NEW YORK, April 14, 2020 – GF Sports, a live events and sports media entertainment company, announced today that Rich Lisk, who serves as an Executive Vice President for the business, is expanding his role to oversee all lacrosse and business operations for the New York Riptide of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). In addition to his role with the Riptide, Lisk will continue to provide sales, marketing and operations leadership across GF Sports’ portfolio of live sports and entertainment properties. Lisk joined GF Sports as an Executive Vice President in January 2020.
On April 8, the NLL cancelled the remainder of the 2019-20 regular season, concluding the Riptide’s inaugural season on Long Island. The Riptide finished the season 1-12. The team was led offensively by rookie Tyson Gibson with 43 points on 16 goals and 27 assists, while Dan Lomas had 42 points on 21 goals and 21 assists. Away from the field, the Riptide had a significant impact on the Long Island community during its first season. The team donated over 3,000 tickets to local non-profits, hosted multiple clinics for local lacrosse groups throughout the season and impacted the lives of over 2,000 kids through their anti-bullying and anti-vaping school programs.
Lisk has more than 25 years experience in the sports industry. Prior to joining GF Sports, he was General Manager for the New England Black Wolves (NLL). During his tenure, the team went to the playoffs four consecutive seasons and Inside Lacrosse recognized Lisk as its 2016 General Manager of the Year for his work. In addition to his time in the NLL, Lisk was a General Manager of the Philadelphia Soul (AFL) and President and General Manager of the East Coast Hockey League’s Trenton Titans, an affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL). Lisk is a graduate of Rutgers University.
About GF Sports
GF Sports is a live events and sports media entertainment company created by New York-based private equity firm GF Capital Management & Advisors, LLC. Formed in July 2015, GF Sports owns two of the ATP World Tour’s longest running American tournaments, the New York Open and the BB&T Atlanta Open, as well as the New York National Lacrosse League expansion team. In addition, GF Sports is partnered with the American Kennel Club (“AKC”), the leading registry and governing body of canine events in the United States, to further develop and expand AKC’s “Meet the Breeds” event platform. GF Sports also incubates new and emerging sport concepts utilizing its global expertise and network to help develop niche sports. Such concepts include Wolf Pack Ninjas, which operates ninja-focused events globally. Veteran sport, media and entertainment executive Hank Ratner is a co-investor with GF Capital across the company’s various sports properties.
GF Capital makes control-oriented, growth capital investments in branded consumer product and media companies, and its investments have included a number of sports and live entertainment companies. These include Repucom, a global leader in sports measurement, evaluation and intelligence, which was sold to Nielsen in 2016 and Blue Man Group, the world-renowned entertainment company which was sold to Cirque du Soleil in 2017.