SPAC Talk: Sporty SPAC Scores on IPO Completion

Sports Properties Acquisition Corp. Announces Completion of Its Initial Public Offering

Thursday, January 24, 2008; Posted: 12:36 PM

NEW YORK, Jan 24, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- HMR/U | news | PowerRating | PR Charts -- Sports Properties Acquisition Corp. (AMEX: HMR.U), announced today that it had completed its initial public offering. Sports Properties is a special purpose acquisition company, also known as a SPAC. The initial public offering of units was sold at an offering price of $10 per unit resulting in gross proceeds of $200,000,000. Each unit issued in the initial public offering consists of one share of Sports Properties's common stock, and one warrant to purchase one share of common stock, at an exercise price of $7 per share. Initially, the units will be the only security trading.

Andrew Murstein, Vice-Chairman of Sports Properties stated, "The entire team is very excited to start looking at investment opportunities. We believe there are many exciting opportunities for us to look at in the sports, leisure and entertainment industries, and we very much look forward to starting the process."

The President and CEO of Sports Properties is Tony Tavares. Mr. Tavares is the former CEO and President of SMG, a premier management company engaged in the private management of stadiums, arenas, theaters and convention facilities in the U.S., Europe and Pacific Rim. He has served as president of several Major League Baseball franchises, most recently the Montreal Expos and Washington Nationals.

Mr. Tavares previously served as the President and CEO of Disney Sports Enterprises, successfully launching and operating the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, an NHL expansion franchise, and leading negotiations for the acquisition of the California Angels.

The board of Sports Properties consists of:

Jack Kemp, Chairman, was the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate in 1996. He played 13 years as a quarterback in the American Football League and National Football League, followed by election to the United States House of Representatives for 18 years before serving as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") from 1989 to 1993. Mr. Kemp currently serves on the boards of several companies including Six Flags, Inc. and Oracle Corp.

Andrew Murstein, Vice Chairman, has served as the President and a director of Medallion Financial Corp., a publicly traded investment company, since its founding and IPO in 1996. He is also one of its largest stockholders. Under Mr. Murstein's guidance, Medallion has acquired several companies and invested over $3 billion in various companies and industries.

Henry Aaron, Director, has an unmatched reputation as one of the world's most respected sports ambassadors. A member of Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame, he held the title of Major League Baseball's all-time leader in home runs for 33 years and currently is the all-time leader in total bases and RBIs. He is currently an executive with the Atlanta Braves and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Honor, which was bestowed on him by President George W. Bush.

Mario Cuomo, Director, is a former three-term Governor of the State of New York. He has extensive relationships within and working knowledge of government and p