McCullers Group

What McCullers Group does

McCullers Group (legal entity McCullers Sports Group LLC, dba MSG) is a privately held sports and real estate advisory firm founded in 2014 by Mark McCullers, the former President/General Manager of the Columbus Crew who worked alongside Lamar Hunt on the construction of the first MLS soccer-specific stadium (Historic Crew Stadium). The firm operates as a boutique professional services practice, with a team of approximately 7-10 professionals based in Westerville, Ohio, providing four integrated service lines: Development Planning (predevelopment advisory covering site selection, feasibility, financial modeling, design management, and public-private partnership structuring), Project Management (owner's representation and construction oversight), Operational Optimization (venue operations, franchise consulting, revenue optimization, and sponsorship development), and Event Marketing and Management (including licensing and experiential marketing). The combined team brings 60+ years of sports industry experience, with marquee mandates spanning FC Cincinnati's $250M TQL Stadium, the Baltimore Orioles' $23M player development facility, Union Omaha's $300M mixed-use development, Greenville's $35M GE Vernova Park, Florida A&M University's 35,000-seat football stadium feasibility, and a preferred-supplier relationship with the United Soccer League covering 50+ markets.

Name

McCullers Group

Legal name

McCullers Sports Group LLC

Website

https://mccullersgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

McCullers Group is a private sports and real estate advisory firm providing owner's representation, feasibility analysis, and project management for stadium, mixed-use, and venue developments serving sports franchises, municipalities, and universities across the U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Venue Development Advisory

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Business Consulting & Advisory (Strategy, Valuation, Due Diligence) (MPAKAKAL)

Keywords

• Sports venue advisory
• Stadium development consulting
• Owner's representation
• Franchise consulting
• Sports real estate advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Westerville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Advisory and Consulting Services: Professional services revenue derived from providing advisory services to sports franchise owners, developers, municipalities, and universities for sports venue development, operational optimization, and franchise consulting. Revenue is project-based and likely structured as fixed-fee engagements or retainer arrangements.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

McCullers Group (McCullers Sports Group LLC) is a sports management, business development and consulting firm that provides turnkey advisory solutions for sports project stakeholders. The firm delivers predevelopment advisory, owner's representation and project management, operational optimization, licensing expertise, and event marketing and management for sports venues, franchise owners, municipalities, and universities.

Product overview

McCullers Group is a sports and real estate advisory firm that operates as a services-based consulting practice, not a software product or platform. The firm offers four integrated service lines: Development Planning (predevelopment advisory covering site selection, feasibility, financing, and design management), Project Management (owner's representation through construction and delivery), Operational Optimization (venue operations, franchise consulting, and revenue optimization), and Event Marketing and Management (event planning, sponsorship sales, and community activation). These services are delivered together as turnkey solutions for sports project stakeholders, supporting clients from initial visioning through ongoing operations. The firm also provides specialized Advisory services for licensing and experiential marketing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Development Planning
• Project Management
• Operational Optimization
• Event Marketing and Management
• Licensing
• Advisory

Quantifiable outcome

• Average savings of 2.4% over fees across completed projects
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• United Soccer League (USL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMcCullers Group serves as USL's preferred supplier for facilities planning and development services. The firm has worked in over 50 USL markets supporting franchise planning, financial projections, and operational strategies for league stakeholders.
• Turner ConstructionminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor for FC Cincinnati TQL Stadium project.
• Corna-KokosingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor for Historic Crew Stadium project.
• Tandem ConstructionminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor for Baltimore Orioles player development facility in Sarasota.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Turner & Townsend (Sports): Global program and project management consultancy with a sports and major events practice, frequently serving as cost manager and owner's rep on large stadium builds competing for the same mandates.
• Gensler Sports: Global design firm with a dedicated sports practice that competes in venue master planning and mixed-use development advisory adjacent to McCullers Group's offerings.
• Populous: Populous is the dominant sports architecture firm and frequently partners with (or competes against) owner's rep advisors on major stadium projects such as the FC Cincinnati TQL Stadium and Historic Crew Stadium engagements.
• CAA Sports (now TPG): CAA's sports division provides advisory, consulting, and franchise services comparable to McCullers Group's franchise and commercial strategy offerings.
• HOK (Populous alumni firm with active sports practice): Global architecture and engineering firm with a substantial sports venue practice that overlaps McCullers Group's project pipeline on larger stadium and arena developments.

Direct peers

• BSE Global: BSE Global advises on sports venue operations, sponsorship, and event management for teams and venues — directly overlapping with McCullers Group's Operational Optimization and Event Marketing service lines.
• MEIS Architects: Specialty sports architecture firm that frequently partners with owner's representatives on stadium and arena projects; comparable niche focus on sports venue development services.
• Colliers Project Leaders: Owner's representation and project management firm; comparable to McCullers Group's Project Management service line, though more diversified across real estate asset classes.
• Oak View Group: OVG is a leading sports and entertainment venue development, advisory, and management firm; directly comparable to McCullers Group in the owner's rep / venue development advisory niche with a larger scale and capital base.
• Legends (formerly CAA ICON): Legends' hospitality and planning division (formerly CAA ICON) is a direct competitor in owner's representation and sports venue development advisory, serving the same enterprise client base of franchises, leagues, and developers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mccullers-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about McCullers Group