Thomas Dundon

Thomas Dundon (born September 5, 1971) is an American businessman, specializing in financial services, real estate and sports entertainment. He is chairman and managing partner of Dundon Capital Partners in Dallas, Texas, chairman of pickleball.com, and is the sole owner and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League and was on the board of the former Alliance of American Football.

Thomas Dundon
Born (1971-09-05) September 5, 1971
New York, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSouthern Methodist University (B.S.)
Occupation(s)Financial Services
Real Estate
Sports Entertainment
Known forOwner of the Carolina Hurricanes
Chairman and managing partner of Dundon Capital Partners
Board Member of the Alliance of American Football
Investor in TopGolf Callaway Brands
Investor in pickleball.com

Early life and career

Dundon was born in New York and raised in Texas. He attended Southern Methodist University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1993 and served as president of Phi Gamma Delta. He soon after operated a restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas. Later, with a number of partners, he co-founded a business focused primarily on subprime automobile financing called Drive Financial Services, LP, which eventually became Santander Consumer USA, a large U.S. consumer finance company majority held by Banco Santander. By the time he left in 2015, Dundon served as chairman and chief executive officer of the company. After leaving Santander, Dundon started his own firm, Dundon Capital Partners, and bought a 33-story building in downtown Dallas.[1][2] Dundon's investments via the firm include Employer Direct Healthcare, a healthcare services company, Exeter Finance, an auto finance company, and Pacific Elm Properties, a Dallas-based real estate company. Also after leaving Santander, Dundon cofounded Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.[3]

Sports investments

Carolina Hurricanes

In late 2017, Dundon became involved in purchasing the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League from owner Peter Karmanos Jr. who had owned the team since it was the Hartford Whalers.[4] Dundon became majority owner of the team on January 11, 2018, in a transaction where he purchased 52% of the team and the operating rights to PNC Arena for $420 million.[5]

On June 30, 2021, Dundon completed the purchase of all minority shares in the team, leaving him as the sole owner of the Hurricanes franchise.[6]

Alliance of American Football

On February 19, 2019, the Alliance of American Football announced a $250 million investment by Dundon and named him as a member of the board of directors.[7][8] The cash infusion is believed to have saved the league from a short-term financial crisis.[9][10] Reports noted that Dundon reserved the right to end his investment at any time.[11][12]

Dundon's first publicly visible move as a member of the board of directors, was to move the AAF's championship to the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas, after meeting with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and negotiating the change in venue. The move was an effort to align the AAF with the NFL. While the game had originally been scheduled for Sam Boyd Stadium in Nevada and ticket refunds had to be issued, the AAF's local partners were reportedly "understanding" of the venue change.[13] Dundon later expressed concern for the future of the AAF if the National Football League Players Association was unable to share players. The NFLPA was reportedly reluctant share players because of injury concerns.[14]

The AAF suspended operations on April 2, 2019.[15]

Pickleball

On December 27, 2021, Dundon's investment firm Dundon Capital Partners acquired Pickleball Central, the largest online pickleball retail site in the world. The acquisition also included Pickleball Central's affiliated PickleballTournaments.com software.[16]

On October 5, 2022, pickleball.com launched, citing an investment from Dundon. The platform seeks to "bring together the data, content, and expertise" of the PPA Tour, the professional tour of pickleball, Pickleball Tournaments and Pickleball Brackets, the leaders in tournament and club software, TopCourt, a leader in online pickleball and tennis instruction, and Pickleball Central, the leading pickleball e-commerce platform.[17]

On November 9, 2022, Major League Pickleball announced a strategic merger with the PPA Tour's VIBE Pickleball League. "Coming together as one team league allows us to build much bigger events, offer more prize money, enhance player development, pursue larger media and sponsorship deals and, most importantly, grow the game we all love", Dundon said in a joint announcement with Major League Pickleball's Steve Kuhn.[18]

References
  1. "For Dallas' newest billionaire, early failure set stage for success | Business". Dallas News. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  2. "Tom Dundon | Carolina Hurricanes". Nhl.com. January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  3. "Nine questions for Trinity Forest and new Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon". Golf Digest. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  4. Rogers Digital Media (November 29, 2017). "Carolina Hurricanes confirm sale talks with Dallas billionaire". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  5. Mike Ozanian. "Carolina Hurricanes Sold To Tom Dundon For $420 Million". Forbes.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  6. Hurricanes PR (June 30, 2021). "Dundon Assumes Full Ownership of Hurricanes". NHL.com. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  7. "Canes' owner invests $250 million, will chair AAF". ESPN.com. February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  8. "Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon commits $250M to AAF". NFL.com. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  9. Caron, Emily (June 25, 2019). "Billionaire Investor Tom Dundon Says the AAF 'Misrepresented' its Financial Situation". Sports Illustrated.
  10. Glenn, David. "NHL owner rescues fledgling AAF with much-needed cash infusion". The Athletic. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  11. Kaplan, Daniel (February 25, 2019). "Tom Dundon Confirms Incremental $250M Investment In AAF". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  12. "Sources: Dundon Has Committed, Not Yet Invested, Money In AAF". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  13. "AAF shifts title game from Vegas to Frisco, Texas". ESPN. Associated Press. March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  14. Allen, Kevin; Jones, Mike (March 27, 2019). "Majority investor: Alliance of American Football in danger of being discontinued without NFLPA help". USA Today. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  15. "AAF suspends operations after just eight weeks". Reuters. April 2, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  16. "Pickleball Central Announces a Majority Investment from Dundon Capital Partners LLC". BackboneMedia.net. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  17. pickleball.com. "ARE YOU READY FOR THIS? PICKLEBALL.COM IS THE NEW HOME FOR ALL THINGS PICKLEBALL". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  18. "MLP and PPA's VIBE Agree to Merge, Create One Unified Pro Pickleball League". The Dink. November 9, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
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