Mountain Star Sports Group LLC

What Mountain Star Sports Group LLC does

MountainStar Sports Group LLC (MSSG) is a privately held sports and entertainment holding company founded in March 2012 by the Hunt and Foster families to acquire, develop, and operate professional sports assets in the Borderplex region spanning El Paso, Texas; Ciudad Juárez, Mexico; and southern New Mexico. The company is headquartered at 1 Ballpark Plaza, El Paso, TX 79901, and is structured as a Texas LLC with no institutional venture capital or private equity backing disclosed. MSSG owns and operates three professional franchises: the El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A Minor League Baseball, affiliated with the San Diego Padres since 2014), El Paso Locomotive FC (USL Championship men's soccer, launched in 2019), and a co-ownership stake in FC Juárez Bravos (Liga MX first-division Mexican football, acquired 2015 and promoted via the 2019 Puebla Lobos BUAP acquisition). The franchises share Southwest University Park, a multi-use venue built in partnership with the City of El Paso (groundbreaking May 2013, doors April 2014) whose retractable pitcher's mound enables conversion between baseball and soccer configurations in approximately eight minutes — one of the first such installations in the United States.

The business model is anchored in five revenue streams documented in MSSG's disclosures: (i) ticketing across single-game, season, and premium seating; (ii) merchandise, with the Chihuahuas brand ranked the top-selling in all of Minor League Baseball and shipped to all fifty U.S. states and ten countries; (iii) venue sponsorships and naming rights; (iv) food and beverage concessions; and (v) foundation-driven philanthropy administered through the MountainStar Sports Group Foundation and Chihuahuas/Locomotive FC Foundation DBAs, which have directed more than $1.5 million in charitable giving and over 750 annual volunteer hours (Chihuahuas Volunteer Pack and Heart of Goal programs presented by Helen of Troy). Ancillary operating units include Leg Up Entertainment (venue event programming), the MountainStar Sports Shop retail channel (with pop-up and online storefronts), the El Paso Locomotive Youth Soccer Academy (now competing in US Youth Soccer National League Elite 64), and a bi-national sponsorship and event platform (e.g., 2024 international friendly, 2024 Amigo Airsho title sponsorship).

MSSG primarily serves sports fans and families in the Borderplex region seeking affordable entertainment, with secondary customer segments comprising corporate sponsors seeking venue/team marketing inventory, nonprofit and youth-athlete communities supported via the foundations and youth academies, and the cross-border Ciudad Juárez fan base engaged via FC Juárez. The customer base is highly distributed at the consumer level, anchored by long-tenured multi-family ownership (Joshua W. Hunt as Executive Chairman, Paul L. Foster and Woody L. Hunt as co-owners, and Alejandra de la Vega-Foster as Co-owner and Chairwoman of FC Juárez). Leadership transitions executed in late 2025 and February 2026 — Mike DiGiulio appointed President/GM of Locomotive FC in December 2025, and Alan Ledford's move to Senior Advisor alongside Brad Taylor's elevation to President/GM of the Chihuahuas in February 2026 — suggest continued professionalization of the operating bench while the controlling families retain ownership.

Name

Mountain Star Sports Group LLC

Legal name

MountainStar Sports Group LLC

Website

https://mountainstarsportsgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Short description

MountainStar Sports Group LLC is a privately held sports and entertainment holding company that owns and operates the El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A MiLB), El Paso Locomotive FC (USL Championship), and co-owns FC Juárez (Liga MX), serving Borderplex fans, families, corporate sponsors, and community organizations through tickets, merchandise, concessions, and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

El Paso

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from game tickets, season tickets, and premium seating at El Paso Chihuahuas (MiLB Triple-A), El Paso Locomotive FC (USL Championship), and FC Juárez (Liga MX) matches at Southwest University Park and Estadio Olímpico Benito Juárez.
2. Merchandise Sales: The Chihuahuas became the top selling merchandise brand in Minor League Baseball. Merchandise sold in all fifty states and ten countries. Also includes merchandise sales for Locomotive FC and FC Juárez.
3. Venue Sponsorships and Naming Rights: Corporate sponsorships at Southwest University Park and for individual teams. Leg Up Entertainment division manages entertainment offerings at venues.
4. Foundation Giving and Philanthropy: MSSG supports communities through foundations with direct giving, grants, and events. To date, foundations have given more than $1.5 million to charitable causes.
5. Food and Beverage Concessions: Revenue from food, beverage, and hospitality services at games and events at Southwest University Park.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

MountainStar Sports Group LLC (MSSG) owns and operates a portfolio of professional sports franchises serving the Borderplex region (El Paso, TX; Ciudad Juárez, MX; and southern NM). The company operates the El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the San Diego Padres), the El Paso Locomotive FC (USL Championship professional men's soccer club), and co-owns FC Juárez (Liga MX first-division Mexican football club). MSSG also operates Southwest University Park, an award-winning multi-use ballpark, runs youth soccer and baseball development programs, and sells team merchandise through retail and online channels.

