Doug Bland is an American entrepreneur and former athlete.
Doug Bland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 14, 1970 Marseilles, Illinois, United States |
| Alma mater | Parkland College |
Career
editAfter a brief time as a collegiate athlete, Doug Bland moved to Southern California, where he lived in Newport Beach. He began his business career in event marketing with Ritz Entertainment, producers of music festivals and sporting events.[1] In 1996 Bland became marketing manager of the Roger Penske-owned California Speedway in Fontana, California.[2][3] He stayed in that position until he was promoted to marketing director for the Penske/ISC-owned Homestead–Miami Speedway in 1998. Penske Motorsports was sold to International Speedway Corporation in 2000. Bland then formed Short Track Entertainment, Inc, a motorsports marketing company that promoted racing events and represented racing properties and race teams.[4]
Bland purchased the UDTRA United Dirt Track Racing Association in 2002 and re-branded the property into the Xtreme Dirt Series.[5] In 2003 he signed a TV rights deal with Speed Channel and signed a ten-year sponsorship agreement with NVE Pharmaceuticals (Stacker 2) for $13,000,000.[6] At the time, this was the largest sponsorship deal in the history of dirt track racing.
In 2005 Bland sold Xtreme DirtCar Series to UMP, a company owned by NASCAR driver Ken Schrader. Shortly after the sale, Xtreme/UMP merged with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Later that year Bland purchased Springfield Raceway with partner Jerry Hoffman.[7][8]
Bland ventured into the mixed martial arts industry with his XCF (Xtreme Cage Fighting) brand, He promoted 14 professional MMA events over the next three years.[9]
In 2010 he started Bland Sports Inc., a sports marketing agency that represented athletes and sports properties including Kyle Busch Motorsports, Liquid Nitro Energy Drink, Maxim Racewear, Digital Qpons, and UFC fighter Michael Johnson.[10]
Bland was named the managing partner of the Mesquite Arena in Mesquite, Texas in 2014.[11] Six months later he became owner of the Dallas Marshals of the Champions Indoor Football League (CIF) team, who played their home games at the Mesquite Arena.[12] Bland sold the Dallas Marshals in August, 2017 to Dallas businessman Bruce Badgett.[13] The Dallas Marshals played the first six games of the 2017 season under Badgett's ownership, then folded.
Bland returned to his home state of Illinois to revitalize the Quad Cities Steamwheelers[14] indoor football franchise that had been dormant since 2009. The team made the playoffs in 2018 with an 8-4 record, then went 7-7 in the 2019 season. In 2018 Bland moved the Steamwheelers to the Indoor Football League to compete on the biggest stage in the industry.[15] In 2020 the Steamwheelers played one game (Win against Cedar Rapids) before the COVID 19 pandemic forced the IFL to cancel the season. In October 2020 Bland announced the Steamwheelers were forced to file dormancy with the IFL due to the state of Illinois COVID-19 regulations for indoor mass gatherings.
In 2022 The Steamwheelers made their return to the IFL (Indoor Football League) after a two season hiatus due to the covid-19 pandemic. Doug Bland and his franchise won the Franchise of the Year Award for the 2022 season and the team won the Eastern Conference Championship where they faced the North Arizona Wranglers for the IFL National Championship game. [16]
References
edit- ^ "High-flying entertainment: Nitro Arenacross returns to Mesquite Arena". Star Local Media. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Penske Motorsports Announces Executive Appointments". California Speedway. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Executive Transactions". Sports Business Daily. 1 December 1997. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Short Track Buzz". Motor Racing Network. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Interview with Robey Helm (EXTREME SERIES)". Yuku. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Udtra Sold". Racing Forums. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Cold, rain again postpone Turkey Bowl IX". The Joplin Globe. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "New owners aim to put Springfield Raceway on the map". Springfield Business Journal. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "MMA NEWS: The Rumble in Race Town - Xtreme Cage Fighting to host event coinciding with the Daytona 500". MMA Torch. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Doug Bland Owner Mesquite Marshals & Managing Partner Mesquite Arena". LinkedIn. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Mesquite Arena to announce football team". City of Mesquit. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "New sheriffs in town: Mesquite Marshals bring pro football to arena". Mesquite News. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ https://fairpark.org/index.php/en/?option=com_content&view=article&id=159 [dead link]
- ^ "Dallas-based group bringing Steamwheelers back to life | Pro Football | qctimes.com".
- ^ "Steamwheelers owner's former team folds | Pro Football | qctimes.com".
- ^ https://www.wvik.org/wvik-top-stories/2022-08-11/steamwheelers-ready-for-national-championship-game