Startup accelerators and innovation hubs are increasingly turning their focus to the sports industry, MLS Commissioner Don Garber is welcoming their growth, seeing them as crucial to the league’s long-term development.
The wave of in-house accelerators and innovation hubs in sports has been driven by leagues and teams searching for technologies that can modernize their operations and help them remain relevant to new generations of fans. Earlier this month, Garber put out a call for more of them to pitch him with ideas that he might eventually be able to deploy on a league level.
MLS currently works with two active accelerators, which it runs through the venture capital firm R/GA.