Product overview

MountainStar Sports Group LLC is a sports and entertainment company that owns and operates a portfolio of professional sports teams and entertainment venues in the Borderplex region (El Paso, TX; Ciudad Juárez, MX; and southern NM). The company's core portfolio consists of three professional sports brands: the El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A MiLB baseball, affiliated with the San Diego Padres), El Paso Locomotive FC (USL Championship professional men's soccer), and FC Juárez (Liga MX first-division Mexican football, co-owned). These brands are supported by Southwest University Park (a multi-use ballpark with a retractable mound for soccer conversion) and Leg Up Entertainment (event programming). The company also runs youth development programs (El Paso Locomotive Youth Academy, Chihuahuas NeXt) and philanthropic foundations (MountainStar Sports Group Foundation, El Paso Chihuahuas Foundation, El Paso Locomotive FC Foundation), collectively channeling over $1.5 million in charitable giving. The portfolio is anchored by a focus on affordable, family-oriented entertainment and community development across the U.S.-Mexico border region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• El Paso Chihuahuas: Triple-A Minor League Baseball team, affiliate of the San Diego Padres, playing at Southwest University Park.
• FC Juárez
• El Paso Locomotive FC

Products and services

• El Paso Chihuahuas Triple-A Minor League Baseball team and affiliate of the San Diego Padres, playing home games at Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas. Tickets, season tickets, and premium seating are sold to fans of professional baseball entertainment; team merchandise is sold in all 50 states and 10 countries.
• El Paso Locomotive FC Professional men's soccer club competing in USL Championship (the second division of the United States Soccer Federation), based in El Paso, Texas. Sells tickets and merchandise to soccer fans; uses the retractable pitcher's mound to convert Southwest University Park between baseball and soccer configurations.
• FC Juárez Professional Mexican football club playing in Liga MX (the top professional division of Mexican football), based in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Co-owned by MountainStar Sports Group and bi-national investors; MSSG-sold merchandise for the club reaches fans across the region.
• Southwest University Park State-of-the-art multi-use ballpark in downtown El Paso that hosts Chihuahuas baseball, Locomotive FC soccer, concerts, and corporate/private events. Includes one of the first retractable pitchers' mounds in the U.S., allowing conversion between baseball and soccer configurations within eight minutes. Available for venue rentals and corporate event bookings.
• El Paso Locomotive Youth Academy

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.3+ million guests attended Chihuahuas games since 2014
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• USL ChampionshipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2018El Paso Locomotive FC competes in USL Championship, the second division of the United States Soccer Federation. MSSG owns and operates the franchise.
• FC JuárezcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2015MSSG is a co-owner of FC Juárez (Los Bravos), a professional Mexican football club in Liga MX. Founded in 2015, FC Juárez represents the Borderplex region as the first club with U.S. investors in Mexican football.
• San Diego PadrescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2014The El Paso Chihuahuas are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball. The affiliation was established in 2014 and renewed with a ten-year Player Development License in 2021.
• City of El PasocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2014Partnership with The City of El Paso to build Southwest University Park, an award-winning venue that served as a major catalyst for downtown revitalization and economic development.
• Helen of TroyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2014Helen of Troy presents the Chihuahuas Volunteer Pack and Heart of Goal community volunteer programs, contributing to regional community service initiatives.
• Foster Family FoundationminorOthersPhilanthropic foundation operated by Paul L. Foster family, providing additional charitable support to local community efforts in the Borderplex region.
• Hunt Family FoundationminorOthersPhilanthropic foundation operated by Woody L. Hunt and family, established in 1987, supporting community initiatives in the Borderplex region.
• Minor League Baseball (MiLB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSSG operates under MiLB governance through the Pacific Coast League as owners of the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas franchise.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sugar Land Space Cowboys: Pacific Coast League Triple-A franchise (Astros affiliate) in a Texas-adjacent market; comparable in league economics, MLB-affiliate dependence, and venue-revenue model.
• Indy Eleven: USL Championship club operating a similar single-sport professional soccer franchise model; directly comparable on league economics, ownership structure, and venue-revenue dynamics to El Paso Locomotive FC.
• Sacramento Republic FC: USL Championship club with strong regional brand and MLS-expansion ambitions; comparable in league economics, fan-engagement model, and growth trajectory to El Paso Locomotive FC.
• San Antonio FC: USL Championship soccer club in Texas operating under similar second-division American soccer economics as El Paso Locomotive FC; comparable market-size, league-governance, and stadium-revenue model. Direct sporting peer.
• Phoenix Rising FC: USL Championship club with ownership group ambitions across multiple sports/entertainment verticals; directly comparable in league structure, fan base profile, and venue-revenue model to El Paso Locomotive FC.
• Albuquerque Isotopes: Pacific Coast League (PCL) Triple-A baseball franchise in a similarly-sized Southwestern U.S. market; directly comparable in league structure, attendance profile, and MLB-affiliate economics to the El Paso Chihuahuas.
• Sacramento River Cats: Pacific Coast League Triple-A franchise (Giants affiliate) operating a multi-use venue; comparable to MSSG on PCL economics, MLB-affiliate dependence, and venue-revenue model.
• Diamond Baseball Holdings: Operator of multiple affiliated Minor League Baseball franchises post-MiLB restructuring; closest multi-team MiLB operating peer to MSSG's El Paso Chihuahuas business.

Regional players

• Tigres UANL: Liga MX first-division club that is the direct domestic benchmark for FC Juárez in Liga MX; comparable on league governance, Mexican football economics, and stadium-revenue dynamics, but does not compete in MSSG's U.S. territory.

Broad incumbents

• AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group): Large sports and live-entertainment operator that owns/operates multiple teams and venues globally; comparable as a broad incumbent in the multi-team, multi-venue sports entertainment space, though operating at substantially greater scale than MSSG.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/epchihuahuas
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/OfficialEPChihuahuas
• Facebookfacebook.com/epchihuahuas
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mountainstar-sports-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/epchihuahuas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Mountain Star Sports Group LLC