Practice Areas
IRWIN RAIJ co-chairs Sidley’s Entertainment, Sports and Media industry group. Irwin focuses his practice on the business of sports. He has handled matters involving the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), the European Soccer Leagues, Series A, LaLiga, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the United Soccer League (USL), Minor League Baseball, and Formula 1 events. He represents private equity clients, developers, teams, leagues, universities, lenders, and state and local government entities in sports-anchored development projects, including public-private partnerships for both professional and collegiate stadiums and related ancillary development, construction, and financing. His practice also includes representing both buyers and sellers of sports franchises in professional sports leagues, concessions, and promotional/advertising agreements (including naming rights, merchandising, and operational agreements). Irwin also has experience handling RSN formation, sports technology counseling/ventures, stadium service agreements, ticketing arrangements, and television, radio, and media rights agreements.