On Location Experiences, which provides premium NFL hospitality experiences, has appointed John Collins as its CEO, effective immediately. Collins brings with him two decades of experience, having previously served as COO of the National Hockey League.
Collins achieved several milestones with the NHL, including a revenue increase of $1.8 billion, the launch of the NHL Network, and the introduction of the “Winter Classic,” a series of hockey games played outside in stadiums around the U.S.
Collins also served as an executive with the NFL and the Cleveland Browns, being named the team’s President and CEO for the 2004-2006 seasons. Collins will now work alongside Gerry Cardinale, Managing Partner and Founder of RedBird Capital Partners, and George Pyne, Founder and CEO of Bruin Sports Capital. RedBird and Bruin Sports are co-owners of On Location along with the NFL.
“I’ve always wanted to fulfill my passion for building a great global business from the ground up, and with On Location Experiences, I could not be more excited to work with Gerry and George who have an impressive track record of investing in and building tremendous companies at the intersection of sports and entertainment,” said Collins. “I cannot wait to get started working with the entire On Location Experiences team to leverage this platform to create a unique experiential live events company.”
Collins comes in at a time of high demand; the company is nearly sold out of premium packages for Super Bowl 50 almost three months in advance of the event. The company also offers experience packages for NFL events including the 2016 NFL Draft and the NFL International Series, a set of football games played annually in London, England.