear, Stearns &Co. Inc. Mr. Abrams is a frequent speaker at sports facility financing symposiums and he is a Clinical Associate Professor of Sports Management at NYU's Tisch Institute for Sports Management, Media and Business.

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Education: Mr. Abrams has a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration from Northeastern University in Boston.

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Ms. Sookdeo is the Executive Assistant for Inner Circle Sports. She joined the firm in Fall of 2021 and oversees all day-to-day operations to ensure an exemplary experience for all ICS Stakeholders. She brings over 7 years of managerial experience in multiple industries such as healthcare, retail and education.
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Education: Ms. Sookdeo graduated Cum Laude from Fordham University with a Master of Science in Management. She received her Bachelors of Science Cum Laude in Criminal Justice with a double minor from Pace University in Downtown, New York City.

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