The ROAR Podcast: Kirtan Mehta, Washington Commanders

The ROAR Podcast: Kirtan Mehta, Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders didn't just negotiate a stadium deal with a city — they needed a federal bill passed to get there. Kirtan Mehta, the team's Chief External Affairs Officer, joins Caroline Valvardi to unpack one of the most complex real estate projects in American sports. A Northwestern grad who took an unlikely route through Harvard Law, two U.S. Senate offices, and an early-stage Robinhood before landing in football, Kirtan brings a government-relations lens you rarely hear in sports business. The conversation covers what it takes to align owners, fans, and three separate jurisdictions; the case for building a neighborhood rather than just a stadium; how data and AI are being deployed from construction phasing to fan experience; and the leadership ethos the franchise calls the Commander Standard. It's a grounded look at the politics, real estate, and revenue underneath the Commanders' return to the RFK site — and a useful playbook for anyone watching the new wave of sports-anchored mixed-use development. 00:00 Cold open & intro  00:31 An unlikely path: math, mock trial, law, and politics  03:02 What Capitol Hill experience brings 04:52 Finding intersection among diverse stakeholders  06:04 Translating between groups — the 11–2 DC Council vote  07:49 Why listening is the underrated skill in public affairs  11:46 Jurisdictions and the federal-land overlay of the RFK site  14:42 Building a real estate team for a real estate project   17:12 Legislative timelines and the 2030 / 2031 World Cup   20:05 The $2.7B case: housing, environment, and a food desert  21:40 The Nationals ballpark as the blueprint  24:23 Partnering with the city — and the mayor's role  26:57 Data & AI: Voice of Fans 30:51 Experiential design inside and outside the stadium  34:25 The transportation puzzle: Metro, tunnels, and a river 36:09 What drives him: service, joy, and a product you believe in  38:56 Leadership and the Commander Standard — the five C's Guest Bio Kirtan Mehta is the Chief External Affairs Officer for the Washington Commanders, where he leads government relations and public affairs across the franchise's stadium and mixed-use development efforts. A 2004 Northwestern University graduate, he earned his law degree from Harvard Law School and practiced in Chicago and Washington, D.C., before moving into public service. Over his political career, he worked across multiple levels of government — including serving as chief of staff to a U.S. senator — and held private-sector roles spanning trade-association advocacy and an early stint at the fintech startup Robinhood. He joined the Commanders under the team's new ownership, where he helps steer one of the most jurisdictionally complex stadium and real estate projects in American sports.

Best Of: Alex Teodosi, Chicago Sky

We're taking the week of the 4th of July off from new episodes, but we didn't want to leave you without something to listen to. We're re-running one of our favorite conversations from the season — Adam Grossman's interview with Alex Teodosi, Vice President of Corporate, Community, and Strategic Partnerships for the Chicago Sky. New episodes return next week. This conversation covers the rapid growth and evolution of the WNBA, the impact of that growth on the Chicago Sky as an organization, and Alex's role overseeing corporate, community, and strategic partnerships for the franchise. Adam and Alex dig into changing conversations with brands, the operational evolution of the team, the upcoming practice facility in Bedford Park, and what business growth actually looks like inside a franchise heading into its 20th season. The conversation also explores the adoption of data and analytics on the partnership side, the use of AI-driven insights and narratives in sponsorship conversations, the organizational impact of SmartDaaS, and how senior leadership at the Sky is thinking about AI as a strategic priority across the business. Takeaways * Rapid growth and breakout moment of the WNBA * Evolution of data-driven partnership conversations with national brands * The role of AI in sports and entertainment partnership operations * Leveraging AI for data-driven insights, narratives, and speed-to-decision Chapters * 00:00 — Use of AI-Driven Insights * 20:35 — The Impact of AI in Sports and Entertainment * 33:46 — SmartDaaS and Organizational Impact

The ROAR Podcast: Jason Wright

Most people still frame women's sports as a movement. Jason Wright runs a fund built on the opposite premise — that it's one of the most under-researched and undervalued asset classes in sports. In this episode, Caroline and Adam trace Wright's path from seven years as an NFL running back, through a labor lockout that became his first lesson in sports business, to McKinsey, the President's chair of the Washington Commanders, and now Project Level, the women's sports fund he launched with Melody Hobson at Ariel Investments. The conversation lands squarely where ROAR lives: the intersection of sports, real estate, and revenue. Wright breaks down the thesis driving Project Level — the modernization of men's sports that women's leagues can now draft on, two decades of family spending on girls' youth sports, and the "net-new fan" who never bought a men's ticket. From there the group digs into the economics of purpose-built women's stadiums, using naming rights to lower the cost of capital, and mixed-use districts that can out-earn the team next door. * 00:00 Cold open & a special two-grad format  * 01:15 From NFL running back to franchise president  * 04:15 What Northwestern athletics taught them  * 09:13 NIL, the transfer portal & the leadership question  * 15:30 Why women's sports: the Ariel model & Melody Hobson  * 18:00 The thesis: three tailwinds & the "net-new fan"  * 25:46 Data, AI & closing the capability gap 33:08 Inside the LP base & diversifying the asset class  * 38:45 Purpose-built women's stadiums: the value case  * 43:08 Mixed-use districts & when real estate out-earns the team  * 47:33 The public-funding case for women's venues * 48:11 What's next: leagues, youth sports & sleeper bets GUEST BIO Jason Wright is a managing partner at Project Level, a women's sports investment fund and wholly owned subsidiary of Ariel Investments that he launched alongside Melody Hobson. A Southern California native, Wright played running back at Northwestern before a seven-year NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, and Arizona Cardinals, where he served as a team captain and NFLPA representative. He earned an MBA from the University of Chicago and became a partner at McKinsey & Company in the firm's Washington, D.C. office, leading a global practice. In 2020 he was named President of the Washington Commanders, where he reset the organization's revenue strategy, rebuilt its season-ticket base, helped oversee the sale of the team, and worked to return the franchise to the RFK site before joining Project Level.

