76ers, Devils Owner Creates New Legal Role as Portfolio Grows

Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment LLC, a holding company that controls several professional sports teams, has hired former Cozen O’Connor partner Nicole Ellis as general counsel for its real estate business.

Ellis joined HBSE in a newly created vice president and legal role Dec. 5, according to a company spokeswoman. The company is led by Apollo Global Management Inc. co-founder Josh Harris and Blackstone Group Inc. executive David Blitzer.

Ellis reports to HBSE’s general counsel Bradley Shron, who has been the privately held entity’s top in-house lawyer since its 2017 formation. HBSE’s portfolio includes the National Basketball Association’s Philadelphia 76ers, National Hockey League’s New Jersey Devils, and English soccer team Crystal Palace FC.

HBSE in 2020 acquired a small stake in the National Football League’s Pittsburgh Steelers. The company has in recent years also made offers to buy the league’s Denver Broncos—sold for a record-setting $5 billion in June—and Major League Baseball’s New York Mets, bought for $2.4 billion by hedge fund mogul Steve Cohen.

Harris reportedly is one of several bidders for the NFL’s Washington Commanders, whose current ownership retained Bank of America Corp. earlier this month to explore a potential sale of the team.

HBSE said Ellis will be tasked with supporting the growth of the company’s real estate arm, which invests in development projects surrounding sports and entertainment arenas and stadiums. HBSE’s real estate portfolio includes the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, a home venue for the Devils, as well as the 3,500-seat Loew’s Theatre in Jersey City, NJ, which is undergoing a $72 million renovation.

The Camden, NJ-based company was part of a joint venture last year that took over operations for the Wollman Rink in New York City’s Central Park, a public ice rink whose contract with the Trump Organization was canceled by the city after the US Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Ellis spent nearly six years in Cozen’s real estate practice in Philadelphia, where she made partner in 2019, before joining the Brandywine Realty Trust as an associate general counsel in early 2021. She didn’t respond to a comment request about her move to HBSE. The company, in a public job listing for her new job, said it will oversee all legal, risk, and compliance affairs for HBSE’s real estate assets.

HBSE’s addition of Ellis comes after the company hired attorney Christopher Howard as its director of risk management. Howard was most recently a director of procurement, contracting, and risk management for New Jersey’s Stockton University. In September, HBSE saw former associate counsel Sam Burum leave the company to join a labor union representing NBA players in an in-house counsel role.