VenuesNow 2026 All-Star Honoree: Josh Harris

Josh Harris
Founder/Managing Partner
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment/Washington Commanders

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME
“[A Stadium] can attract great concerts, great jobs and tax revenue for the cities. It’s very exciting to be a part of this.”

Josh Harris is having a spectacular year. 

Last September, the Washington, D.C. City Council approved a proposal for Commanders Stadium on the former site of RFK Stadium, which NFL owners approved in May and which has Harris Blitzer leading the development of a $4 billion, 65,000-capacity stadium and mixed-use campus slated for 2030. 

Meanwhile, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, another HBSE holding, made two offseason blockbuster moves, landing certain Hall of Famer LeBron James and perennial all-star Jaylen Brown and becoming instant NBA Finals contenders. This comes as HBSE is planning a new 76ers arena in a JV with Comcast Spectacor for South Philadelphia and the launch of a new Philly WNBA team set for 2030. In addition to operating Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, for which state leaders in January approved a $300 million tax break to fund a major renovation for the home ice of the NJ Devils, this November HBSE is set to reopen the historic Loews Jersey Theatre that opened in 1929 and is undergoing a reported $130 million renovation restoring its jaw-dropping grandeur. 

Outside the U.S., Crystal Palace F.C., the Premier league team out of Selhurst, South London, which Harris and Blitzer are minority owners in, for the first time in its history won the UEFA Conference League in late May defeating Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig, Germany 1–0 in the finals.

Harris clearly knows the economic and societal value offered by sports franchises and venues. 

“Sports is emerging as one of the true places in a world that AI isn’t impacting the community,” Harris, who co-founded global private equity firm Apollo Global Management, recently told CNBC Sports’ Michael Ozanian. “You’re a Sixers fan, you’re a Commanders fan, or whatever your team is, it bridges where you’re from, your background, race, religion, all of it and you’re just a fan. More and more people want to live around sports. They want to go to the office around sports, they want to celebrate at bars around sports, and it galvanizes these communities, and you can build incredible (things) that go beyond just the athletic event.”