The ROAR Podcast: Amina Bulman, Boston Legacy FC

Most sports executives inherit a brand. Amina Bulman is building one from zero. As Chief Revenue Officer of Boston Legacy FC, Amina is launching a professional women's soccer club in a city that already lives and breathes its teams — with no history to lean on, a fan base that doesn't exist yet, and a permanent home still under construction. In this episode, Adam Grossman traces her unlikely path into sports: a competitive rower who studied political science and economics, expected a career in government, helped stand up the Obama Foundation, and then got a phone call in the spring of 2020 that pulled her into the franchise that had just become the Washington Commanders. Five years and one ninety-year-old rebrand later, she came home to Boston. Amina and Adam dig into what it actually takes to lead through transition — adding value when you're not the expert in the room, the difference between information and insight, and why her first season feels like running two races at once across two very different stadiums. They also get deep into the real estate: why she believes mixed-use is the future of sports venues, how White Stadium and "The Grove" are designed to function as civic assets year-round, and what it will take to turn the women's sports "rocket ship" into lasting cultural staying power. * 00:05 — Welcome to The ROAR Podcast * 00:37 — A circuitous path: rowing, government, and a five-year plan that never happened * 05:06 — Why the sports industry can feel "opaque" from the outside * 06:16 — What the Obama Presidential Center taught her about building a stadium * 07:16 — Leading when you're not the expert in the room * 10:43 — Saying yes to Jason Wright and a franchise in transition * 14:39 — Inside a 90-year-old rebrand * 19:30 — From chief of staff to the external face of the club * 25:35 — Rebranding a zero-year-old club: when unified sentiment raises the stakes * 26:59 — What fans actually wanted: values, experience, community * 29:35 — Information vs. insight: "Who is our fan?" * 31:41 — Two states, two stadiums, one first season * 37:04 — Why mixed-use is the future of sports venues * 40:07 — The Grove: a 365-day revenue engine * 41:37 — Mixed-use for women's sports vs. men's sports * 42:35 — The women's sports rocket ship — and how to keep it climbing * 45:14 — Year-one north star: more eyeballs on the product GUEST BIO Amina Bulman is the Chief Revenue Officer of Boston Legacy FC, where she leads commercial strategy for the new NWSL club — overseeing the launch of its brand, fan base, and revenue operation from the ground up. A Boston native and former competitive rower, she studied political science and economics and began her career in public-sector consulting before helping stand up the Obama Foundation in its earliest days, working across strategy, operations, and civic engagement programming. After earning her MBA, she joined the franchise then known as the Washington Football Team, spending five years through its transformation into the Washington Commanders — starting as chief of staff and expanding into external-facing leadership across communications and community efforts, including the organization's rebrand. She returned to Boston to help launch Boston Legacy FC, where she is focused on brand-building, mixed-use venue development, and growing the audience for women's sports.

The Compounding Effect: Start Times, Districts, and the AI Land Grab

This week it's just the three of us. Brice, Adam, and Caroline step out from behind the guest chair for a wide-ranging conversation on the stories moving sports business right now — and the single idea tying them together: compounding effects. One small change is almost never just one change. We start with Major League Baseball's quiet race to beat 7 PM, and why moving first pitch earlier is far more than a scheduling tweak — it reshapes who can attend, how long they stay, and how much they spend. From there the conversation widens to the mixed-use districts replacing the mall as America's gathering place (and how that model is cascading down to minor league, youth, and even high school facilities), the "land grab" of AI companies pouring into sports sponsorship, and what it actually takes to turn an AI partnership into something operational — including a look inside SmartDaaS, the Smart District as a Service platform powered by ROAR. Where sports, real estate, and revenue converge — in one conversation. * 00:00 — Catching up: the rebrand, Caroline's hosting, and the community throughline * 03:20 — Beating 7 PM: why moving first pitch earlier is more than a tweak * 06:47 — The counterintuitive case for the suburban family (end times, not start times) * 10:14 — Compounding effects: one small change, many revenue streams * 16:33 — From ballpark to district: malls, gathering places, and mixed-use * 18:18 — Why games ran late, and how streaming and the RSN decline reset the math * 22:00 — Pitch clock, ABS, and turning rule changes into partnership assets * 24:16 — Cascading down: minor league, youth, and high school sports real estate * 29:24 — The sports AI land grab and "business-backed" partnerships * 38:13 — Enterprise risk, top-of-funnel attention, and Oracle Red Bull Racing * 41:05 — Inside SmartDaaS: making AI actionable for sports, real estate, and revenue * 46:34 — What's ahead for The Roar Podcast