You can't blame Los Angeles Dodgers ownership for being in a dancing mood after the franchise dramatically won its second straight World Series on Nov. 1.
Elysian Park Ventures, the private investment arm of the Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group, invested $7 million in seed capital in the International Dance League, the first global professional sports league for dance. The IDL, which was founded by the founders of digital dance platform STEEZY, will debut early next year.
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A Chance on Dance
The bet is that dance fans around the world will pay to watch professional dance teams compete against each other the way that teams from the NFL, NBA, and Premier League compete against each other.
"IDL is the most entertaining new sports property we've seen in a very long time. Their events are already cultural phenomena, both IRL and online, and their audience is young, global, and digital native," Elysian Managing Partner Pete Vlastelica said in a statement. "Dance as a sport is going to capture the imagination of the entire world."
Other IDL investors include Chicago-based venture firm KB Partners, former TikTok Chief Marketing Officer Nick Tran, and former NBA Chief Marketing Officer Tammy Henault.
"The IDL team is creating more than a new competition format, they’re building a youth-to-professional pathway and global community around one of the world’s most passionate participant groups," Steve Ahern, a partner at KB Partners, said in a statement.
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Elysian's Investments and Exits
According to Elysian Park's website, more than 70 startups are or have been in its portfolio, including 13 companies that have exited.
Elysian's most notable start-up is arguably DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG), the sports betting and gaming entertainment business founded in 2012. Draft Kings went public in 2020 via a reverse merger that was valued at $3.3 billion. Draft Kings today has a market valuation of more than $14 billion. Elysian managed a stake in Draft Kings that was valued at more than $100 million, and included direct investments from Dodgers owners and other funds, according to Sports Business Journal.
The other 12 exits have been through acquisitions. These include a sales transaction software company for the food and beverage industry, Appetite, which was sold to payments software company SpotOn for $415 million, and sports analytics company Second Spectrum that was sold to Genius Sports, a data and technology provider serving the sports betting and media industries. Both those deals were done in 2021. In September, Genius Sports closed on its acquisition of Sport Innovation Lab, a sports fan data and analytics business that Elysian originally invested in 2021.
Elysian has another exit pending after fantasy sports platform PrizePicks announced a deal in September to sell a 62% stake to lottery and gaming company Allwyn International for $1.6 billion. That sale is expected to close in the first half of 2026.
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Building A Real League
This funding round will accelerate the buildout of IDL's core technology and event production infrastructure, support team operations, and logistics for the inaugural 2026 season, according to the IDL. The IDL season will open in March with six events in six major international cities.
IDL envisions professional teams made up of dancers with contracts and fan bases. During its first year, IDL said it will also prioritize "laying the foundation for media rights, team development, and league operations across domestic and international markets."
"For decades, dance has shaped music, fashion, and youth culture, but dancers have never had the infrastructure to thrive as professional competition dancers. IDL changes that," said IDL founder and CEO Connor Lim. "This funding lets us build a league where the world's best can compete and be seen on the biggest stages."
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Image: Shutterstock
