Wayne D Katz

Practice Areas

Wayne Katz is a partner in Proskauer's Corporate Department with over 30 years of experience handling transactions in the sports industry, on behalf leagues, teams, owners, financial institutions, universities and media companies.

Wayne's league experience includes the representation of the National Basketball Association, Women’s National Basketball Association and National Hockey League in their various corporate matters, including team ownership transfers and team financings. Major transactions he has worked on for the leagues include:

- NBA’s approval of the recent sales of the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks

- NBA’s grant of expansion franchises to Toronto, Vancouver and Charlotte

- NHL’s grant of expansion franchises to Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus and Minnesota

- NBA’s purchase and sale of the New Orleans Hornets

- Creation and expansion of the NBA’s $7.8 billion League-wide credit facility

- Formation of the WNBA and NBA G League

- NBA’s resolution of the Donald Sterling and Robert Sarver affairs

- Reformation by Fox Sports of the United States Football League (USFL) and merger with the XFL

- WNBA’s issuance of preferred interests to a group of prominent investors

Wayne’s representation of teams and owners includes acquisitions and sales, financings, governing agreements, and commercial arrangements such as naming rights and concessions agreements.Significant transactions include:

- Purchases by Jeffrey Lurie of the Philadelphia Eagles, Woody Johnson of the New York Jets and Jimmy Haslam of the Cleveland Browns

- Purchase by Jeffrey Loria of the Montreal Expos; the simultaneous sale of the Expos to MLB and purchase of the Florida Marlins from John Henry; and the sale of the Marlins to a group led by Derek Jeter

- Purchase by the Lerner family of the Washington Nationals

- Sale by Cliff Viner of the NHL Florida Panthers

- Purchase by Red Bull GmbH of the MLS MetroStars (now known as the New York Red Bulls)

- Sale by The Ralph Wilson Trust of the Buffalo Bills

Wayne has extensive experience with stadium and arena development, financing and lease transactions, including representing:

- NBA in approving all team arena leases and financings

- Miami Marlins in the development of Marlins Park in downtown Miami

- NBA in its temporary relocation of the New Orleans Hornets to Oklahoma City

- Red Bull New York in the development of a new stadium in Harrison, New Jersey

- Philadelphia Eagles in its financing of Lincoln Financial Field

- New York Jets in its financing and commercial arrangements for MetLife Stadium

- Minnesota Vikings in its lease and financing of U.S. Bank Stadium

- Cleveland Browns in its stadium renovation financing

- Philadelphia 76ers in its proposed development of a new arena in downtown Philadelphia

- Washington Nationals in its lease with the District of Columbia