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Aequus Sports LLC, USL Spokane’s majority ownership entity, has announced new investors in the soccer franchise—a five-person group assembled by Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm LandSpire Group, says Ryan Harnetiaux, managing partner for Aequus.
“This is a world-class group of accomplished businesspeople and athletes who share our vision for professional soccer to positively impact the Spokane community,” he says.
The new group is the fifth ownership announcement Aequus Sports has made in the last several months. Harnetiaux declines to disclose ownership interest details but says he and wife, Katie, and Jordan and Whitney Tampien are the leading owners, holding a majority stake in the group. Subsequent investors are limited partners, he says.
The new investment group features two past Gonzaga University athletes, Treana Allen and Annie Hawkins.
Allen played basketball for Gonzaga from 2001 to 2003. She now serves as general counsel for LandSpire.
Hawkins attended Gonzaga from 2001 to 2005 and was a starter for the Gonzaga women’s soccer team. She went on to play professionally in Sweden, as well as in her hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah, where she served as captain for the city’s Major League Soccer team, Real Salt Lake Women.
The investment group also features NFL players Trey Flowers and Dhani Jones.
The fifth member of the new investor group is entrepreneur John Ceresani, founder of venture capital firm Glencrest Global. Ceresani played college football at Notre Dame University and Northwestern University.