The ROAR Podcast

Rick Wade is Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Outreach at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he leads the organization’s work connecting small businesses, athletes, and the broader business community to the sports economy. He grew up in Lancaster, South Carolina. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of South Carolina and a master’s in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. His career has moved between business and government. He served as chief of staff to South Carolina’s lieutenant governor and as a vice president at Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, and he ran for South Carolina Secretary of State. In 2007 he joined then-Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign as a senior advisor. He later served at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he led trade missions around the world. After founding a global advisory firm, Rick began working with the U.S. Chamber as a consultant in 2016. He has been there ever since and has served six years on the board of USA Track & Field. 00:00 Welcome to The ROAR Podcast 00:47 Rick's non-linear path: 01:45 The phone call from Senator Obama 02:56 From Commerce to consulting, and crashing the Chamber's party 05:06 What the U.S. Chamber is, and why it's focused on sports 08:48 Mega events as long-term economic engines 12:24 Sports districts and why "all business is local" 13:58 Using data to drive policy 15:33 Small businesses and AI adoption 18:24 Balancing large tenants and local businesses in districts 19:35 The 2027 NFL Draft and small business procurement 21:11 Athletes as "pro CEOs" and the Hiring Our Athletes idea 24:43 NIL and support for college athletes 25:21 Why athlete entrepreneurs need different support 27:54 Leading across the public and private sectors 32:08 Sport as a unifier and sports diplomacy 33:32 What brings Rick joy 37:51 What's next for Rick and the Chamber 38:55 Wrap-up: "Let's ROAR together"

We’re resurfacing one of our favorite conversations this week. Kirtan Mehta, Chief External Affairs Officer for the Washington Commanders, joined Caroline Valvardi for a clear-eyed look at one of the most complex real estate projects in American sports — and it’s only gotten more relevant as the RFK project moves forward. From Harvard Law to two U.S. Senate offices to an early stint at Robinhood, Kirtan brings a government-relations lens you rarely hear in sports business. The conversation covers aligning 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. If you missed it the first time, this is the one to start with. 00:00 Best of — intro 00:31 An unlikely path: math, mock trial, law, and politics 03:02 What Capitol Hill experience brings — politics as "a sport of addition" 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 Three 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 deadlines 20:05 The $2.7B case: housing, environment, and a food desert 21:40 The Nationals ballpark as the blueprint everyone points to 24:23 Partnering with the city — and the mayor's role 26:57 Data & AI: Voice of Fans, the team's RFI, and a roofed stadium 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 41:15 Close

When the final whistle blew at World Cup matches this summer, fans weren't ready to go home. Where the stadium gave them a place to gather, they stayed. Where it didn't, the party moved elsewhere, sometimes miles away. Adam sits down with Lauren Adams, Global Director of Lifestyle Research at Gensler and lead author of The Fandom Effect: Sports Urbanism 2026. It's a three-part study from the Gensler Research Institute, Oxford Economics, and ROAR, and the research tracked fans before, during, and after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It combined a baseline survey of fans across the U.S. and Canada, real-time social listening tied to every host stadium, and a post-tournament survey of host-city residents. Together, those show how a global event shaped the way fans felt about their venues, their districts, and their cities. Lauren and Adam unpack the study's headline finding. Fans used words like "we" and "us" 70% more often when posting from the public spaces outside the stadium than from inside the bowl. When they used awe words like "goosebumps" and "electric," that collective language jumped 189%. They also cover "afterglow," the spontaneous celebrations after a match, and what it means when a stadium ringed with parking sends that energy somewhere else. 00:00 Intro: The afterglow that went to Times Square 01:55 Welcome, Lauren Adams 02:17 Inside The Fandom Effect: before, during, and after the World Cup 04:41 The loneliness crisis and the stadium as the new town square 06:45 The scale of the study 08:09 Voice of the Fan and AI-powered language analysis 10:00 "We" vs. "I": collective language outside the bowl 11:41 Designing for awe: lessons from Rockefeller Center 13:52 From crowd to community: access and programming 16:21 The "awe-free zone": entry, ingress, and safety 18:50 Inside the bowl: whistle-to-whistle documentarians 20:59 What is afterglow? 23:07 How ROAR measured afterglow 24:50 New York / New Jersey and the afterglow catcher's mitt 28:26 Families, locals, and superfans 32:45 A catcher's mitt for everything: zoned programming 33:30 Collective effervescence explained 35:09 What's next for Gensler and host cities 37:52 Lessons for everyday game days 40:22 Expanding the fan base beyond the core 41:34 Designing for the next 5–10 years 43:36 Wrap-up

