Leadership & Advisors
Blaine Longnecker
Project Sponsor & Development Executive
Blaine Longnecker is the founder of Sphere Sports Management and the project sponsor behind Sphere Sports Complex, a planned mixed-use sports, hospitality, and entertainment destination in Centennial, Colorado.
With more than sixteen years of experience in sports facility operations, programming, project development, and venue management, Blaine has focused his career on creating facilities that bring together athletics, hospitality, community engagement, and long-term economic impact.
As project sponsor, Blaine has led the vision, site control efforts, strategic planning, and team assembly for Sphere Sports Complex, bringing together nationally recognized partners across development, architecture, engineering, construction, hospitality, and venue operations. The project team includes Landmark Development, Davis Partnership Architects, Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers, Oak View Group, PCL Construction, Ceres Greenhouse Solutions, and other industry-leading organizations.
Through Sphere Sports Management, Blaine continues to work alongside development, operational, and strategic partners to advance the project through predevelopment, capitalization, and execution.
Leadership, Advisors & Project Partners
The Sphere Sports Complex team combines expertise across development, construction, hospitality, venue operations, finance, and project execution to support the delivery of a premier mixed-use sports and hospitality destination.
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Walter Mello
Capital Markets & Strategic Advisor
Walter Mello brings institutional investment and capital markets experience spanning BlackRock, Millennium Partners, and private investment platforms.
Walter Mello graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a concentration in Classics. He began his career at Fidelity Investments as an actuarial mathematician before joining Sentinel Pension Advisors in 2002 as an investment manager.
At BlackRock, Walter served as Sector Lead covering Metals and Mining, Utilities, Energy, Housing, and Technology. Following his time there, he joined Millennium Partners Group—one of the top 10 hedge funds by assets under management—as a Senior Portfolio Manager, focusing on top-down credit and equity strategies across multiple asset classes.
Walter later founded WMM Capital Advisors, LLC, a business and financial consulting firm. He also serves as an Investment Committee member for SOJA Ventures. Currently, he is the Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Nuclais, an AI/HPC data center development company.
Joe Champ
Hospitality Advisor
Joe Champ brings more than four decades of hospitality experience spanning hotel development, branding, franchising, acquisitions, management contracts, and operations. As President of Champ Hospitality LP, he has advised and led numerous hotel development and repositioning projects, including public-private partnerships and branded hospitality assets. His experience includes executive leadership roles with Wyndham International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, providing valuable hospitality expertise to the Sphere Sports Complex team.
Strategic Project Partners
Landmark Development
Landmark Development serves as Developer's Representative, providing development oversight, project management, and institutional-scale execution throughout predevelopment, design, construction, and delivery.Â
Developer's Representative
Oak View Group (OVG)
Oak View Group has been engaged to support venue operations, hospitality strategy, event programming, and guest experience planning for Sphere Sports Complex. Oak View Group is the global leader in live experience venue development, offering expert management, premium hospitality services, and 360-degree solutions for an elite collection of owned and operated destinations in North America and Western Europe.
Operations & Hospitality
Davis Partnership Architects
Davis Partnership Architects provides architectural leadership for Sphere Sports Complex, contributing nationally recognized expertise in mixed-use development, hospitality, commercial design, and large-scale destination projects. Through an interdisciplinary approach encompassing architecture, urban design, interior design, landscape architecture, and environmental graphics, Davis integrates the building, site, context, interiors, and signage into a cohesive development vision. Their expertise helps support long-term operational success, visitor experience, and the creation of a unified destination environment throughout the project.
Architecture
Martin / Martin Consulting Engineers
Martin/Martin provides civil and structural engineering expertise for Sphere Sports Complex, contributing more than eight decades of experience serving commercial, mixed-use, hospitality, civic, and large-scale development projects. Through a commitment to technical excellence, innovation, and collaboration, Martin/Martin helps support the project's design integration, infrastructure planning, structural performance, and long-term development objectives.
Engineering
Ceres Greenhouse Solutions
Ceres Greenhouse Solutions provides greenhouse design and technical consulting expertise supporting the project's rooftop agricultural component and sustainability initiatives.
Greenhouse Systems
www.ceresgs.com
PCL Construction
PCL Construction provides institutional-scale construction expertise, supporting cost validation, preconstruction planning, budgeting, scheduling, and construction execution. Their involvement ensures structural excellence and financial transparency, supporting cost validation, preconstruction planning, and construction execution.
Construction & Preconstruction