Home Team Marketing

Home Team Marketing was a Cleveland-based company founded in 2001 by the three Fitzpatrick brothers—Jake, Peter, and Regan—along with their friend Patrick Spear. The firm specialized in high school sports marketing, creating partnerships that generated revenue for schools through corporate sponsorships and on-campus promotional opportunities like signage and events. This business model involved establishing a presence for national and local brands at high school sporting events across the country. The company provided a suite of services including on-campus events, branding opportunities, public relations, digital advertising, and sponsorships, enabling businesses to connect with the student and family demographic.

In late 2013, after 13 years of operation and building thousands of school partnerships, the founding partners sold a majority stake in the company to a group of investors led by Steve O'Neill for a reported $11.3 million. Following the acquisition, the business model shifted from its focus on high school sports partnerships to what was described as a "community-oriented social media platform." This change in direction also saw a change in leadership; co-founder Peter Fitzpatrick was dismissed 11 months after the sale, and by 2016, all original founders had departed the company. Despite receiving a $5 million investment in 2017, the company ultimately ceased operations in September 2019, after 18 years in business. Another entity named Home Team Sports, a sales agency under Fox Sports, was later acquired by Playfly Sports in 2021 and is a separate organization.

Keywords: high school sports marketing, scholastic sports partnerships, on-campus advertising, corporate sponsorship, sports marketing agency, school revenue generation, brand promotion, community sports, youth marketing, event marketing, digital sports advertising, Home Team Marketing, Fitzpatrick brothers, Steve O'Neill, Cleveland business, sports media.