Citywealth Forum USA 2026 speaker spotlight: Arya S. Rahimian, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services, Kroll, Los Angeles

Date: 22 Apr 2026

Karen Jones

The Billion-Dollar Game: Women’s Sport, Celebrity Capital & the Future of Investment

Overview

Arya S. Rahimian set out the investment case for women’s sport in direct terms. His argument was that the sector had moved beyond the language of social impact and into the territory of serious asset growth, with attendance, media rights and sponsorship all rising at the same time.

His remarks focused on valuation, ownership models, and the conditions that turn emerging leagues into investable businesses. He also drew on a series of live examples to show how quickly values have moved.

Key Themes from Arya S. Rahimian

1. Women’s Sport as an Investable Asset

Rahimian’s starting point was that women’s sport was no longer a peripheral or values-led story. In his view, it had become a genuine investment proposition, with the traditional drivers of sports value all improving simultaneously.

He pointed to rising attendance, stronger sponsorship, and media rights growth happening at once rather than in sequence. That, he suggested, was what made the current phase unusual.

2. Revenue Growth Is Happening All at Once

Historically, Rahimian noted, sports leagues tended to build value in stages: ticketing and stadium revenues first, then sponsorship, then media rights. In women’s sport, those layers are developing in parallel.

He cited Bay FC attracting 40,000 fans to a single match, while WNBA attendance had doubled to nearly 10,000 a game and total viewership had exceeded 50 million. At the same time, the WNBA’s media rights deal had moved from about $60 million a year to more than $200 million annually.

For investors, that combination matters because it accelerates the valuation curve.

3. Star Power Still Drives the Market

Rahimian also emphasised that sport remains a star-led business. He linked recent growth in women’s sport to the emergence of highly visible athletes, including WNBA players Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, and Trinity Rodman in the National Women’s Soccer League.

His point was that player recognition is not marginal to value creation. It is central to it. Strong individual profiles help drive media attention, ticket demand, brand partnerships and wider fan engagement.

4. Institutional Capital Has Changed the Market

A major theme in Rahimian’s contribution was the role of institutional capital. Once private equity and large asset managers enter a sector, he argued, previously hard-to-price assets begin to look more investable.

He cited Sixth Street’s investment in Bay FC and pointed to the growing willingness of sophisticated investors to back women’s teams and leagues. That capital does not simply provide funding. It also helps establish governance, pricing benchmarks and market confidence.

5. Valuations Have Moved Rapidly

Rahimian gave several examples to show how quickly values had risen. New York Liberty had brought in minority investors at a valuation of around $450 million, having reportedly been bought for $15 million in 2019. Angel FC had reached a valuation of roughly $250 million. WNBA expansion fees were now nearing $250 million as well.

His broader point was that these assets were repricing in real time, driven by scarcity, media growth and investor demand.

6. Profitability Changes Everything

One of Rahimian’s most important points was that values move sharply once a team or league approaches break-even and stops requiring repeated capital calls.

That is when, in his view, investors begin to assign much higher multiples. He drew a comparison with more mature leagues, where long term profitability and predictable revenues have helped push valuations to levels once associated more with high growth companies than sports clubs.

For women’s sport, the key issue is how quickly that carrying cost falls as revenues expand.

7. Structure Matters

Rahimian also spent time on ownership and league structure. He pointed to the Professional Women’s Hockey League as an example of what can happen when strong operators are paired with patient capital.

In his account, the league had benefited from experienced leadership, centralised control, and a long term approach to spending on quality, branding and player conditions. That combination of governance and financial support, he suggested, is critical in emerging leagues.

8. Supply, Demand and Scarcity

Another recurring point was scarcity. There are only so many teams available, and the number of potential investors is growing. That imbalance is helping to drive valuations higher.

Rahimian noted that this is one reason minority stakes can command strong prices even without control. For many investors, access itself has become part of the value.

Closing Perspective

Rahimian’s contribution was one of the clearest investment cases made during the Forum. His view was that women’s sport was not simply attracting attention, but building the revenue base, audience scale and institutional support needed to sustain long term value.

His emphasis was on timing, structure and trajectory. For investors able to enter early, the upside lay not only in current growth, but in what happens when these leagues become more mature, more stable, and less dependent on outside capital.

Key Points from the Discussion

• Women’s sport is now being treated as an investable asset rather than a social impact story
• Attendance, sponsorship and media rights are all rising at the same time
• Star athletes play a central role in driving revenue and value
• Institutional capital is helping to professionalise the market
• Team and league valuations have risen sharply in a short period
• Profitability and lower carrying costs are likely to be major drivers of future value

Fellow Panelists

Lisa Barksdale, Head of Global Wealth & Investment Management Credit, Bank of America

Emily Dreas, Managing Director and Senior Market Executive, Bank of America Private Bank (Moderator)

Jess Alden, Partner, Slateford

For more information, click here.

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