In 2007, a young high school math teacher in Ohio asked a simple question: why does the end of a basketball game reward teams for breaking the rules? His answer was to turn off the clock and play to a target score. It took a decade of cold outreach, rejection, and reinvention before TBT gave it a shot in a small Division II gym in Philadelphia. Since then, the Elam Ending has been used at the NBA All-Star Game and in the NBA G League, the Canadian Elite Basketball League, Unrivaled, the Women's College All-Star Game, and grassroots leagues around the world. Adam Grossman sits down with Dr. Nick Elam to talk about the persistence it took to get a radical idea adopted, why simplifying the concept was the breakthrough, and the call from the NBA that came while Nick was sitting in an airport terminal. They also explore why rule changes matter far beyond the court, shaping fan experience, ticket sales, and sponsorship value. Finally, they make the case for a dedicated innovation segment in sports media. In this episode: How the flaws of late-game basketball (intentional fouls, stalling, and "blooper reel" shots) sparked the idea Pitching roughly 80 commissioners, executives, and media members, and why a thoughtful "no" still matters Why moving to a flat target number made the concept easier to sell Why TBT was the ideal first home, and the comeback that won over the crowd The NBA All-Star Game run, and why exhibitions are a different test Nick's take on MLB's pitch clock, pickoff limits, and the ghost runner rule Rule changes as a "recalibration" that restores the style of play fans love 00:00 Introduction 01:58 Welcome and What Is the Elam Ending? 03:35 A Math Teacher's Lightbulb Moment 06:58 Ten Years of Tomorrows 09:27 Learning to Sell a Radical Idea 13:41 Early Believers: Dan Bonner and the ABA 16:53 Inside TBT: The Perfect Landing Spot 20:00 That First Weekend in Philadelphia 23:46 The Call from the NBA 26:43 Why Rules Drive Revenue 27:59 Pitch Clocks, Ghost Runners, and Recalibration 30:29 The NBA All-Star Game Run 33:58 Building a Personal Brand 35:52 The Case for an Innovation Expert in Sports Media 38:44 Wrap-Up

When Pau Gasol went looking for someone to run his business in 2015, he wasn't looking for a sports insider. He wanted someone who could be Catalan in Barcelona, Spanish in Madrid, and American in the U.S., and who understood investing, startups, and leadership. He found that in Ferran Prieto, a Barcelona-born engineer whose career ran through the automotive industry, General Motors' corporate strategy and venture team, and Dan Gilbert's startup ecosystem. Nearly eleven years later, Ferran is CEO and Managing Director of Gasol 16 Ventures and Managing Partner at Everest Advisory Services. In this conversation with Caroline Valvardi, he explains why athletes in the U.S. are years ahead of their European counterparts in building businesses during their careers, and what cultural pressures keep many European stars quiet until retirement. He breaks down the three pillars of Gasol 16 Ventures: Pau's institutional role in sports, including the Olympic movement; the Gasol Foundation's work against childhood obesity; and a business arm spanning brand partnerships, advisory work, and investments across sports, health, and wellness. Ferran also shares where he sees the biggest opportunities in sports as an asset class. He's bullish on women's sports and on the WNBA, where he invested early. He explains why investors increasingly want to know whether a team controls the real estate around its venue. And he looks at MotoGP and select startup leagues. He discusses how data and AI help him compare deals, why confidentiality and human review still matter, and the advice he gives athletes: use your platform while you're competing, because the window closes faster than you think. In this episode: Ferran's path from automotive engineering to running Pau Gasol's business The differences between U.S. and European athletes as business leaders Why honesty and "earning your role every day" sustain long-term athlete relationships Inside Gasol 16 Ventures and Everest Advisory Services The investment case for women's sports and the WNBA Sports-anchored real estate and why owning your venue matters more as valuations rise How AI is changing deal evaluation, and where to stay cautious Leadership lessons and career advice for active athletes 00:00 Welcome and Spain's World Cup win 02:00 Ferran's path 04:25 Founding Everest and helping athletes plan for life after sports 05:34 Athletes as business leaders 08:43 What makes athlete relationships last 11:47 Inside Gasol 16 Ventures 16:06 Everest Advisory Services 17:24 Where the investment opportunities are 19:58 Sports-anchored real estate 22:07 Finding markets where athletes have an unfair advantage 24:37 How data and AI shape deal evaluation 27:41 Using AI responsibly 31:48 The passion of sports and the athlete's superpower 37:36 The early WNBA bet and the league's rise 39:44 Leadership philosophy and advice for active athletes 43:39 Wrap-up